When Beirut cancelled their Harvest Festival sideshow at the Enmore Theatre in Sydney in 2012, I was devastated. So I went and indulged in excellent Lebanese food down the road in their honor/my sorrow. My chance to see Zach Condon live finally came this past weekend though, at half the price, in true New York music-scene style. Headlining the 6th Northside Festival in Brooklyn NY alongside the War On Drugs, Beirut, emerged to a huge reception from the crowd staked out at the brand new outdoor venue 50 Kent on the East River in Williamsburg.
The hoard of beautiful instruments, and the multi-skilled musicians in Beirut are seriously impressive. The crowd became more + more excited the more instruments were carried onto stage, especially when the freshly shined Euphonium came out last behind an equally as elegant cello. A soft start had Condon seemingly grow with confidence as the show went on, accepting roses from the crowd and bowing repeatedly mid-set.
Condon’s mariachi exposure from his New Mexican roots is obviously prevalent, but especially so when you see the band in a live environment and perform such a well put-together set in perfect harmony. The symphony of instruments in Elephant Gun was a proper jam, with said glorious euphonium shining from the stage like a beacon. Also interesting was seeing the proper electronic vibes coming from the stage for Port Of Call. The band took a fun electronic take to the live version only emphasizing their diverse talents further.
In 2011 Condon told The Guardian, “I had a rule as a teenager – that if I didn’t write a hook or a melody it wasn’t time to go to bed yet. Until I got some chord progression or melody that would raise the hairs on the back of my neck, I wouldn’t allow myself to get to sleep. I needed it every night.” Whilst I could recline and listen to Condon’s voice all day; the moment in each song where he pulls back from the mic to illuminate the song further with his trumpet, or conch shell, or flugelhorn, is exactly that; hair raising. And just beautiful.
Touching his trumpet back to his lips ever so slightly after his final encore, you could tell we weren’t the only ones who didn’t want the night to end.
- Leilani Williams
