Nora O'Connor joined Andrew Bird on stage for a handful of songs, including a acoustic cover of the Handsome Family's "Don't Be Scared", which literally gave me chills. Some great stuff has been going on at these Gezellegheid shows, and I can only hope that they do in fact become an annual tradition.

With these shows, all bets are off, as Bird frees himself to try out new songs, or to introduce us to older ones which are continuously evolving.

Happy Andrew Bird week! It's pretty obvious to even the casual observer where I'll be Wednesday through Friday. Sorry, warm, cozy apartment, I've got three dates with Mr. Bird.

If you missed Andrew Bird's residency of cozy concerts last year, either in Chicago or Minneapolis, don't despair! You'll have another chance this holiday season. Five more so-called Gezelligheid concerts have been announced, to keep you warm and cozy and creatively satisfied this year: