Andrew Bird's "Sonic Event" Takes Over The MCA
By Michelle Meywes Kopeny in Arts & Entertainment on Dec 23, 2011 7:00PM
Between the intimate Gezelligheid shows and last night’s Sonic Arboretum “Sonic Event,” Andrew Bird has treated his hometown to some of his most unique concerts. They’ve turned into sort of a holiday homecoming for the violinist and composer, who hinted last night that the downtown tradition will continue into the future.
This year’s event is essentially a month long exhibition taking over the atrium of the Museum of Contemporary Art. A collaboration with Specimen horn speaker designer, Ian Schneller, the Sonic Arboretum consisted of more than 70 of these hand made speakers ranging in size from three to nine feet, creating a visual and sonic “forest.” Bird spent three days in the MCA, composing pieces specifically for the space that play continuously across different groups of speakers.
Last night’s “Sonic Event” was a unique opportunity to see Bird perform live, using the groups of speakers as his drawing board. As expected, he played a lot of instrumental pieces, working in familiar songs like “Plasticities” and “It Ain’t Easy Being Green.” He even honored a request from the audience, playing “Skin Is, My.” Although he was a bit under the weather, you never would have known had he not admitted it, warning that he might “get into a little more instrumental stuff than you’d expect.”