By Samir Mathur
Contributing writer
Staff page | Twitter | Tumblr
Contributing writer
Staff page | Twitter | Tumblr
For all my Film Festival coverage, look for the tag FFF2012
ANDREW BIRD: FEVER YEAR plays in the 21st annual Florida Film Festival, at 9.15pm at Regal Winter Park Village on Saturday (4/14) and again the following Saturday. (Details)
While touring his album 'Noble Beast' for most of 2009, Andrew Bird had a low-grade fever, which added an extra layer of complexity to the already-grueling schedule. "I'm either sweating bullets or I'm freezing all the time", he says at one point. This film, directed by Xan Aranda, chronicles that time on the road, while drawing particular attention to a couple of shows in Milwaukee. It's a nice hybrid of concert film - several full songs are played, including personal favourite 'Fake Palindromes' - and artist profile. Bird himself is notoriously quiet, and comes off as such. He talks a little about his songwriting process, but we don't really get much of a look into his life. His manager and band members fill in some blanks, but not many. The highlight of the film is an intimate, hotel-room performance of 'Arcs and Coulombs' with tourmate St. Vincent. Incidentally, that song is from the soundtrack to 'Norman', which played at last year's Festival, and I hated. If you're not an Andrew Bird fan, then you ought to still enjoy the musical performances, because he's an exciting and innovative musician. But if you ARE a fan, you must come and see this film. I heard an interview with Aranda, and per Andrew Bird's wishes, the film will never be commercially available and will only ever play at festivals. So take your chance while you can.