[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.

Here are some of the bands and people I encountered throughout the day.

Afrobeta

Fans

Modeselektor

Le Castle Vania

Let’s Rage!

Holy Ghost

Fans

Datsik

Crystal Method

A Fan

Steve Aoki

Fans

Kaskade

Link: http://www.midlandathome.com/

Every First Friday is unique. Here is an example of the sites from the first First Friday of 2011.

Cultural Cannibals ‘Haiti – Toussaint L’Ouverture’ Shirt Release at the Atheneum ArtSpace

IndySwank at Fountain Square

Britt DeMaris Leiendecker at The Murphy Building, Fountain Square.

People For Urban Progress at The Murphy Building, Fountain Square.

Art Studio at the Murphy Building, Fountain Square.

K. Sabroso at Voir Art de Fletcher, Fountain Sqaure.

Art Display at Voir Art De Fletcher, Fountain Square.

For November’s First Friday in Fountain Square, I headed out to longtime hot spot Radio Radio to photograph one of my very favorite local bands, Tonos Triad. I was pretty stoked. They were having a CD Release show for their latest album Typewriters And Tarantulas. They ran through every song from the new release, as well as their good ‘ol “oldies.”

Bob Brown of Fishers, Indiana is attempting to establish a Guinness World Record, and with his impressive assortment of 29 handmade shadow boxes filled with a total of 770 chocolate bars that meet the requirements stated by Guinness; such as different weights, being in a rectangular or oblong shape, and chocolate being the main ingredient, along with a notarized witness statement and a very detailed spreadsheet, I would say he has it in the bag.

It was a cool autumn weekend, which not only provided ideal weather conditions for transporting his chocolate collection from his home in Fishers to the Castleton Square Mall, but also brought many curious on-lookers to the indoor event.  I would say just in the hour or so that I was there, around 100 people came by to take it all in. I overheard many gasps and statements such as, “I forgot all about that one!” and “I wonder where he found that?”
Brown is proud, excited and anxious to be attempting something as profound as a Guinness World Record.  When asked what gave him the idea to collect candy bars, Brown said, “Aside from my love for chocolate, in January of 2006 I discovered that my favorite candy bar from my childhood, the Marathon bar, was no longer made. So I began to wonder how many other chocolate bars have been discontinued, and how many from the present day will no longer be available 20 years from now?”

What has emerged from that very question is an awe-inspiring array of chocolate bars from all around the world, in colorful wrappers and neat little boxes skillfully incased in wooden display boxes that Brown made with his own hands.

Good luck, Bob Brown. The city of Indianapolis is rooting for you.

Music?!  Art?!  Wait… MUSIC?  From all over the WORLD?  We are SO there!

Chicha Libre - http://www.barbesrecords.com/chicha.html

Kinobe And Soul Beat Africa – http://www.kinobemusic.com/

The music. Ahhh… it was beautiful.  Being that it was World Music, most of the lyrics weren’t understood, but these performers got the point across. Every facial expression, every heartfelt hand gesture and every chest-thumping beat bore right into your very soul.

Emilene Michel – http://www.emeline-michel.com/

Sierre Leone’s Refugee All Stars – http://www.refugeeallstars.org/

Red Baraat – http://www.redbaraat.com/

Is it cliche to begin something with “it was a dark and stormy night?” Probably, but for the Lotus Festival, it was raining — HARD! Kirkwood became a river and water streamed in and around the tents strategically placed around downtown Bloomington. This may have made it difficult to get from tent to tent and fully experience everything that was Lotus, but it did not deter the masses from coming out and celebrating the best in traditional and contemporary world music.

With the weather, we focused on one tent for the night and three bands.

Rupa & The April Fishes started out the evening with their agit-pop blend of French postmodern chansons, latin interpretation and celebratory explosions. They stayed close to their latest release Extroadinary Rendition along with a sampling of their upcoming release esta mundo. You can sample a new track from the upcoming album here: http://rupaandtheaprilfishes.bandcamp.com/track/free-download-culpa-de-la-luna

By the end of Rupa’s set, the crowd completely filled up the tent. Once Los De Abajo took the stage, people grabbed up what little space that was left to dance to the merengue, ska, and mariachi sounds that sometimes blurred the lines of punk rock and spontaneous chaos. The performance was energetic, powerful, and loud, really loud. Overall Los De Abajos sent out a powerful message to today’s world culture and proved that the youth were still getting restless.

And if that was not enough to exhaust you, then Bajofondo did it with their blend of acoustic tango and electronic music. This Rioplatense band consisting of members from Argentina and Uruguay brought so much energy to Bloomington that people kept piling in to catch a glimpse of the band’s sexy hip shaking sound.

Collaborating with the finest in contemporary musicians from Elvis Costello to Nelly Furtado, Mardulce became a smash success around the world. And the band has not stopped being gracious for that success, stopping after nearly every song to give thanks to the people who were in turn giving respect to them. The band jumped around, while the crowd jumped even higher and before it was all over, the stage was a festival of its own as people climbed up to dance around with the band. Most spectators had no clue that at some point, the rain stopped and the moon draped a warming glow over the Lotus Fest.

Links:

Rupa & The April Fishes: http://www.myspace.com/aprilfishes
Los De Abajos: http://www.myspace.com/losdeabajoska
Bajofondo: http://www.myspace.com/bajofondomardulce

Rupa & The April Fishes

Los De Abajos

Bajofondo