It's been a long time since I've wanted to blog after coming home from a show, but Beirut tends to have that effect on me. It's no secret that Beirut is one of my favorite bands, and it's really been too long since I had seen them live. When I read that they were playing a special show with box office-only tickets ($10!), I knew what I had to do. I knew that I would be waking up early on a Saturday morning and camping out at the Music Hall of Williamsburg box office in the summer heat.
Like a fangirl, I arrived at the venue when doors were scheduled to open. Things were running a couple minutes behind, and I found myself joining a long line of other eager Beirut fans. Since I arrived so early, there was more waiting to be endured inside, but it was all worth it when the band took the stage. For this performance, Beirut was a 7-ensemble, and I was happy that they didn't shortchange the brass section. I've said this before, but Beirut are experts at romanticizing brass instruments. Move over guitar, because the euphonium is going to be the next big thing. Teenagers all over America are going to form Balkan-folk bands.
The band played an expected set of favorite songs, and I enjoyed revisiting the reasons why I had become a Beirut fan. Beirut is truly a band of talented individual musicians, and it is always incredible to watch them in their element. Zach claimed that he was suffering from allergies and that his voice would crack like a 14-year-old's, but that turned out to be an exaggeration. I wasn't sure if I could be blown away by another Beirut show, but I was pleasantly surprised. As cheesy (or insane) as this sounds, I think I may have experienced a moment of pure bliss during "Nantes." I can't really explain it, but the live music actually made me reevaluate my outlook on life. The beautiful combination of sounds was so moving that I became convinced that true beauty does exist in the world, and it's worth fighting for. Or, I may have been delirious from my insomnia. Holler in the comments if you know what I'm talking about.
Zach did announce some exciting developments. Beirut expects to release a new record soon, but Zach didn't give any clues as to when it would happen. But, it is now confirmed that they are working on something new. Fingers crossed that it happens this year.
Carousels - Beirut
Setlist (I pieced this together independently, so please let me know if any of this is wrong)
Elephant Gun
Mimizan
Forks and Knives
The Shrew
Postcards From Italy
Cherbourg
Scenic World
East Harlem
Sunday Smile
The Akara
Nantes
Cozak (or is it Cocek?)
Carousels
----------
The Penalty
Mount Wroclai
Gulag Orkestar
July 6, 2010
Beirut - MHOW 07.05.10
February 5, 2009
Beirut - MHOW 02.04.09
Thanks to an intimate night of a scaled-down Beirut, I’ve had “Postcards from Italy” stuck in my head all day. While I’ve had Beirut on rotation since Gulag Orkestar, I didn’t fall hard for this band until Zach cancelled their European tour and called for a hiatus last April. It’s true, I took Beirut’s existence for granted until they were temporarily absent from the scene. And, ever since I missed them at their MHOW show last May, I’ve been kicking myself for making poor life decisions.
Over the last few months of Beirut’s hiatus, I’ve found myself going back and listening to a significant amount of their music. You would think this would be a fairly normal action for any music lover, but that’s not necessarily the case with me. Most of my time is dedicated to listening to new music (or music that is new to me), and I’m constantly seeking my next “obsession.” Rarely do I spend an exorbitant amount of time on albums that are collecting virtual dust in my iTunes library. But, as confirmed with my Last.fm, Beirut falls into my top five most listened artists in the last 12 months. Not only have I been giving them heavy play, Beirut has become sort of a musical motivator/inspiration to me. Beirut is the reason why I picked up a ukulele. More importantly, they have helped me rediscover my love of piano performance, something I’d lost many years ago. So, it’s safe to say that I was ecstatic to finally go to a Beirut show, especially since I had never seen them live before.
Beirut kicked it off with the lyrically appropriate “Nantes,” a favorite off The Flying Club Cup. While I am not normally a fan of loud audience sing-alongs, it was almost appropriate for this song since it really had been too long since Beirut had an officially announced Brooklyn show. After the song ended, a guy from the audience yelled out to Zach, asking him to sign the ukulele that he had lugged to the show. Of course, Zach obliged (Note to self: Bring uke to next Beirut show), and the crowd aww’d. As expected, Beirut played new material, old favorites, a cover of “Brazil” and a tribute to Serge Gainsbourg. Upon first listen, the new Beirut double EP March of the Zapotec/Realpeople Holland did not leave much of an impression on me. But, when Beirut performed tracks off the EP last night, I was surprised by how much I enjoyed them. Either the songs have grown on me during the last couple of weeks, or they were just meant to be heard in person. What I know for sure is that Beirut really knows how to romanticize horn instruments (see here for the exact embarrassing words I used). There’s a certain charm of the instruments’ timbre that is unfortunately not captured by recordings. Also, I have no idea what you haters of Beirut’s last secret show at Coco66 are talking about. I would have loved to have gone to drink and be merry with Beirut. Almost felt like the band was TOO sober for the music they were playing, but I do appreciate the musical precision.
Unsurprisingly, nothing on my wish list came true. I probably would have died on the spot if Owen Pallett had walked onto the stage for “Cliquot.” As outrageous as this sounds, I really hoped that it would happen. Ed Droste is out of town, working on the production of Grizzly Bear’s upcoming album, but Owen is supposed to be here for two shows on Friday and Saturday. Also, is “Transatlantique” just not a song that they practice? Am I the only person who is in love with that song?
Beirut performs at BAM this Friday and Saturday with the Vassar Orkestar. I should have held onto the tickets I had for Friday…
Oh, and Tune Yards, the first opening act, was awesome. More info on her here.
Setlist (via Stereogum)
Nantes
Mount Wroclai (Idle Days)
East Harlem (Unreleased)
Cherbourg
Elephant Gun
The Shrew
The Concubine
Postcards From Italy
La Javanaise
After The Curtain
The Akara
Cocek (Unreleased)
- - - -
My Night With The Prostitute From Marseille
Scenic World
Gulag Orkestar
I believe the second encore included “Sunday Smile,” “Forks & Knives,” and “Brazil.” Thoughts?
The Akara - Beirut | Alternative Link
Transatlantique - Beirut | Alternative Link
February 2, 2009
"Untitled 18" - The Real People (Zach Condon)
via brooklynvegan
Roughly around the time that I was dedicating most of my time to teenage angst and emo music, Zach Condon was doing something slightly more constructive and arguably cooler (by a very slim margin, of course). Pre-dating the Balkan folk style that distinguishes Beirut's music, The Joys of Losing Weight was an unreleased album that Condon had put together at age fifteen under the moniker of The Real People. I read that Zach had some solo material before Beirut, but I didn't know of the digital availability of The Joys of Losing Weight until recently (Thanks, Nate!). When I started listening to "Untitled 18," I felt like I was given a rare glimpse into Zach's musical development. For one, the track opens with a beautiful guitar intro, which is something I did not expect from him. But, this album is from a time when Condon was still able to wrap his wrist around a guitar, before he underwent surgery and traded in the guitar for a ukulele. Although I absolutely adore the uke and Beirut is my inspiration for buying one, I didn't miss it one bit in this bossa nova-inspired track. As a fan of Beirut, I think it's exciting to hear something that is distinctively different, even if it was from seven years ago.
Beirut explores more of this project with their Realpeople Holland EP, which is currently available for download with the March of Zapotec EP. Grab the rest of The Joys of Losing Weight here. Beirut plays three shows this week, one at MHOW and two at BAM. I may possibly have an extra ticket to MHOW, if there are any takers.
Yes, this was a pre-show hype post. I can't help it, I am so stoked to see them. My fingers are crossed for one of the following events to occur:
1. "Transatlantique" is on the set list. Unlikely but not impossible.
2. Beirut plays rarities from The Joys of Losing Weight. Highly unlikely and pretty impossible.
3. Owen Pallett or Ed Droste join Beirut for "Cliquot." I must be insane for wasting a wish on this one.
Untitled 18 - The Real People (Zach Condon) | Alternative Link
January 26, 2009
Andrew Bird - MHOW 01.26.09
Absolutely stunning. Andrew Bird is a true virtuoso. Not only is he a phenomenal violinist, in both the classical and experimental senses, he's also made whistling into an art form. Seriously, I feel like he could win some prestigious whistling competitions, if they exist.
Even before the show tonight, I had a little music-crush on Andrew Bird. I've unavoidably picked up some bio facts on him since his name is everywhere. We're both from Illinois, an awesome state in the Midwest (No Blago puns, please). We both started training in the Suzuki method when we were four, respectively, and both on stringed instruments (Piano for me). But, that's where the similarities end. Andrew Bird is a remarkable composer and musician, and I never made it that far on classical piano. Andrew is so talented that it's almost unfair. It's unfair that one man can play something in such a way that I'm left completely defenseless against my own emotions. But, I guess that's what we call music-love. As always, I am a sucker for beautiful string arrangements.
I didn’t really know what to expect from Andrew Bird’s live act, but M. assured me that it would be amazing. While I wasn’t sure how it would all come together, I knew there would be whistling and strings, both signatures of Andrew Bird. What I wasn’t prepared for was the insanely beautiful moments that Bird created with only his violin and loop pedals. They were the seconds that reaffirmed my belief that music has the power to change one’s outlook on life. During the instrumental break in “Masterswarm,” one of my favorite songs off Noble Beast, I couldn’t help but smile. Combining impressionist music elements with equally impressionistic lyrics, Andrew Bird has concocted songs that appeal to the geekiest of music geeks, the kind that have Maurice Ravel and C.T. Griffes along with Radiohead in their music collection. I wish he would do a small secret show where he performs without his backing band.
After an incredible night of music, I returned home to see that Beirut played a last-minute show at Coco66. I'm feeling some serious heartbreak right now, so someone please tell me that the show was as bad as comments on brooklynvegan are recounting.
At least there will be snacks. All kinds of snacks.
Andrew Bird performs on Letterman tonight. He will be performing a sold-out show at Carnegie Hall tomorrow.
Noble Beast/Useless Creatures is currently available for purchase. Amazon suggests that you buy it with the new Animal Collective and Antony & the Johnsons.
The thing in the background is a spinning double horn.
Masterswarm - Andrew Bird | Alternative Link
December 4, 2008
Beirut - "In the Mausoleum"
via LA Weekly's Blogs
I may have stopped breathing for a few seconds today when I found out that Beirut will be performing at BAM Howard Gilman Opera House in February. Recently, I've been revisiting a lot of Beirut material. Partially, it's because I got a ukulele, and I particularly enjoy playing Beirut songs. My roommate just asked me why I keep on playing the same Beirut songs over and over on the uke. Well, one reason is because I haven't learned anything else. Another is that practice makes perfect, silly. Not that I could ever be Zach Condon, whose talent drives me absolutely mad with jealousy. I don't like that we're the same age, yet I have accomplished nothing in comparison (Robin Pecknold of Fleet Foxes also makes me feel worthless). Damn you for making music that I love.
Well, I no longer have to fantasize about Zach Condon making a surprise guest appearance at Final Fantasy and Grizzly Bear's BAM show with the Brooklyn Philharmonic. Beirut may have cancelled their recent tour and gone on a brief hiatus, but it sounds like they're ready to come back with a new album, a new tour, and possibly a new direction. Well, as long as the new Beirut sounds as good as the below songs, I will have no complaints. And, it'd be nice to have some new uke material.
Tickets for Beirut's Sounds of Brooklyn @ BAM on February 6 go on presale tomorrow, open to Friends of BAM. General public sale begins next week on December 12. Unfortunately, I am not a Friend of BAM. But, if you are, and you are a kind person who is willing to purchase tickets for a gracious (and financially reliable) blogger, you have my contact info.
In the Mausoleum - Beirut
Elephant Gun - Beirut
