January/February 2009 Issue

Music: Noble Beast

Andrew Bird’s latest album handily displays his post-Squirrel Nut Zippers transformation.

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Chicago’s Andrew Bird has undergone an amazing transformation since playing traditional fiddle with the novelty-prone Squirrel Nut Zippers back in the ’90s. Following 2007’s mesmerizing, idiosyncratic Armchair Apocrypha, the intriguing Noble Beast feels like an extended vacation inside one man’s daydreams, with Bird’s melancholy violin and expressive whistling (no kidding!) setting a tone that’s alternately hopeful and gloomy. Despite passing echoes of Jeff Buckley and Caetano Veloso, his voice has an otherworldly allure all its own, befitting the puzzlelike lyrics of eerie songs such as “Oh No” and “Not a Robot, but a Ghost.”

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We just wrapped up a shorter-than-normal, urgent-as-ever fundraising drive and we came up about $45,000 short of our $300,000 goal.

That means we're going to have upwards of $350,000, maybe more, to raise in online donations between now and June 30, when our fiscal year ends and we have to get to break-even. And even though there's zero cushion to miss the mark, we won't be all that in your face about our fundraising again until June.

So we urgently need this specific ask, what you're reading right now, to start bringing in more donations than it ever has. The reality, for these next few months and next few years, is that we have to start finding ways to grow our online supporter base in a big way—and we're optimistic we can keep making real headway by being real with you about this.

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