words by Patty Riek
photos by Jon Bauer
Celebrating the 20th anniversary of The Mysterious Production of Eggs, Andrew Bird played the entire album with the San Francisco Symphony at a sold-out Davies Hall on Saturday, August 1, 2026. Arranged by Nate Thatcher, Bird’s pieces involved much violin and cello plucking in addition to the soaring melodies of Bird’s work. Conducted by Sarah Hicks, the mellifluous craftsmanship of the symphony was the perfect complement to Bird’s songs.
With understated poignancy, Bird described how his younger self in his scrappy early days with a suitcase packed with a glockenspiel, cords, and laundry could not imagine this future self performing with the symphony! The first half of the show was Side A of The Mysterious Production of Eggs with a stand out rendition of “Fake Palindromes” and Bird’s commentary that the genesis of the song was reading the personal ads in in the Chicago Reader and imagining a situation going off the rails. Closing the first act, “Opposite Day” started with an extended, ethereal harp passage.
The second act began with Ravel’s Pavane pour une infante défunte. At first, the Ravel on the program could have been considered a bit of the symphony trying to “sneak in” some classical music, but no. Bird’s legendary whistling added a flourish to the piece. After which, he commented that this is one of his favorite pieces of music.
The last song on The Mysterious Production of Eggs is “The Happy Birthday Song” during which Bird reminded the audience to not “phone in” life. The song itself admonishes us to live fully, and many who remember the original release of The Mysterious Production of Eggs might have been reflecting on the past 20 years of their own lives.
Before closing out the set, Andrew Bird acknowledged the talent of the SF Symphony and gratefully noted that San Francisco was the first place to love and support his work. The last part of the regular part of the program was “Orpheo Looks Back” from Break it Yourself (which began with the entire violin section strumming) and “Three White Horses” from Hands of Glory.
San Francisco’s love and support of Bird’s work have only increased over the years as evidenced by multiple ovations. For the first encore, Bird and the symphony performed “Pulaski at Night” closing with Hicks taking a video of the joyful audience. After another ovation, Hicks and the symphony baton and instruments at rest, were able to enjoy the finale of the night. With all of his signature elements – the violin, the whistling, the looping, Bird performed “Weather Systems” to an adoring crowd.
