- Beirut and Basia Bulat, Commodore Ballroom, Aug. 9. I arrived early to grab a spot in front of the stage for Beirut's first night of a two-night stand at the Commodore, and good thing I did - the crowd was passionate and enthusiastic, and before long we were in the centre of a crush of people.
It was also worth getting a good spot to see Basia Bulat, the opening act. A Canadian whose parents hail from Poland, she fit right in with the old world feel, and played five different instruments through her quick set: a ukulele, guitar, autoharp, a 90-year-old hammered dulcimer as well as a piano borrowed from Beirut. That's not including, of course, the song she sang a cappella.
Every time Bulat raised her voice the audience roared, and she would let out a nervously appreciative smile in response, appearing almost embarrassed at the love flung her way. It only served to egg on the fans, who immediately fell in love with her soft vocals.
Showing a modesty far out of proportion to her vast talents, Bulat even stayed at her merchandise table until the last soul left the building, selling CDs and chatting with fans.
The volume level jumped considerably as the six members of Beirut took the stage. Complete with a three-piece horn section, including lead singer Zach Condon on trumpet alongside a French horn and trombone, the band knew exactly how to fill up the room with sound.
Adding to the cacophony was the audience who let out an anticipatory cheer during the first few bars of almost every song. They also left plenty of quiet moments when the crowd could be heard singing the lyrics.
Beirut's sound is unlike almost anything on tour these days, combining the horns with an accordion, piano, bass and drums, with Kelly Pratt jumping between the French horn, trumpet and glockenspiel and Condon picking up the ukulele for a few songs.
Condon was all business for most of the show, choosing to bypass the small talk and save his voice for the music. Still, he took a short break midway through to announce the next song was for his wife, gesturing to the side of the room.
To his side, bandmate Pratt blew the notes of "Happy Birthday" on the trumpet, and the crowd joined in the festivities.
A highly memorable show with great musicianship, I will definitely look for tickets the next time the band swings through Vancouver.
Big smiles and shoeless grooves: Drummer Nick Petree was clearly enjoying himself, wearing a big smile throughout the entire show and occasionally sticking his tongue
out as he waved his head back and forth to the beat. At one point he was overcome with the music, and stood up from his stool and threw his hands into the air.
- Bassist Jason Poranski looked the opposite when he first stepped on stage, a little too subdued for the Commodore Ballroom. But after one song he slipped his shoes off, left them neatly arranged next to his spare instruments and, now wearing only socks, started to find his groove. The shoes didn't come back on again until the last few songs before the encore.
- At the end of the night the band came to the edge of the stage to share high fives with the crowd and hand out the set lists to fans, but apparently not everyone got what they were looking for. Just after the band had stepped out of view someone reached on stage to snag Condon's empty beer bottle. It will be a loved souvenir, no doubt.
