Tweedy vs. Bird

[-seven]

From NPR's All Songs Considered

 

http://www.npr.org/blogs/allsongs/2010/12/10/131932553/tweedy-vs-bird-what-do-you-want-from-a-concert

 

"I've gone to a live concert every night this week. Tuesday, I saw Jeff Tweedy, and then on Wednesday, I saw Andrew Bird. The two couldn't have been more different.

 

Tweedy's show at Washington, D.C.'s Lincoln Theatre was a crowd-pleaser. He sang a lot of songs we all knew, dug deep into the Wilco songbook, included a few Woody Guthrie tunes and even sang an Uncle Tupelo song.

 

Bird didn't bring a songbook of any kind to D.C.'s historic 6th and I Synagogue. He told the audience his show was "Gezelligheid," a Dutch term for "cozy." Bird played a few pieces that were familiar, but then he mostly tried out new song ideas, in real time, looping violin parts with rhythms, textures, melodies and more. Sometimes he picked up the guitar to play along to his looped violin lines, or play the glockenspiel with one hand. Sometimes the ideas worked; sometimes they didn't, and he'd abruptly abandon them. Someone described it as watching an alchemist.

 

So, forgetting whether you like Andrew Bird more than Jeff Tweedy or visa versa: Which show would you prefer: your favorite artist doing old favorites, or going out on a limb to try new ideas?"

[Guest Speed Racer]

I detest looping at a live show. I don't know what it is, but even when the song is good it frosts my nutsack.

 

So, I'd have to go with Tweedy.

[-seven]

I detest looping at a live show. I don't know what it is, but even when the song is good it frosts my nutsack.

 

So, I'd have to go with Tweedy.

 

I like both approaches. I don't have a problem with looping. Howe Gelb does it all the time and he's one of my favorite live performers. I find it interesting to watch. Sort of in a mad scientist kind of way.

[tinnitus photography]

Howe is a master at that technique.

 

 

and if you are playing solo, looping gives more depth and possibilities to the show. not that everyone employs it well...

[Guest Speed Racer]

Ah, my favorite part about seeing someone solo is seeing what they do to their songs with nothing but a guitar, a voice, and perchance a harmonica (or whistling, of course).

[-seven]

Ah, my favorite part about seeing someone solo is seeing what they do to their songs with nothing but a guitar, a voice, and perchance a harmonica (or whistling, of course).

 

I agree. There is something magical about how Tweedy compels us to sit in silence to really feel the songs and the experience.

 

That said, I still appreciate both approaches.

[hwllo]

I detest looping at a live show. I don't know what it is, but even when the song is good it frosts my nutsack.

 

So, I'd have to go with Tweedy.

 

 

i agree. i don't really like looping at all though, it seems so gimmicky. i saw andrew bird play before wilco at summerfest and the whole time i kept thinking, why not just bring a violin player or a guitar out with you.

 

you can play multiple instruments, great, i get it, but in a live setting it comes across as a little egotistical to me

[mpolak21]

I detest looping at a live show. I don't know what it is, but even when the song is good it frosts my nutsack.

 

So, I'd have to go with Tweedy.

 

 

Jon Brion is pretty amazing at it in my opinion, but he has the advantage of being insanely talented on just about every instrument he plays so it's actually compelling to hear him mess around on just a bass part. For the most part though, yeah I could give or take looping.

 

--Mike

 

 

[Guest Speed Racer]

Jon Brion gets a universal pass for everything.

[mpolak21]

Jon Brion gets a universal pass for everything.

 

 

 

I almost felt like using him to make a point was unfair, but I mess Hodie and Uyen so I figured it wouldn't hurt to bring him into the discussion.

 

--Mike

[Ghost of Electricity]

I like both approaches. I would actually lke to see Tweedy try something like looping as it might move him a bit out of the comfort zone he's in. Even if he sucked at it, it would be good to see him taking some risks again.

 

I also like the name of this thread as it reminds me of Tweety Bird.

[lost highway]

The looping thing certainly has a certain gimmick element to it. It seems like the first handful of people to find a way to do it well kind of get some points, and forever after it's "another one of those looping guys", little more of a technology than a musical concept. Andrew Bird happens to do it in a way that transcends the gimmick.

 

Can I cop out and say I want to see both?

[Wendy]

Looping doesn't bother me at all. In fact, I find it fascinating and like to watch these masters (especially Bird) time each move perfectly and hear the build as it progresses. Joseph Arthur does it well too, although to be honest, I haven't really gotten into his music for a while.

 

But hey - I'm a Howe Gelb freak too. Love him! Nice to see two more VC'ers mention his name!

[M. (hristine]

I have seen Andrew Bird many more times than I have seen Tweedy solo.

 

These artists are far too complex. I have found myself just wishing every show by every artist would be exactly the same. Like Groundhog Day - The Musical. Is that too much to ask?

[theashtraysays]

So, forgetting whether you like Andrew Bird more than Jeff Tweedy or visa versa: Which show would you prefer: your favorite artist doing old favorites, or going out on a limb to try new ideas?"

I've never seen Andrew Bird, but love his stuff and would love to see him. Given that fact, I would prefer a more normal show with actual songs for the first one or two times.

 

I've seen Wilco and seen Jeff, and loved every second of it. But yeah, I would love to spend a couple hours listening to him noodle around on stuff. I envision that as being kind of a fly on the wall at the loft.

[WaronWar]

Doesn't matter. They are both awesome.

[Misswe]

Doesn't matter. They are both awesome.

 

I agree. They are my two favorite artists. I have seen Tweedy try out new songs as well as Bird play old songs. I don't think every concert put on by these artists is just like the ones this journalist went to. Jeff and Andrew are both exceptional at what they do, different kinds of music which call for different kinds of concerts.

[barbkm]

I like both approaches. I would actually lke to see Tweedy try something like looping as it might move him a bit out of the comfort zone he's in. Even if he sucked at it, it would be good to see him taking some risks again.

 

I also like the name of this thread as it reminds me of Tweety Bird.

 

I taut I taw a putty tat...

 

Anyway, love Andrew Bird and the looping. I can't wait from him to come back to NYC. But not sure I'd like an entire night of new stuff. But,if Andrew did a solo show filled with my favorite songs and then he threw in a pizza, I'd still prefer Jeff. Wilco and/or Jeff trump all.

[sonicshoulder]

I expected this thread to be about a new one on one basketball game for the Atari 7200....very dissapointed.

[barbkm]

I expected this thread to be about a new one on one basketball game for the Atari 7200....very dissapointed.

 

In this case, I bet on Bird -- Andrew or Larry. Both are tall

[Three dollars and 63 cents]

Andrew Bird is maybe 5'7", if that. He's tiny.

 

I live in a sort of out of the way part of upstate NY, so I usually have to travel to either New York or Philadelphia to see the shows I most enjoy. There are some artists I'll drive four hours to see without thinking twice, and there are some who've disappointed me. I'll see them if they come to Syracuse or here, but not much further than that. I've been both Jeff solo three times and AB solo once and for the most part enjoyed all four shows. Though I tend to enjoy Jeff's songwriting more than Andrew Bird's, I've found Jeff's stage presence to be a lot more unpredictable (in a bad way) than Bird's. Because of that, I'm willing to travel three or four hours to see AB, but not Jeff anymore.

 

There's a lot more to looping than just fiddling with a bunch of pedals and knobs. Less skilled musicians may use effects as a distraction from what should be in their own playing but isn't, but watching someone like Nels or Andrew Bird play solo and just go crazy with all these different patterns and loops is amazing. I never really realized how precise the whole process is until I heard Nels lecture in New York over the summer and demonstrate how he uses his pedals and boxes and all that. I like that Andrew Bird tests new material so adventurously live--it's sort of like getting a peek into the mad scientist's lab. It's not the kind of performance I'm always in the mood for, but I think most people know what they're getting into when they go to one of his shows.

 

All that said, I think the writer was definitely making some assumptions about both performers' shows. They're not quite as polar opposites as he makes it sound.

[dthedust]

i like seeing jeff at shows tell people how to be considerate.if you want to fuck around go outside.hes emotional about his fucking music.plus his lyrics are amazing.speaking of which panthers lyrics are outstanding.id love to see that solo.and if jeff wrote venus stop the train which im sure he did,amazing.tweedy is the james joyce of rock and roll.tweedys best songs are the ones that give a shape to a story that might be his or yours.bird is good, ive never been to one of these fingerlings shows, but hes more like the biggie of music.

[Shakespeare In The Alley]

i like seeing jeff at shows tell people how to be considerate.if you want to fuck around go outside.hes emotional about his fucking music.plus his lyrics are amazing.speaking of which panthers lyrics are outstanding.id love to see that solo.and if jeff wrote venus stop the train which im sure he did,amazing.tweedy is the james joyce of rock and roll.tweedys best songs are the ones that give a shape to a story that might be his or yours.bird is good, ive never been to one of these fingerlings shows, but hes more like the biggie of music.

 

What?

[dthedust]

notorious big

[Shakespeare In The Alley]

I'm aware, yes. Isn't he already the Biggie of music though?