–The Birdlips–The Birdlips are a duo from Charlottesville, Va., with Cliff Usher on vocals and guitar and Lindsay Pitts on keyboard and vocals. Formed in 2007, they released their first LP, “Cardboard Wings,” in the spring of 2008. Their sound draws on the lush characteristics of folk and psychedelic music from the 1960s and ’70s.

–The Bowerbirds–

The Bowerbirds are a trio from Raleigh, N.C., featuring Beth Tacular (accordion, bass drum, vocals), Phil Moore (vocals, guitar, hi-hat/tambourine) and Matt Damron (drums, violin). They released their first EP, “Danger at Sea,” in 2006, followed by an album entitled “Hymns for a Dark Horse” in 2007. Their most recent release, “Upper Air” (2009), features a lush, passionate mix of guitar, accordion, percussion and vocals.

–The Show–

As the lights went down in the Bryan Jr. Auditorium on Nov. 21, the room quietly teemed with anticipation. A tall young man in a brown jacket and a young woman with long blonde hair took the stage to enthusiastic applause, and, without a word, music began to fill the auditorium.

The lesser-known of the two bands playing, The Birdlips, quickly captivated the attention of many in the audience with their unique combination of vocals, acoustic guitar, driving beats, and synth.

Soon, the crowd was divided awkwardly into two groups. One group stood in front of the right side of the stage, while the majority of the audience remained seated, looking slightly more like they were attending a lecture than a rock concert.

During the performance, Cliff Usher and Lindsay Pitts of The Birdlips were clearly immersed in the sound they were delivering. During each song, they swayed and grooved to the beats as they strummed the guitar and played the synth. In between songs, Usher addressed the crowd amicably, exuding enthusiasm and eagerness to be at Guilford.

“We’ve never played in a planetarium before,” he said with a laugh. “I guess that’s another one to check off the list.”

After playing a short set, the Birdlips left the stage to fairly supportive crowd applause.

“I liked the first band. I found their music more interesting and I really liked some of their beats,” sophomore Sally Westbrook said.

Others were slightly less impressed.

“They were mellow,” said senior Phil Kennedy. “Not a knockout. They’d be good going-to-sleep music.”

About 15 minutes after the Birdlips had finished up, The Bowerbirds took the stage.

“A lot of students were into the Bowerbirds,” said junior Alethea Leventhal, a CAB officer and WQFS director. On her initiative, the two organizations collaborated to bring the two bands to Guilford.

“People play their songs at open mic nights, and I thought it would fit really well with Guilford,” Leventhal explained.

While The Bowerbirds’ accordion and live drumming added interesting dimension to their sound, their tone was as mellow as the opening act. In between songs, the band engaged the crowd with entertaining comments and stories.

During one between-songs story about a cow sculpture made of butter, the band got the whole crowd laughing as they explained that this cow was the main attraction of a county fair in Iowa, and described the people who would stand in line for hours to catch a glimpse of the butter cow.

Despite their engaging stage manners, the majority of their songs were tired-sounding.

“I liked the way their voices blended and, yeah, some of their stuff was really interesting, but there just wasn’t a lot of variety,” Westbrook said. “I actually felt like both the bands were lacking energy.”

They had a reason to be.

During the concert, the lead singer of The Bowerbirds, Phil Moore, announced to the fans, “It feels like we’ve been touring our whole lives. This is a really nice homecoming.”

Later, in an interview with The Guilfordian, Moore explained, “We’ve kind of been touring on and off since last February.”

When asked if he had any specific hopes for the future of the band, he joked, “No, not really, except to get home and to my own bed.”

Tired or not, members from both bands were more than happy to spend time after the show talking to fans and signing posters.

“I really love getting out and meeting people,” said Lindsay Pitts of The Birdlips, when asked what she loved most about touring. “Music’s fun,” she said, repeating the words her band-mate had uttered while on stage earlier in the evening.

Pitt’s and Usher’s sentiment seemed to capture the overall spirit of the night’s show. As the night came to a close, it was clear that both Birdlips and Bowerbirds had one very important thing in common with everyone in the audience: a profound appreciation of good music.