Chicago – On a beautiful Friday night in Chicago’s Lincoln Park neighborhood, just a stone’s throw from Lake Michigan, excited fans walked the streets towards Park West to see twenty year-old U.K. singer-songwriter Jasmine Lucilla Elizabeth Jennifer van den Bogaerde, better known as Birdy, who has been touring in support of her third album Beautiful Lies. Birdy sold out the venue, which has been a Chicago staple for decades, hosting legends such as Aretha Franklin and Fleetwood Mac.
The night started out with “Growing Pains,” from Beautiful Lies. The room fell to near silence, with fans watching Birdy in complete awe, but it was “Hear You Calling” – another Beautiful Lies track - that really showcased Birdy’s stunning vocals and brought about a few gasps from fans. With a full band backing her – which included a violin – Birdy’s sound was amplified.
Beautiful Lies was partially inspired by Birdy’s love for Japanese culture and Arthur Golden’s novel Memoirs of a Geisha, but it was also inspired by her leap into adulthood and living on her own in London. Birdy told best New Bands while it was “nice to have [her] own space and feel quite free, it was definitely a shock” to be on her own, and “the first two weeks were quite lonely.”
In keeping with her self-titled debut album, Birdy played a handful of covers, including “Young Blood” by The Naked and Famous and “Terrible Love” by The National. A third of the way into the show, Birdy told the crowd, “These next two songs are some of my favorites from the first album.” She then broke into two covers: “Shelter” by The xx and “White Winter Hymnal” by Fleet Foxes. For “Shelter,” Birdy’s band left the stage, leaving Birdy by herself with her piano, where she held her own under glowing purple lights – a shift from the reds, oranges, and yellows washing over her. “White Winter Hymnal” brought the return of the band and a sing-along.
For “Words As Weapons,” Birdy stepped away from her piano and up to a microphone placed center stage, where she played guitar, under a spotlight. She stood wearing a red kimono, over black shorts and tube top, bringing the Japanese theme of Beautiful Lies to the stage. Birdy also performed the wonderful title track to her third album. After “Beautiful Lies,” Birdy performed the single “Words.” Just a few days ago, Birdy released a music video for this tearjerker, filled with angelic vocals.
People sang along and clapped to “Wings,” but it was the final song, “Keeping Your Head Up,” that had the crowd going. Those in the back arose form their seats, dancing and clapping along to the radio hit. Birdy has said the song is “about the fight within yourself, and how even when you’re at your saddest, you can think about the future and the good things that are to come.” For Birdy, that sadness stems from being away from home so much and feeling disconnected. Birdy told Best New Bands she’s definitely a “home bird” who misses her family dearly while out on the road.
After “Keeping Your Head Up,” Birdy left the stage, but soon returned for a three song encore, performing “Silhouette,” “Winter,” and the final song to end the night was the song that brought her to internet fame at the age of fourteen: her beautiful cover of Bon Iver’s “Skinny Love.” The room burst into applause. Some fans whistled in approval. Together, Birdy and her fans sang, “I told you to be patient / I told you to be fine / I told you to be balanced / I told you to be kind / In the morning I’ll be with you.” Indeed, the experience was one to linger on, and not just to the following morning, but for days to come, with images of a red kimono and Birdy’s graceful lyrics flying through one’s mind.
Birdy is currently on tour in North America, and she will soon be touring Asia and Europe. A list of tour dates can be found on the Birdy Facebook page. Beautiful Lies is available for purchase via Amazon and iTunes.
Photography by Sarah Hess for Best New Bands. Be sure to follow us on Facebook and Twitter.
Sarah Hess
After attending The School of the Art Institute in Chicago, Sarah went on to study education at Dominican University, earning a degree in history. When not teaching, writing, or taking in a show, she is most likely to be found with a camera to her eye or hanging out in a darkroom.
You can follow Sarah Hess on twitter at @Sarahhasanh and view her music photography on her website: smhimaging.com.
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