March 15, 2009 – Sometimes, it’s the smallest movements that require the most care. Not the sonorous, sweeping notes of old spruce and strings, but the tics, taps, and whistles that will propel a song, rolling from one bar to the next. This is the sort of music where shoes are not allowed.
With his black leather boots cast aside, Andrew Bird got to work before a sold-out crowd at the Pageant. On order for the evening was a selection spanning everything from his 2001 effort The Swimming Hour to Nobel Beast, released this past January.
While the biggest cheer of the night erupted as Bird sank into the quickened bow strokes of “Fake Palindromes,” my personal highlight of the performance was “Tables and Chairs” from his 2005 release, The Mysterious Production Of Eggs, which capped off the encore.
Other highlights included “Fitz And The Dizzyspells,” “A Nervous Tic Motion Of The Head To The Left,” and “Anonanimal.”
In a departure from his earlier tours, Andrew Bird was accompanied by a full band, including long-time collaborator Martin Dosh on drums. With the additions of a dedicated bassist and guitarist, one might think that the looping-pedal wonder of Bird’s one-man show is long since faded, but that was anything but the case.
An array of effects pedals graced the stage, and Bird made ample use of them throughout the course of the evening, carefully manipulating the equipment with the deft tap of a sock-clad toe.
It’s always a pleasure listening to Andrew Bird live and watching as the songs are constructed, stripped down, and layered from the most innocuous of looped sequences.
Whether it starts with a languid pull of the bow across the strings or a few judicious plucks, the sense of wonder never diminishes, every secret is committed to solid state.
Another push of the pedals and those ghosts sing obediently back — we’re all old friends by now, the audience and those looping notes, and it’s hard not to smile when they visit. Cue vocals; cue melody — and now the song is well on its way, a slightly imperfect Rube Goldberg device that rolls, tips, and gyres to its end. Spinning plates, etc. And that’s the magic, and that’s the fun.
Shooting Notes:
From talking with other photographers who had shot this tour, I was almost certain that this Andrew Bird concert was going to be a crowd-shoot. No one else seemed to have had the luxury of a photo pit, so I came an hour before doors with the intent of lining up and trying to grab a spot at the front of the stage.
Much to my surprise, the barricade was pushed out and access was open, so I grabbed a table at the back of the pit and waited for some friends who were also attending.
Lighting for the first two songs, which Bird performed solo, was very sparse – high contrast cans from the front array and no hope of any fill or backlighting. As the full band came out on stage for the third song, the lighting loosened up to include some gentle backlighting with an emphasis on warm tones.
Due to the very low lighting, I dusted off the primes for this gig, turning to the Nikon 85mm f/1.4 and Nikon 50mm f/1.4 for their big apertures. In addition, the Nikon 24-70mm f/2.8 and 70-200mm f/2.8 also saw some action.
ISO ranged between ISO 3200 and 6400, while shutter speeds were on the lower end – generally between 1/100 and 1/160.
Clear shooting angles for Andrew Bird were limited by two factors: the height of the stage and the musician’s xylophone to his left. As a result, I shot primarily stage right, which afforded the cleanest shots.
If I hadn’t had the luxury of a barricade for this show, I would have tried to gain a position roughly 45º off-axis, stage right to Bird.
End Notes:
This performance marked the third time I’ve photographed Andrew Bird in as many years. I always think of these shows as an anniversary of sorts, as my first photo pass was for Andrew Bird. In fact, it was the second concert I ever photographed.
Here’s to another year.
This entry was posted on Tuesday, March 17th, 2009 at 10:00 pm and is filed under Music Photography and tagged with andrew bird, guitar, live, looping, music photography, nobel beast, pedal, violin, whistling. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.
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Andrew Bird! http://tinyurl.com/clda3v
I absolutely love this set, I think these are my favorite out of all your work so far. Great work
Hey Ali, thanks so much for the kind words, I’m glad to hear you enjoyed this set. While he’s a difficult subject, Andrew Bird is always a joy to photograph.
One of my favorite concert photogs, @toddowyoung shoots one of my favorite musicians, Andrew Bird. http://tinyurl.com/clda3v
Andrew Bird! http://tinyurl.com/clda3v
Amazing Todd. Love the whole set, even though my favourite one is the second shot (the first after the intro text) and the fifth (the fourth after the intro text). Love those close-ups. The lights also looked pretty good.
Great set, once again.
Cheers,
Daniel
Hey Daniel,
Thanks for the feedback and your picks. I found the close-up shots slightly tricky, as Bird is almost constantly moving his head while he’s singing and playing the violin. This was a concern for wider shots, too, actually. It’s easy to see why Bird wrote a song called “A Nervous Tic Motion Of The Head To The Left.”
these are great, great shots. thanks for the heads up on the lighting and stage positions. after i shoot him next monday we can compare notes! i don’t have an 85 1.4, so maybe i’ll rent one. do you think it’ll be worth it?
Hey Joey, glad to hear the notes will be useful for you. Your venue might well use stronger lighting – it all depends on the house LD. I know the Pageant where I shot does tend toward the weaker effects for shows like this, so I’d just take the lighting notes as a general reference. If renting won’t put you out too much, but if you’re shooting from the crowd, I think a 70-200mm would be very useful for composition.
Also, it’s worth noting that the stage is about five-feet tall, so that factors into the shooting angles.
Nice shots, I was kinda surprised to see he sold out the show. The last show of his I went to at the Pageant he had chairs in the pit area for people to sit in and it was really nice. I could just grab a beer and come back and my chair was still waiting for me.
But I actually saw you for once, I was in the very front of the pit area with a blue shirt and tie on. I was going to say “hey, love the website or something” but I haven’t posted in so long (I just don’t think there have really been any good concerts in St. Louis until the last month).
You know, I was also a bit surprised at just how packed the show was. I love Andrew Bird, but the crowd was still a nice surprise – I’m glad to see the audience grow. This last two shows at the Pageant were both seating-only in the pit.
Next time you see me, give you a shout.
awesome job todd! i loved the shots and enjoyed reading your review too :) it’s almost like i went to the concert myself
Thanks, Trina. Glad to hear you enjoyed this set – I hope you make it up to Ann Arbor to see Andrew Bird yourself. If you go, I’ll let my friends Hillary and Jon know you’re coming. I think they’re going to the show, maybe you can meet up with them.
Great work Todd. Really strong images in there. I think the 2nd shot is my favorite, with his head tilted back and the OOF guitar head.
Hey Craig,
I didn’t realize that second shot would generate the response it has. Thanks for the comment, it’s nice to have your pick.
Hey Todd,
Nice to see you at the show. You really got some great shots despite the light – or lack thereof. I’m curious – do you generally bring the primes to a Pageant show just in case, or do you stick to a general kit with few additions/substitutions?
Alsom it’s good to see I wasn’t the only one surprised he sold out the Pageant. I expected it to be full, but not as packed as it was. Good for Bird!
Hey Jason,
Nice to see you at the show, too. I generally don’t bring primes unless I think the lighting will be particularly low. Generally, I rely on the 14-24, 24-70, and 70-200 for most gigs.
hey todd.. very nice text over there. and pictures, of course.
those are more like the ones i make, im almost always on very dark places with my 50 prime ;)
too bad my camera’s 1600 is too grany to be usable :(
one question: u could shoot the whole concert on this one?
and happy anniversary ;)
Hey Ariel,
Thanks for the kind words. I did not shoot the entire concert, though I would have loved the opportunity. The lights came up a bit at the end!
From Chicago, so have shot Bird a few times. . all shows sans pit or from a range of about the soundboard, not due to bird, just to the venues he plays. So, awesome you got a pit!
the coolest thing about this set is that your first, and possibly most dramatic, shot is a down-bow shot. I shoot quite a bit of classical musicians and generally like violinists and violists up-bow. But this makes me reconsider, particularly at the right angle.
Hey Laura,
The first two times I photographed Andrew Bird, there was seating on the floor of the venue. This third time, it was the same venue, but it was standing-room only on the floor. Luckily, there was a pit – I was surprised, because it seemed hit or miss for this tour.
Hey Rich,
Nice to hear from you here, thanks for the comment. You know, part of the thing with the down-bow shots are that the stage at the Pageant where I photographed Bird is relatively high.
Most of the shots in this set are down-bow – I found that due to the high angle, I preferred the down stroke, as it gave better visibility to Bird’s expressive face.
If you haven’t already, you’ll have to photograph Andrew Bird if he ever heads your way. He’s a fantastic (albeit challenging) subject.