Posted in Music, tagged Beirut on February 7, 2009|
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After a number of failed attempts, I finally got to see Beirut live. Pretty sure I got the last two seats for his Sounds Like Brooklyn show at BAM – last row, top balcony. I told myself I was there for the music and not the view, but even from the nosebleed section the view was pretty sweet. Just in case Zach Condon happens upon this little WordPress blog that no one ever reads — Zach, let’s make babies together. Seriously. They’d be super cute and they’d be wicked accordion/ukulele players. The Condon Family Players. Think about it.
My physical attraction to the man aside, it was a pretty good show. They played a lot of old songs (Nantes, A Sunday Smile, Elephant Gun, Postcards from Italy, Scenic World, Mt Wroclai, Gulag Orkestar, etc.) and a few new ones (just got the album today, so I can’t identfy by name yet). Condon’s instrument selection (horns, accordion, ukulele, mandolin, glockenspiel, Wurlitzer) lends well to all of the musical styles he pulls from. Whether he’s channeling Balkan Gypsies, French chanteuses or Mexican mariachis, it all sounds traditionally appropriate and yet somehow new. His compositions mesh world music so seamlessly that it’s hard to tell where one cultural influence ends and the other begins. He’s truly an awesome songwriter and musical arranger. That said, I don’t think he’s a particularly great musician. None of the Beirut band members are. They’re sloppy. I felt like I was watching a dress rehearsal. Their timing was all over the place and I got the sense that they hadn’t practiced as a group. It was like they all knew their individual parts, but got lost when they had to play them together. They fumbled over notes and missed cues. The horn section played at a different tempo from the bassist, who played at a different tempo from the drummer, who played at a different tempo from the accordionist…. They could’ve used a good metronome. While the idea of a backing orchestra (Vassar college students) was a good one, you couldn’t hear them. Either they weren’t properly mic’d or they weren’t properly mixed, not sure which. The strings were very faint, most of the time being completely blown out by the horn section. But I don’t know, maybe that’s their thing? Maybe it was supposed to feel like a bunch of friends getting together to mess around with weird instruments and jam at an opera hall. I’ll put aside my inner critic and appreciate the fun in that. It’s refreshing to see a group that doesn’t take themselves too seriously, that makes good music without being perfect. It’s kind of inspiring actually. My friend Erin and I are learning to play the accordion. I can play Mary Had A Little Lamb and Amazing Grace with modest success. At one point during the show Erin turned to me and said, “I can play the accordion as well as that dude, maybe even better.” We also turned to each other all giddy and were like, “this is rad!” Their music playing abilities and showmanship aren’t mind blowing, but it doesn’t matter because the songs are just that good. Beirut’s music makes me want to travel and hang out with buskers and drink wine from the bottle.
The view from where I sat (I finally got a phone with built in camera!).
Beirut – La Llorona
Beirut – My Night With The Prostitute From Marseille
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