Beirut
Live at Bogarts
Cincinnati, Ohio
November 11, 2011

[Article by Andrew Duncan]

I admit that I was one of those people who geeked out over the 11.11.11 time rarity. I had it all planned from my waking moments not to miss that magical celebration when the clock turned over not once but twice. It was my own personal New Year’s Eve just for one minute. Like when I streamed the final shuttle launch, I knew I will never experience this moment again in my lifetime. My office became the center of the universe as I picked a specific song to help celebrate 11:11 a.m.; it was AC/DC’s “For Those About To Rock (We Salute You).” I felt that to be an appropriate departure from the morning, although a somewhat traditional rock song that bodes a simple call and response. For those about to rock, we salute you! It was Friday, a lovely post-autumn day, and a day filled with anticipation for the night to come. Thank you, I will accept that salute. Not that I was going to rock out in the traditional rock and roll sense of being, but it was going to be a night to remember with arrays of traditionalism meets indie modernism.

I have always wanted to see Beirut. It’s a moment I never thought I would get to experience and maybe never will again in my lifetime. It’s been flowing through my veins since seeing the Take Away Show videos online with them doing “Nantes” and “The Penalty.” It led me to the even more amazing “St. Apollonia,” This video has meant so much to me and perfect in every sense. The way the video starts so simple and organic, built around a mysterious backdrop. How beautiful and delicate the song develops is entrancing. And when the band communicates as a whole and the camera pans around each member, it reminds me of the way Orson Wells used natural sound to filter in and out of clubs in the beginning shot of Touch Of Evil. By the end of “St. Apollonia,” you feel like it was all just a dream.

And maybe that was what Bogarts was to me, just a dream. With a club that is primarily geared to the hard rockers and the rowdy, Beirut was a calm surprise to be listed to perform in Cincinnati’s Clifton area.

I have not been to Bogarts in about a decade. The last time I experienced the club was Mr. Bungle performing their California album. Times have changed. No more is there a Sudsy Malone’s across the street taunting those to come for a late night rendezvous of drink, underground music, and a chance to get caught up on your laundry. A lot of the shops surrounding the club lies vacant. It’s like Bogarts survived the war and they are the lone soldiers of musical justice left standing, a beacon to one of the great rock clubs in the Midwest. And as many concerts I have attended shows at Bogarts have stuck with me as being the most memorable. This night is no different.

A sold out show, Beirut had every open space in the club filled. Despite the sea of people stretching across the floor, it was a kinder, gentler crowd. And when Zachary Francis Condon and his band took the stage, physical space no longer mattered.

The stage set up was simple: scattered instruments were propped within reach of the musician, the band spread across the stage in a traditional manner. Horns on one side, rhythm on the other. Strands of lights trailed from the stage out into the audience, like a charming Old World festival accentuating the group’s song and celebration.

Cheers upon cheers were met by Perrin Cloutier’s accordion as he broke the crowd noise and the band launched into “Scenic World.” As the song developed, you immediately got a feel for the mystic and charm the night would behold. When the horns came together for that chorus, their exuberance was felt by all and waves of approval echoed across the room.

By the time the band went into “Elephant Gun,” the crowd swooned, sang along and swooned again. Beirut sounded great and in true form. You could hear any point of the band from any angle of the song, be it a full blast of horns or the intimate introduction on “A Sunday Smile” from The Flying Club Cup, that ended in the band’s bravado blowing fan’s minds and opening hearts. The dedicated were truly dedicated.

Something surprised me. When the band went into the songs “Sante Fe” and “East Harlem,” both from their recent venture The Rip Tide, the crowd went crazy, dancing and singing along like they were songs that have been with the band for years. It was a true feeling of gratitude that could be felt from the audience, to the band and back again.

The hour plus set gracefully bounced around their three album. And with an encore that featured four more morsels (“The Penalty,” “My Night With The Prostitute From Marseille,” “The Gulag Orkestar,” and “Servian Cocek”), we got one more dose of true musicianship that included a wicked tuba solo transitioning into one horn solo to another in true jazz fashion.

Hoping to fulfill the other side of the 11:11 time orbit with sounds of Beirut echoing into the night, the show ended well before 11 p.m. The only thing I could think about in that one minute of the 11th hour was not just how I wanted more from this band, but how memorable this show was to not just myself but hundreds of other people.