Grizzly Bear & Beirut Announce Intimate Obama Benefit Gig

Friday 10/17 @ NYC's Horticultural Society (8PM).

Entry fee is $100 a head.

Nico Muhly will also be appearing on the bill.

For further info, head here.

UPDATE: This is a private invite only event!

MP3: Grizzly Bear - Shift (Acoustic)

The World Of B-Sides & Rarities, #613

Beirut - Scenic World (Live @ McCarren Park)

A great performance from the summer of 2006.

Visit Beirut on MySpace.

MP3: Beirut - Scenic World (Live @ McCarren Park)

The World Of B-Sides & Rarities, #467

Beirut - The Canals Of Our City (Live On KLRU)

A goodie from SXSW 2007.

Visit Beirut at the band's official site.

MP3: Beirut - The Canals... (Live On KLRU)

Beirut Visits KEXP, Again

KEXP's manager of online servies, Aaron Starkey, had this to say about the performance: *"They were able to transform a friendly and warm but ultimately generic studio into a timeless Eastern European cafe for the 25 minutes that they played."*

Setlist:
Nantes
A Sunday Smile
Cocek
Forks & Knives (La Fete)
Cherbourg
The Penalty

MP3: Beirut - Live On KEXP, 10/2007 (via NPR)

The World Of B-Sides & Rarities, #344

Beirut - Postcards From Italy (Live @ McCarren Park)

A great show indeed, I can attest to that.

Read my review of Beirut @ Bowery here.

Visit Beirut at their official site.

MP3: Beirut - Postcards From Italy (Live @ McCarren Park)

Beirut Visits Jools Holland

Enjoy 'A Sunday Smile' below. Download the Flying Club Cup tune at bottom of post.

MP3: Beirut - A Sunday Smile

The World Of B-Sides & Rarities, #258

Beirut - Live On KEXP

Keep up to date on Beirut at the band's official site.

Read my review of Beirut @ Bowery Ballroom here.

Follow this link to enjoy the sounds of KEXP.

MP3: Beirut - Live On KEXP

MTV Discovers Beirut

Took them long enough! Watch the full feature below. Enjoy a Beirut MP3 at bottom.


MP3: Beirut - A Sunday Smile

The World Of B-Sides & Rarities, #167

Beirut - A Sunday Smile (Live On KEXP)

See what else is on the horizon for KEXP here.

Follow this link for upcoming Beirut tour dates.

Photo courtesy of Spin.

MP3: Beirut - A Sunday Smile (Live On KEXP)

Beirut Brings 'Cup' To YouTube

To celebrate the band's stellar sophomore LP, The Flying Club Cup (out today), Beirut has posted a series of live clips from recent NYC gigs/impromptu sessions on their official YouTube page. Check out my favorites plus an MP3 from the album below.

'Nantes'


'In The Mausoleum'


'Cliquot'

MP3: Beirut - Nantes

Playing Catch-Up With 'The Take Away Shows'

Over the course of the last few weeks, there have been some truly stunning 'Take Away' performances, organized by the fine folks at La Blogotheque. Enjoy 3 of my faves below. Learn more about 'The Take Away' shows via this link. Download various MP3s at bottom.

Beirut - Nantes

Jose Gonzales - How Low

Final Fantasy - Horsetail Feathers

MP3s: Final Fantasy - Peach Plum Pear (Joanna Newsom cover) + Beirut - A Sunday Smile

Final Fantasy Covers New Beirut Song In Paris

See below for a clip of Owen Pallett tackling Beirut's 'Cliquot', off of the latter's upcoming LP, The Flying Club Cup. Learn more about that release (cover art, track listing) here.


MP3s: Final Fantasy - Adventure.exe + Beirut - After The Curtain

Beirut Releases Track Listing + Cover Art For Sophomore LP

Can't wait for this one!

Check out The Flying Club Cup's full track listing plus an old-school Beirut MP3 below. The LP is due out on October 9th.

1. A Call To Arms
2. Nantes
3. A Sunday Smile
4. Guyamas Sonora
5. Le Banlieu
6. Cliquot
7. The Penalty
8. Forks and Knives (La Fete)
9. In The Mausoleum
10. Un Dernier Verre (Pour la Route)
11. Cherbourg
12. St. Apollonia
13. The Flying Club Cup

MP3: Beirut - Scenic World

Beirut Gets Nostalgic In New Vid

Beirut has just (finally) delivered their clip to Gulag Orkestar's stunning tune, 'Postcards From Italy'. You can't help but falling in love with this one! MP3 of tune at bottom.


MP3: Beirut - Postcards From Italy

White Rabbits Discuss Blog Love + Collaborating With Beirut

White Rabbits singer, Greg Roberts spills the beans to NME: "We have two new songs that we're recording that we've been playing... We're really excited about them. One is called 'Cotillion Blues' and the other one has yet to be named. It sounds like a New Orleans band or something. Our friend (Jon Natchez) who plays in Beirut came in and played some horns on it. The other one is our newest song and we're really excited about it. And we're doing a Randy Newman cover 'Beehive State'".

Regarding the group's recent buzzworthy status, Greg proclaims: "The reception over all hasn't been out of control which is kind of good... I feel like we're doing things the right way. It feels more like a genuine response than a sensationalised kind of hype. It's always more rewarding for a band to feel like you're earning your keep rather than just becoming overnight stars, I don't think any of us would be comfortable doing that... If we ever do achieve any kind of acclaim of that level I'll feel like we went about it the right way. We will see if that happens some day."

Check out some of my photos from the band's superb Siren performance last Saturday, here. Keep up on all things White Rabbits over at the band's MySpace page, via this link.

MP3: White Rabbits - Kid On My Shoulders

Beirut Announces 3 More NYC Shows + Reissues 'Elephant Gun'

First things first, the next batch of Beirut shows are as follows: September 24th, 25th and 26th @ NYC's Society For Ethical Culture.

Keep on eye on The Worldless Music Series' official site for more info as it becomes publicly available.

Secondly, Bitchfork is reporting that Beirut is set to reissue his 'Elephant Gun' single as a 7" with French ditty, 'La Moribond' (by Jacques Brel) as the tune's B-side.

I guess Zach wasn't joking when he told us, earlier this year, that he's currently infatuated with 'old French songs'. Beirut enthusiasts can pick up the UK-only vinyl on June 25th.

MP3: Beirut - Postcards From Italy

Beirut and Final Fantasy @ Bowery 5/6: And Then, Arcade Fire Came Out

I kept preparing to leave. I had been up early, went to work, walked from the Upper East to Murray Hill and my feet hurt. All I wanted to do was lie down. I was about to ask my friend standing next to me if he thought there would be any surprises during the encore…and then Arcade Fire came out.

Let me start from the beginning. Owen Pallett under the moniker Final Fantasy, simply put, creates breathtaking music. He is the art brut Itzhak Perlman. From start to finish, his set last night was tremendous. I grew up listening to classical music and if the next time I see Pallett is at Avery Fisher Hall, I wouldn’t be surprised.

I am in agreement with Matt that the projections behind Pallett were at first distracting. When they began I thought, I much rather watch Pallett hammer at his violin than that. Eventually though, they became symbiotic with the music. Some of the designs were great, beautiful, art. Pallett’s final piece included the members of Beirut and with their help became this soaring cross pollination of styles that set up the collaborations for the evening wonderfully.

When the blogosphere was first abuzz with the sounds of Beirut, my reaction was, what is the big deal? When I saw them live for the first time last summer, I finally understood what the fuss was about. Last night’s show cemented that premature crown placed on their head a year ago. The band’s horn work is familiar if you have ever listened to traditional Eastern European or Latin music, yet fresh sounding. The addition of the older French sound to their repertoire is perfectly placed, though taken a lot more literally from genre. The instrumentation in all of their songs is seamlessly orchestrated and each one is uplifting and joyful. And what really makes Beirut work though is that every single person on that stage is so happy to be there, so full of energy and glee that they are literally bouncing.

All in all, it was a great night for music at Bowery. One of the better ones I have seen in quite awhile. And in the end, even if Arcade Fire had not been there, it still would have been a magical night. I’ll be back Tuesday for the final show.

I was in the back and my little point and shoot wasn't up to taking pictures like this dude standing next to me. Great great shot. Head over to Brooklyn Vegan for more pictures and a review.

For those unable to hit the show, or those who want to relive it, the whole thing was recorded for a new MTV initiative called URGE. You can download it for free over on their site.

Beirut & Final Fantasy @ Bowery: I Want Your Sax

What a night down on Delancey Street. Not only did the evening start off with the always delightful, Final Fantasy (Owen Pallett), it continued with the strongest set I've seen Beirut perform to date, as well as an encore-opening Arcade Fire cameo. What more could you possibly ask for?

Final Fantasy came out around 9:30 to a very eager crowd, of which he performed selections from both his albums (with a focus on Has A Good Home) as well as a bevy of new tracks, to be featured on his upcoming record entitled Heartland.

In spite of the fact that we weren't treated to his ridiculously clever Mariah Carey cover, like last time we saw him at Mercury Lounge (video and review here), Final Fantasy was still terrific. In fact, this time, unlike the last, we were even treated to a slide show via old school projection screen! While at first the images seemed rather random, it slowly grew into becoming an integral part of the set - melding with Owen's lyrics and instrumentation perfectly.

I highly recommend arriving early should you be headed to Bowery tonight or tomorrow, the second and third (final) night of the Beirut/Final Fantasy double bill. Take a listen to one of my favorite FF tracks (of which he played last night, hooray!) below.

MP3: Final Fantasy - Took You Two Years To Win My Heart

I'm so thankful that Urge recorded last night's gig for a soon-to-be-released live EP because it was truly a spectactular evening from start to finish.

While the last time Jen & I saw Beirut, down at McCarren this past summer (pics here), I was slightly underwhelmed with their set, this time around I found myself absolutely adoring their live show. The setlist included all the big guns from Beirut's debut LP and various EPs as well has some new tracks to be included on the band's forthcoming disc, due out this September (inspired by old French songs).

Final Fantasy joined Beirut for the majority of the band's 65-minute set, bringing the total number of people on stage to double digits.

However, that tally only grew as multiple members of The Arcade Fire joined the spectacle to assist Beirut and Final Fantasy for the first song of the encore. The collaboration was simply amazing. Did you take our slutty advice and check out the gig? Don't complain we didn't give you advance warning on this one!

MP3: Beirut - Mount Wroclai (Idle Days)

Beirut's Next LP Out In September; Influenced By 'Old French Songs'

Zach Condon speaks to Billboard and shares the following about Beirut's upcoming full-length:

"I've finished what I'm capable of doing, and from here, I'm taking it to mixing... Owen Pallet [of Montreal group Final Fantasy] is going to help out with some string arrangements. The influences are coming from a different place; it's not heavily a Balkan aesthetic. I was listening to a lot of old French songs, but I'm taking it in my direction."

"Without eschewing the old-world feel of "Gulag Orkestar," the new material is more varied in approach. Iinstead of every instrument on every song, we're getting a bit more creative... I like the idea of every song sounding like a different band. It's fun to have these songs written out, but then have infinite possibilities to turn them into something else."

The Beirut frontman then goes on to say that one tune sounds like 'an old organ grinder song'. The album is due out in September, expect to hear a few of these new tracks at Beirut's 3-night stand at Bowery Ballroom, May 6th thru 8th alongside opener, Final Fantasy.

(photo via Spin)

MP3: Beirut - Mount Wroclai (live on KEXP)

Beirut Gets Dramatic In 'Elephant Gun'

Here's some clips from Beirut's new video for 'Elephant Gun' off of their recently released Lon Gisland EP. The clip was shot in LA immediately following the band's visit to SXSW two weeks back.





Images via the always wonderful, 4ad. I can't wait to see the finished product! Zach (middle photo, guy on the right) looks smashing with the fake 'stache and auburn suit.

NYC folks, don't forget there's still a few (by that, we mean very few) tickets left to see Beirut with Final Fantasy at Bowery Ballroom on May 8th. The shows on the 6th and 7th are all sold out. Purchase those HERE!

MP3: Beirut - Elephant Gun