When not drumming for Wilco, Glenn Kotche is putting out some fascinating solo percussion albums. His instrument setup on stage was quite overwhelming. It engulfed him with countless drums and peculiar noise making devices. His live showed added a more experimental and lively addition to his rhythmic and technical songs.
The other fellow Chicago instrumentalist, Andrew Bird took the stage playing a lot of his older and more intimate songs solo. It was enjoyable to see Andrew give his songs a unique interpretation in a live setting. He even played a new one he was working on which I particularly enjoyed. With a mutant gramophone spinning wildly in the back, the rest of the band joined him to play the highly textured songs off his new album. Despite the fact that I consider Armchair Apocrypha one of the best albums of 2007, his overall live show was a surprising letdown. He played his songs with amazing precision and amazed me with his movement between violin, guitar and even whistling. However the show just lacked the dramatic range I was expecting. I felt that the songs could have been improvised and pushed even more than what his albums hint at. No Scythian Empires but he did wear some really fun socks.
Pictures from the show.