video May 12, 2007
Weekend treat: Beirut’s “Gulag Orkestar”
Performance of “Gulag Orkestar” added to the Beirut’s 05.08 Bowery Ballroom video collection. More later.
Posts about Beirut
playing soon May 11, 2007
Beirut, Mum dates set for Wordless Music Series
As previously posted, Beirut, Mum and others will be playing the next season of Wordless Music Series. Some dates have now been listed by Pitchfork:
09-14 Do Make Say Think, TBA
09-24 Beirut, Colleen, TBA
09-25 Beirut, Colleen, TBA
09-26 Beirut, Colleen, TBA
10-09 Mum, TBA
10-10 Mum, TBA
Previously:
concert review, video May 9, 2007
Beirut at Bowery May 8th - videos + review
If you plan to embed these videos, please link to this page. I’ll be posting more clips from this show in the coming days.
“Siki Siki Baba” (encore w/ the Gulag Orkestar)
Beirut’s last show at its three-day Bowery Ballroom residency was an absolute blast. It’s rare to like a show considerably more the second time, but tonight’s celebratory spirit and awesome crowd were exceptional. Perhaps it’s the familiarity built in two prior nights and the festive mood of jovial goodbyes. The band members were in top shape, as they were on Sunday, but everyone seemed more laid back and cheerier. There was even an adequate supply of confetti, and Owen Pallett’s animator-friend took on the job of shooting strips of ribbons from the stage. Zach might’ve been a little more drunk, too, and whatever the reason, he was a spirited frontman tonight (he said that Owen Pallett commented he made the best drunk frontman). Cafe Eclectica Music has reported that he is relocating from Brooklyn to Paris after a quick break in Montreal after these NYC shows. Tonight he was insistent that France won the World Cup, even integrating the sentiment into the lyrics at one point. He explained, “Sorry, I love France.”
(More videos after the jump)
concert review May 7, 2007
Beirut at Bowery - photos + review
The magical experience of Beirut is under the threat of annoying Zach-Condon-worshipping female fans- not all female fans, of course not, but there is a lot willing to shamelessly steal other people’s front row spots and openly offer themselves to Zach. The latter is excusable, though irritating (depending on the delivery/person), but pushing and shoving, trampling over each other even, as they did towards the end, to simply grab the set list from Zach was disturbing. Needless to say, I am also not a fan of continuous yelling of messages at the band, though half of these are usually fun. But people get carried away sometimes. One girl actually yelled, “You cancelled last year” (a band member responded by joking, “Security!”). New York is the only US city getting a Beirut treat at this time of the year when all other dates are non-US. Two fans next to me had driven all the way from Balitmore, and there seemed to be other out-of-towners, too, and I, for one, am thankful that these three dates were rescheduled. That they went to the trouble of bringing Gulag Okestar out, that they have Final Fantasy with them this time, that the performance was worth all the trouble fans have to go through and so on.
(Photos and review continue after the jump)
concert review May 7, 2007
Final Fantasy at Bowery - photos + review
Night one of three NYC shows with Beirut at Bowery Ballroom, and Owen Pallett / Final Fantasy did not disappoint. He spins a colorful world by weaving layer after layer on his violin and then some on keys. His voice is crisp, sounding exactly like in recording (woo-hoo), though he did not hesitate to drop a line he’d started to try it again. In the meantime, he shared his admiration of Zach Condon’s projection, calling himself a “pussy behind the microphone.” On stage, Owen is easily humble, charming and funny. In addition to old favorites like “Adventure.exe” and “It Took You Two Years to Win My Heart,” he played some new tunes, one of them being “Flare Gun.”
(Photos and review continue after the jump)
playing soon April 30, 2007
Three new Beirut NYC dates for the fall
Download Beirut’s KEXP SXSW session (from NPR)
(Pictured: Iceland’s Múm)
Yes, in other Wordless Music news, I am psyched for its second season that begins in September. Beirut will play three nights, though dates are yet to be confirmed- or if they have been, they haven’t been announced yet. The season will also feature Jonny Greenwood of Radiohead in addition to Múm, Do Make Say Think, Max Richter, Bing & Ruth, Valgeir Sigurdsson, Nico Muhly, etc.
hooves on the turf is a mostly-music blog based out of brooklyn. i can be reached at hoovesontheturf [at] gmail [dot] com - please send me your lovely music as an attached mp3 or an mp3 link. if i like what you send, i'll be sure to ask for more.
