On September 10th the Riviera Theater was swarmed with Chicago hipsters, preppy wannabees, emo teenagers, intellectuals, and your friendly neighborhood stoners; this might sound like a scene out of a John Hughes film but this was the crowd that gathered to watch Bobby Birdman open for Dom and the headliner Ratatat.
In my experience, about half the people that show up for a show will show up late for an opener, drink and socialize during the opening performance, or not show up at all until the headliner comes on to perform. Where is the respect for the opening artist? Luckily, Chicagoans did not follow the normal pattern and did not disappoint when they paid the proper respect to the West Coast artist, rocking out to his electronic-pop-ultrasonic-rock music.
Bobby Birdman, also known as Rob Kieswetter, is a San Diego-Nevada City-Portland native rocking off his latest album ‘New Moods.’ His music is eclectic with good beats perfectly suited for that afternoon drive along the coast of California, or in our case Lake Shore Drive. With songs like ‘Weighty Wait,’ ‘You’d Be Surprised,’ and ‘I Will Come Again,’ it’s surprising that this artist isn’t better known in the Chicago music scene. He’s touring with Dom -- a lack-luster group of long haired East Coast youth who was booed off stage following Bobby’s performance at the Riviera -- and Ratatat, who electrified the North Side stage. Bobby Birdman could have easily stood as the lone opener for Ratatat, their styles and beats are much more aligned than Dom-Ratatat, and Bobby was able to command the audience with his music and his stage presence (joking constantly about surfing). Bobby Birdman rocked Chicago before heading off to his California roots in LA.
On September 21st we saw him rock out in Los Angeles at the Nokia Theater once more, with the same adoration and approval of the LA hipsters. Birdman is here to stay and the next time he flies through Chicago be sure to check him out. Though he’s still touring with Dom, the same reaction to his music vs. that of Dom was astounding, though not entirely surprising. Who doesn’t love a laid back musician with cool cruising music, besides, disenchanted youth garage-bands are so overrated. Let’s hope the next time Bobby Birdman flies through Chicago and the Midwest – or Los Angeles – that he comes alone or with an equally impressive band. Bobby Birdman-Ratatat concert in 2011? I think Chicagoans can agree to that.
