Muzzle of Bees favorite Andrew Bird will make two Wisconsin stops in support of his fantastic new album, Noble Beast.

Bird will headline Madison’s Forward Music Festival on Saturday, September 19th at Overture Hall with support from Pale Young Gentlemen.

In October, Bird will land at Milwaukee’s Pabst Theater for a two-night stint on including a full band show on Friday, October 16 and a solo performance with support from St. Vincent on Saturday, October 17th.

Chicago fans should seek out Andrew Bird at Lollapalooza on Friday, August 7th. You can check out Andrew Bird’s website for the complete list of new tour dates.

Buy: Noble Beast / Useless Creatures (Deluxe Edition)
Myspace: Andrew Bird

The above image is one of my favorites of the year. Coincidentally, Andrew Bird’s Noble Beast is also an early favorite of mine. I cannot resist its near daily call for a once through. That’s also lead me to troll his back catalog and rediscover old favorites. Bird’s two shows at Chicago’s Civic Opera House are certainly tugging at me to attend, though I’m going to cross my fingers and hope for a Wisconsin date later in the year.

On the subject of Wisconsin shows, I’m gonna share one of my old Andrew Bird shows from the now-defunct Luther’s Blues. Many will probably remember the place and its shows just as I do, and this one is certainly a keeper. Containing songs that would eventually appear on Bird’s zenith recording, The Mysterious Production of Eggs three years later, this is a great recording for any Andrew Bird fan. The show features wonderful contributions/vocals from Nora O’Connor.

Andrew Bird Live :: Luther’s Blues, Madison (11/2/2002)

Listen/Download:
1. Why?
2. Opposite Day
3. Action / Adventure
4. 11:11
5. Don’t Be Scared
6. Banking On A Myth
7. Lull
8. Capital I
9. Skin
10. Blood
11. Richmond Woman
12. Right On
13. Headsoak
14. Two Way Action

Buy: Noble Beast / Useless Creatures (Deluxe Edition)
Myspace: Andrew Bird

The beginning of the year in the music world apparently belongs to Animal Collective. Even newspapers are weighing in with both thumbs up. For me, the first great release of the year is Andrew Bird’s Noble Beast and its ample instrumental companion record, Useless Creatures. Like many, I was completely enraptured with The Mysterious Production Of Eggs. Topping such a record is inevitably a mighty feat, and one I don’t expect or unfairly use as a benchmark for other Andrew Bird records. That being said, I did feel disappointed by the 2007 release, Armchair Apocrypha. Part of it was an overwhelming amount of other great records that year that monopolized my listening habits and a little bit of the album never hitting me with full force like Eggs did.

Welcome to 2009. I live in Wisconsin. The winters are cold and brutal, enough to make me proclaim weekly to my girlfriend that I’ve had it with the snow and want to move south. Sometime after Christmas I got my first listen of Noble Beast, listening via the complimentary white iPhone earbuds that were in my backpack out of respect to those still trying to sleep. Noble Beast showcases all the things that make Andrew Bird the respected artist he is. The record contains some of my favorite Bird songs to date. “Masterswarm” and “Fitz & Dizzyspells” capture the upbeat nature of the Andrew Bird catalog while “Souverian” showcases the delicate slow-burn beauty that makes this album so universally appealing. Great as those songs are, my absolute favorite at the moment is “Anonanimal” which alternates between guitar chords and delicately plucked violin strings. Noble Beast is one of the rare finds that I can listen to it from start to finish, without interest waning. It’s a complete package that should capture an even wider audience for Andrew Bird.

I’d be remiss to not mention/urge those interested in picking up the record to spend the additional money and purchase the deluxe package including the instrumental disc, Useless Creatures. A perfect musical companion piece to Noble Beast that is worth the price of admission for “Nyatiti” alone.

Noble Beast is out January 20th on Fat Possum. Thanks to NPR you can currently stream Noble Beast in full here.

Buy: Noble Beast / Useless Creatures (Deluxe Edition)
Myspace: Andrew Bird