ACL Live Shot: Andrew Bird

Photo by Andrew Bird

Touting spring release Break It Yourself and prepping for its companion piece at the end of this month, Andrew Bird stays busy. His shows convey the same idea. A sock monkey with its own mic, his signature spinning phonograph horn, and a backing trio joined the Chicago whistler onstage. Bird himself is a whirlwind, switching between plucked violin strings and guitar strokes. Bird launched "Effigy" looping glockenspiel and violin into decadent layers that soared way above the low-hanging clouds hovering above the stage. "Orpheus Don't Look Back" added a Western whine to his polish and allowed flawless transition into "Three White Horses" and a stilling and beautiful cover of Townes Van Zandt's "If I Needed You," both from upcoming Break It Yourself spin-off and Western tribute Hands of Glory. "I think my fever just broke," announced Bird toward the end of the set. Soon thereafter, so did the skies.