Review: Andrew Bird's Christmas return
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Andrew Bird (left) and Alan Hampton perform at Fourth Presbyterian Church on Thursday. Photo by Alec Basse, courtesy of Andrew Bird.
On the darkest night of the year, Andrew Bird returned home last week to light up the city with Gezelligheid.
- The Dutch word means coziness, but for thousands of local music fans, it's meant a Christmas tradition in the stunning Fourth Presbyterian Church for more than a decade.
Why it matters: The return of a live Gezelligheid after two years of streaming marks another milestone in our path to semi-normalcy — not to mention one of the most magical concert series of the year.
What happened: Bird whistled, fiddled and sang through indie-pop favorites, including "Alabaster," "Sisyphus" and "Take Courage," along with holiday songs like "Auld Lang Syne" and the jaunty glimpse of a future jazz album in "Django."
- But it was "Pulaski At Night" that struck the deepest chord as Bird intoned, "Come back to Chicago — city of light…"
- The lyric spread smiles and tears through the nearly 1,000-person audience rejoicing in being together again.
Of note: Show opener Shara Nova, who leads My Brightest Diamond, mesmerized the crowd, especially as she closed with "I Have Never Loved Someone."
If you go: You're a lucky duck — the seven-night stand, continuing through Friday, is sold out.
- Still, some tickets remain on the resale market, and tickets for a Tuesday livestream are here.
