Andrew Bird
with Gabriel Kahane
Overture Center-Capitol Theater 201 State St., Madison, Wisconsin 53703
ISTHMUS PICK
Tuesday, Sept. 6, Capitol Theater, 7 pm
Multi-instrumentalist Andrew Bird isn’t just one of the biggest names in baroque pop — it’s a genre he practically invented. His career just entered its third decade, and it’s seen Bird draw on everything from alternative rock and folk to New Orleans jazz and swing. His most recent album, this year’s Are You Serious, sees Bird settling into his experimental indie pop sound and features collaborations with the likes of Fiona Apple and Blake Mills. With Gabriel Kahane.
PRESENTED BY FRANK PRODUCTIONS & TRUE ENDEAVORS
Door Time 7:00 pm | Show Time 8:00 pm. Moved to Capitol Theater.
TICKETS ON-SALE FRIDAY, MAY 20TH @ 11 AM: Tickets may be purchased online at OvertureCenter.org, by phone at 608-258-4141, and at the Overture Center Box Office.
$44.50 | $39.50 (Plus applicable fees) includes $1.00 per ticket designated for Everytown For Gun Safety, a national organization dedicated to ending gun violence.
Twitter:@andrewbird Insta:@andrewbirdmusic
press release: With his new album, Are You Serious, Andrew Bird has widened the breadth of his art by directly rejecting his own human experience. With key contributions from Fiona Apple and Blake Mills, Are You Serious attains a level of expression that’s a personal, evolutionary leap. “Here I am with my most unguarded, direct, relatable album to date,” Bird says, “Go easy on me.”
“I set out to make a record that’s different than any I’ve made before,” he explains. “I wanted to make an album musically crafted like a Wrecking Crew session, where you have to be good. There’s less wordplay and more intention to process some brutal times that I went through. What happens when real ordeals befall someone who has always been happy writing from their imagination and the distance of the third person? Who has time for poetics while grappling with birth and death? What’s the role of sincerity for a songwriter who doesn’t really go in for the confessional thing? This is what I struggled with for this record. I suppose the title could be poking fun at my own foray into the confessional realm.”
Are You Serious is the second record Bird has made with producer Tony Berg, following 2005’s breakthrough The Mysterious Production of Eggs. “Tony and I spent months preparing for Sound City,” says Bird, referring to the legendary Los Angeles studio where Nirvana recorded Nevermind and Neil Young made After The Gold Rush. “We went through every part of every song, every note, scrutinizing the voicing of the chords, finding melodically interesting ways to move from one chord to the next. I decided to work with a producer because I wanted the recording process to be more rigorous. Novelists have editors and playwrights workshop their drama. Tony really played that role for me on this album.”