We arrived early, in time to see most of opening act Icy Demons’ set. A project of various Chicago musicians, I thought they were quite good, especially for an opening act. Their sound blurred the line between progressive rock and jazz. The lead singer fused in a bit of reggae as well. Another band to keep an eye on. Despite our early arrival, we kept to the back of the lowest section. It was not a show that we felt we need to be up as far as we could, mixing it up. The show was sold out but floor never became unbearably crowded.
I have seen Beirut several times before. While I don’t particularly love or am even able to name many individual songs, I have always enjoyed their overall sound. Their music is decidedly indie folk but with some Eastern European/Gypsy folk elements. It features lots of brass and the lead singer Zach Condon’s voice has kind of a haunting quality, though not quite to the extent of DeVotcka’s Nick Urata. The band started as a solo music project for multi-instrumentalist Condon, but evolved into a full band with rotating members. Presently, there were six members including Zach Сondon (trumpet/flugelhorn/ukulele), Nick Petree (drums/percussion/melodica), Paul Collins (electric bass/upright bass), Kyle Resnick (trumpet), Ben Lanz (trombone/sousaphone/glockenspiel), and Aaron Arntz (piano/keyboards).
In an interview with New York Magazine some years back, Condon explained the band’s name: “One of the reasons I named the band after that city was the fact that it’s seen a lot of conflict. It’s not a political position. I worried about that from the beginning. But it was such a catchy name. I mean, if things go down that are truly horrible, I’ll change it. But not now. It’s still a good analogy for my music. I haven’t been to Beirut, but I imagine it as this chic urban city surrounded by the ancient Muslim world. The place where things collide.” I agree that the name is fitting. In contrast to the sound exuded from the stage, the stage itself was pretty sparse, just the band and a few lights.
Unfortunately, I couldn’t find the specific setlist, and while I recognized all the songs, they mostly blurred together in my mind. Based on their average setlist from the tour, about a third of the songs on their setlist came from their recent album, No No No (2015). The remaining songs were pulled from various albums including four from Gulag Orkestar (2006), three each from The Flying Club Cup (2007) and The Rip Tide (2011), and one each from Elephant Gun (2007), March of the Zapotec (2009), and Realpeople Holland (2009).
Approximate Setlist:
Scenic World
Elephant Gun
East Harlem
As Needed
Perth
Santa Fe
No No No
August Holland
Postcards from Italy
The Rip Tide
The Shrew
My Night with the Prostitute from Marseille
Nantes
Fener
Serbian Cocek [A Hawk and a Hacksaw cover]
After the Curtain
So Allowed
Encore:
Pacheco
The Gulag Orkestar
In the Mausoleum
The Flying Club Cup
I have seen Beirut several times before. While I don’t particularly love or am even able to name many individual songs, I have always enjoyed their overall sound. Their music is decidedly indie folk but with some Eastern European/Gypsy folk elements. It features lots of brass and the lead singer Zach Condon’s voice has kind of a haunting quality, though not quite to the extent of DeVotcka’s Nick Urata. The band started as a solo music project for multi-instrumentalist Condon, but evolved into a full band with rotating members. Presently, there were six members including Zach Сondon (trumpet/flugelhorn/ukulele), Nick Petree (drums/percussion/melodica), Paul Collins (electric bass/upright bass), Kyle Resnick (trumpet), Ben Lanz (trombone/sousaphone/glockenspiel), and Aaron Arntz (piano/keyboards).
In an interview with New York Magazine some years back, Condon explained the band’s name: “One of the reasons I named the band after that city was the fact that it’s seen a lot of conflict. It’s not a political position. I worried about that from the beginning. But it was such a catchy name. I mean, if things go down that are truly horrible, I’ll change it. But not now. It’s still a good analogy for my music. I haven’t been to Beirut, but I imagine it as this chic urban city surrounded by the ancient Muslim world. The place where things collide.” I agree that the name is fitting. In contrast to the sound exuded from the stage, the stage itself was pretty sparse, just the band and a few lights.
Unfortunately, I couldn’t find the specific setlist, and while I recognized all the songs, they mostly blurred together in my mind. Based on their average setlist from the tour, about a third of the songs on their setlist came from their recent album, No No No (2015). The remaining songs were pulled from various albums including four from Gulag Orkestar (2006), three each from The Flying Club Cup (2007) and The Rip Tide (2011), and one each from Elephant Gun (2007), March of the Zapotec (2009), and Realpeople Holland (2009).
Approximate Setlist:
Scenic World
Elephant Gun
East Harlem
As Needed
Perth
Santa Fe
No No No
August Holland
Postcards from Italy
The Rip Tide
The Shrew
My Night with the Prostitute from Marseille
Nantes
Fener
Serbian Cocek [A Hawk and a Hacksaw cover]
After the Curtain
So Allowed
Encore:
Pacheco
The Gulag Orkestar
In the Mausoleum
The Flying Club Cup
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