Hooves on the Turf

I loved Tune Yard’s opening set–but more on that later. Here’s Beirut:

After covering Serge Gainsburg at last night’s show, Zach Condon of Beirut said, “We played that song more for us than for you, sorry.” That’s probably why it sounded great, and it’s probably why their strongest performances of the night were all covers, which included the final closer,”Brazil”, and a signature tune from A Hawk and the Hacksaw they were really excited about (Zach said “We will play it forever”). It wasn’t that these songs, written by someone else, were necessarily stronger compositions to begin with (though they were solid songs), but it felt like the band sounded best when it was least self-conscious, or least aware of its own fame, because it was distracted away from all of the “I love you Zach’s” by the songs they actually love playing. I guess this is more a criticism of the fame they’ve had to deal with than of the band itself, but last night’s show was not a show you’d want to pay $100 for on Craigslist. The songs felt like they needed to be out on the street again, or at the corner of some small cafe, like they needed to go back where they’d originated, come up for air–they’d lost a little bit of their spirit and a little bit of their love.

Here’s a video of the Hawk and a Hacksaw cover from last night’s show. I’ll post more next week.

If embedding this video please link to this page. Watch in HD.

It wasn’t a bad show by any means though–people couldn’t help smiling and everyone (except for us, I guess?) went home in a blissful state, but I felt like the original point of Beirut was missing just a little bit; that somehow fame had had its irreversible effect. And it’s kind of sad because all of the people who saw them live for the first time last night didn’t even see the best they’ve had to offer, yet went home thinking that they did see it, and what’s worse, totally satisfied with that thought. I maybe overreacting, though–after all, three of their key players were absent: Jason Poranski, Jon Natchez, and Kristin Ferebee. Was it temporary? I don’t know. Drummner Nicholas Petree and accordionist Perrin Cloutier (and I would even add bassist Paul Collins) held the show together, and I have to say that Zach Condon and Kelly Pratt leading the front is not going to be enough. Besides, the horns were sometimes sloppy (and Zach’s horn sounded way too loud compared to the rest).

After playing “Brazil” and before leaving the stage, Zach said, “We’re also available for barmitzvahs and weddings”, which is probably the only sincere thing I’ve ever heard him say at a show, ever, and it’s not because he lacks sincerity, but the spotlight seems to make him somewhat stiff and guarded. He still does his “fake laugh at the microphone” bit, which I wouldn’t even mention if I didn’t think it was a symptom of a larger awkwardness–he seems most relaxed when he’s turned around to face his band mates or when he’s lifted his horn and taken a few steps back to play it. I don’t think this is as much about stage fright as it is about being put out into the world for massive scrutiny (and here I am deploying my own version of such massive scrutiny). But still, I’m saying that I’d have so much more fun if they were playing a barmitzah or a wedding. Where was Jason Poranski?!

Listening to some of the new songs, I thought they were pretty good, and especially worth noting that they’re not really laden with hooks as such, which can sometimes be a sign of someone’s comfort with the process of songwriting. The parts I liked were the ones that seemed pretty close to the traditions they were inspired by. But I’m not sure what happened to the amazing new songs I’d heard at their last-minute show at the same venue back in May of 2008–they either didn’t play any of that or they were edited and played beyond recognition.

Music Hall of Williamsburg,
Brooklyn, New York
Feb 4, 2009