ANDREW BIRD AND 13,000+ FANS ATTEND MILLENNIUM PARK HEADLINE DATE

"Patrons on the lawn poured down into the pavilion, pushing forward in one collective conga line of writhing excitement. In a matter of seconds, the scene went from tame restraint to a crush of dancing bodies, with young girls screaming, 'I love you!'"--SPIN.com

Some 13,000 Andrew Bird fans packed Chicago's Millennium Park Wednesday night, necessitating the closure of the park's Pritzker Pavilion seating bowl as the crowd overflowed onto the concrete steps at the bowl's back section.

The beyond-sold out show marked the opening of Millennium Park's Blockbuster Week as well as Bird's largest ever hometown headline engagement. The throngs of Bird fans in attendance were treated to previews of new material from the multi-instrumentalist's forthcoming new album, as well as fan favorites "Fiery Crash," "Plasticities" and "Fake Palindromes," the latter of which elicited a surge of enthusiastic fans that SPIN.com described as a "babe riot."