Sunday 25 September 2011

Beirut at Brixton Academy

Having received critical acclaim for their newest album, The Rip Tide, the queue snaking down the side of The Brixton Academy was a testament to the success Beirut has become.
     With support from tUnE-yArDs, the evening got underway with Merrill Garbus' rhythmic beats, looping, ukulele strumming, and something that could have been yodelling mixed with the wail of a police car's siren - which isn't necessarily a bad thing. With such an extraordinarily powerful voice, from the offset, Garbus silenced the audience, no mean feat for a support band, who often are ignored by those who only care to see the main act.
     Bizness combined chirpy harmonies (all created one at a time on stage and looped together) with an African-influenced drum rhythm, and a repetitive and highly catchy saxophone part to create a melodic symposium of contrasting sounds, that somehow worked together. tUnE-yArDs softer side was shown on Powa, a more laid-back, bluesy song than 'Bizness', and one in which the full extent of Merrill Garbus' vocal range was witnessed. The whole set was truly inspirational and it seemed that the whole of Brixton Academy was captivated by the exceptional talent Garbus possesses for creating music so unlike any other artist.
 
Opening with Scenic World, Beirut began their set with an explosion of noise, combining an accordion, bass, trombone and trumpets in a truly European sounding way. Brixton Academy is a huge venue, and yet none of the sound was lost on the room - instead the deep drones of the brass penetrated every corner of the building, and Zach Condon's voice, filled with such emotion and power touched everyone.  
    Postcards From Italy on the other hand, was a lot more stripped back (well for Beirut anyway..), with a simple ukulele riff keeping a gentle pulse, whilst the brass section perfectly blended into the background - still audible, but not overpowering. Perhaps one of the most exciting aspects of the evening though was the sighting of the sousaphone (a large tuba), which featured on quite a few of the songs including Cocek, a purely instrumental number, that could have been straight out of Kazakhstan - if Borat walked out onto the stage at that moment I wouldn't have been surprised.  
   After leaving the stage, Zach Condon and friends returned for an encore of no less than 6 songs, and I did have to question at what point an encore stops being an encore, and just the second half after the interval... But nonetheless, it was very much appreciated, as the audience wasn't ready for the evening to finish. Goshen, one of the few Beirut songs featuring a piano, was a true highlight of the set.  The simple, understated song was not typically 'Beirut' and without the added frills of trumpets and accordions; but it was beautifully crafted, and a breath of fresh air after the richness of some of their other songs.
     Musically, it was a stunning set. The extraordinary variety of instruments fit perfectly with Condon's melodic voice, and every song had the audience singing and dancing along. However, it seemed that Beirut lacked confidence in their stage presence. Condon appeared overwhelmed by the mass of people in front of him, and hardly spoke to the audience throughout the set. Overall though, it was a fantastic evening which could only be improved by Beirut's engagement with their audience matching the musical excellence on show.


7 comments:

  1. fantastic review as always - keep them coming!
    Jo x

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  3. This is a lovely review, I'm going to give Beirut a listen :-) x

    http://www.therosy-tintedflash.blogspot.com

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  4. you should! - I'd love to know what you think of them :)
    Flora x

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  5. The tune-yards are one of my favorite bands!!

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  6. Beirut is such a phenomenal band, I'm going to try my best to get a photo pass for their show here in Philadelphia later this fall.

    -Courtney

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  7. they were absolutely amazing live - definitely go see them if you can!
    Flora x

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