b r a n d o n

Birdsongs of the Mesozoic are nerdy. One of them is a professor, fergodsakes. They have a nerdy name that they follow with nerdy album titles and nerdy song names and, of course, nerdy music. Nerdy music: a blending of jazz, classical, chamber music, with tinges of things as diverse as punk and electronica. Despite all the nerdiness, though, Birdsongs know how to rock out when the time is right. And the time was never more right than at the beginning of NEARfest 2001. Birdsongs occupied NEARfest's opening slot that year, and their set seems tailored to wake up the audience and knock their socks off. Of the band's repertoire, I am only familiar with Petrophonics; that disc tends to be fairly laid-back, contemplative, with only hints at a possible intensity. But this live show cooks almost from start to finish, with only a few songs present that aren't balls-to-the-wall. After a sweet introduction contrasting an ominous, electronically-manipulated voice repeating "Please welcome Birdsongs of the Mesozoic" with Erik Lindgren's clean, agile piano work, the concert hall was then bombarded with "Dancing on A'A," which starts with flute and piano trading sparse lines but quickly becomes a joyful sonic orgy led by wild soloing on electric guitar and dissonant runs on Lindgren's piano. This is my favorite piece on the album, no doubt. After this bang-bang intro, the show continues with energy unabated: only the two songs from Petrophonics, "The Insidious Revenge" and "One Hundred Cycles," offer respite. The show closer is another real firecracker: "Beat of the Mesozoic Part 1," like many of the earlier pieces showcased on this album, places a greater emphasis on rhythm than melody. Here, there's an almost primal percussion section — every member of the band is credited with percussion — that forms the centerpiece of the song which is structured, jazzlike, with a melodic head and a possibly improvised middle. It's a frenzied, tribal piece, with an immediacy entirely appropriate for the last song of the show. The song selection for this show is remarkable: as stated before, unceasingly energetic, but also providing an excellent cross-section of the band's long history. Petrophonics was the band's only studio release within six years of this concert, yet they only played two songs from it; four songs come from the previous Dancing on A'A, and five from albums released in 1989 or before. For those of us only familiar with the band's latest material, this is a treat. An excellent introduction to a truly unique band. review by Brandon Wu — 2-19-05 —