Andrew Bird: Fever Year (Xan Aranda, 2011): USA

Reviewed by Gustav Orvefors. Viewed at the Santa Barbara film festival.

Brilliant, harmonic and wonderful!

Never before have I seen a music-documentary so inspiring and filled with joy. Xan Arandas: Fever Year has a soul in it, and every second I saw from the movie felt personal and unique. The film is as much about music as it is about finding yourself, letting go of your fear and how you should enjoy life.

I haven’t heard anything about Andrew Bird before I saw the documentary, but now, I can honestly say he is one of my favourite artists. The way he perform is different from anything else I’ve ever seen. And the way he just loses himself in his music is inspireing and amazing.

As a fellow musician I felt connected in everything he said. How the music is absorbing you, and for a moment, you and the music you are creating are all that exists. His explanation of how he, when he’s writing music, constantly tries to “catch the ghost” is spot on. The music is there, if we only can find it.

Andrew Bird: Fever Year is filmed during the most rigorous year of Andrew Birds life. During the year of touring he was constantly sick and when he wasn’t performing or writing new songs he was in the tourbus covered by blankets. What makes Andrew Bird so amazing is that despite his illness, he always put on a great show, and when he was on stage, he lost every hint of his condition. When Andrew in the end of his year of touring arrived to the finishline feverish and on crutches from an onstage injury, he still manage to get up on stage and give the audience a wonderful performance.

In some part of the film there are long periodes of music, when Andrew Bird is performing. I think that people who doesn’t enjoy or can feel the artistic greatness in his music will get lost, and bored. Personaly I think the long live performances makes the movie so much more honest and alive.

I encourage everybody to watch this music-documentary, even though you might not like music. The film is inspireing and you can really learn something if you give it a chanse.