The Diesel Ass Music Night - Andrew Bird and Phoenix

By BAL

Two great shows in a single night. Going into it, I knew I was entering uncharted waters. After all, I was about to attempt the unprecedented – the unheard of and rarely attempted two shows in a single night.  This was a ballsy move on my part; it’s like Survivorman for concerts, and I had to be absolutely prepared for the long night ahead of me. Basically, I refused to drink alcohol as this would cause endless struggles for me the next day. This extraordinary night of music started off with a fizz, as I did not obtain a press pass before the show, and as a result Radio City security forced me to check my camera bag. Fuck those guys though, since as you can all clearly see from the following photos, I was able to get back in with the monster lens and capture a few cool shots from my seat. Just so you all know, this took some pretty furtive maneuvering on my part, as I was surrounded by security and ushers and had to shoot all these shots, including video, from my thigh through a small opening in the railing in front of me.  Since they were all taken from my seat, these photos lack the variety seen in some of my other work, but what were you expecting? This shit ain’t Rolling Stone Magazine. This is me risking my ass for your entertainment.

The show itself was incredibly entertaining and highly polished. Andrew Bird, for those of you who are unfamiliar with him, is in my opinion one of the most prolific songwriters today, with five solo albums to his credit.  Each has its own distinct sound, with my personal favorites being Weather Systems (2001), The Mysterious Production of Eggs (2005), and this year’s Noble Beast. I have been putting Noble Beast on blast since I got it several weeks ago, and each listen reveals more and more luscious detail, from violin pizzicato lightly sprinkled into “Fitz & Dizzyspells”, to the woodwinds that open “Not A Robot, But A Ghost.” A master of composition, Andrew Bird also happens to be a very capable violinist (a graduate of the Suzuki method, unlike me who dropped out at book 7), and by far the most proficient whistler I have ever heard.  I mean this guy can fucking whistle in a freight train, it is truly amazing to hear.

Normally I’d be pretty spent after going seeing a full two hour show, but luckily the seats at Radio City provided some relief so that I was ready to troop it out to Willy to see Phoenix. I got there just in time to see them go on, and right away I could feel the overwhelming energy permeating the room. The mass of people building by the minute, I began to doubt how I would to hustle my way up to the prime picture taking zone. Luckily the big ass lens did most of the work for me. I used the beastly 70-200mm this night, and with the lens hood mounted on, this thing looks like it can be loaded with your choice of smoke, flare, or anti-personnel grenades. People just see it and clear the way, they don’t even want to fuck around with what’s inside. Good for me, and good for you too, since I was able to get some real close photos and even some video too (which I will explain near the end of this post). Phoenix is a French band that is bringing a refreshing pop sensibility to what is becoming a more and more tiresome indie pop scene here in the States.  They are not particularly innovative or groundbreaking, but they have something that I can’t quite put my finger on….oh right they are French. In fact, MAD French. Look at these guys:

Is it just me or does it look like this guy Thomas Mars (the lead singer and the subject of most of these photos) looks like he just got off the plane at JFK and is mad confused because this is his first time in America? I don’t think he has any clue about where he is or where he needs to go back to later that night; there is just utter confusion in his face.  You might not think, after listening to the album, that these guys aren't French at all, since the vocals sounds surprisingly coherent. But to be clear, they are mad French and speak with a thick accent, which gets lost while singing. All in all though, an entertaining and highly energetic show.