Filling in the Coachella Gaps
After missing Andrew Bird at Coachella (editors fault), we caught up with him last Friday as he graced Tucson, Arizona with his mastery of music. Silently approaching the stage, and surrounding himself with instruments, he turned to each, one by one, to begin building his music a layer at a time. After single-handedly creating the opening set on the fly, he transitioned to the next with a drawn out rant about something having to do with escaping and surviving animals “such as the bull.”
The combination of the ability of Bird’s violin to embody complex emotions, and his poetic prowess in capturing real experiences, made me reflect on my life and memories as I listened to each song. He had complete command of the audience’s emotions. And as the lighting behind him shifted to reflect the moment, the show was immediately enhanced. During “Desperation Breeds,” the spread of despair or as Andrew calls it ‘accidental pollination,’ is depicted by a calming blue tones, starkly contrasted with fiery red. Beautiful.
It is clear that Andrew has taken his music to the next level since he was invited to give his own TedTalk back in 2010. There, he experimented with “Eyeoneye,” a track off his new album, Break It Yourself, for the first time in front of an audience.
What a truly inspiring experience to see a genius like this at work!
EDITOR’S NOTE: Essentially this is the end of the review. This review was written by Dustin Harshman, a new contributor to the Soul Dynamic out of Arizona. What follows, is a document of the actions he took after watching Andrew Bird. It speaks to the type of action we want all our readers and followers to take when struck with a shot of inspiration. Below are more of Dustin’s thoughts, and the copy of an email he sent to a member of Andrew Bird’s band, taking his inspiration to the next level. We should all be so lucky:
PS
I couldn’t help but think about those who aren’t able to enjoy the intricacies of this music. My mind raced with ideas for technologies that could be used to provide the deaf with some version of the experience I had, and I thought a collaboration had to be forged between Andrew Bird and biomedical engineers to make it happen. I had the chance to have a short conversation with Martin Dosh, percussion, after the show. He was eager to rejoin the rest of the band and his friends who were waiting, but he gave me his email. So, I wrote him…
“Subject: Music Inspiring Medical Innovation
Martin,
Thanks for taking the time to talk to me last night and for being willing to share your contact info. You guys put on a great show!
I believe that your music is capable of inspiring a lot of passion in people. The intellect and emotion behind the music has the potential to be tied to ideas in very diverse realms, specifically in biological and medical engineering.
I see an opportunity here for us to bring public interest to research projects and to build momentum for work that can really have a major impact on the quality of life of people suffering with disease (hearing degeneration?).
We have to make time to discuss possible ideas further. You may be surprised by how rewarding this kind of collaboration can be. My contact information is below. Please feel free to pass this note onto the rest of your team.
“Dustin”
Writer: Dustin The Wind*
Photographer: Kalli Harshman
*Dustin Harshman is a Biomedical Engineering PHD candidate at the University of Arizona.
