It’s a surprisingly cool autumn night in Los Angeles. The Hollywood Bowl presents yet another completely sold-out show, packed to the brim with friends sharing drinks and laughs. One individual amongst the crowd is Ed Droste. He’s not only the mastermind behind Grizzly Bear, but also a frequent collaborator with Beirut’s front man and principal songwriter, Zach Condon. Droste has undoubtedly come to show his support to his colleague’s band.
If Beirut is not on your list of bands to see live, than you are surely mistaken. Beirut’s live show may not sound as full or as produced as their studio albums (they were not accompanied by a violinist, mandolinist or guitarist), but they pull it off with a graceful esotericism performed by a six-piece band. The band consists of a trombone player, a trumpet player, an accordion player, a drummer, a bass player (switching between a standup and a double bass) and the talented multi-instrumentalist, Condon, playing not only the role of lead vocalist, but also exhibiting his diverse talent with a six-stringed ukulele, trumpet and piano. The backup harmonies provided by the other band members were right on pitch and added to the ambiance of the songs.
The band opened with “Nantes,” their most well-known song. But a traditional Cocek (Balkan) folk song easily stole the show. The instrumental song allowed the horn section to show off their talent as they took turns soloing to a high energy, mariachi/Eastern European-sounding tune. Other notable songs they played during their set included “Akara,” “The Shrew” and “Elephant Gun.”
Next up was Vampire Weekend, but not before they were introduced on stage by Nathan Fielder, an awkward, lanky man who has his own show on Comedy Central, Nathan For You. He invited “his girlfriend” on stage for what was a clearly staged proposal gone wrong. He began by “singing” to her, completely out of key, a sad excuse for a love song by Lonestar. Many of the audience members were clueless as to whether or not what was happening was real, while others laughed for the surreal comedic attempt. Finally, a member from Vampire Weekend tells Nathan’s “girlfriend” that she should just agree to the proposal so they can get on with the show.
Vampire Weekend never fails to show exuberance and talent in their live set. They got the crowd standing on their feet, moving and dancing by the first song. They opened with a handful of material from their first two albums Vampire Weekend and Contra. But too be honest, many of their high driving and energetic songs that can be heard on their studio albums were lost in translation in replace for what sounded like a lot of back-tracked synthesizers and electronic drums drowning out the sound of the band’s live instruments. These songs included “Diane Young,” “Step,” “Everlasting Arms” and “Ya Hey.” Is it a coincidence that all of these songs are from their newest record, Modern Vampires of the City? A record crammed with overproduced, but nonetheless, catchy songs.
Hearing more of their older material filled the void of lackluster songs with what made Vampire Weekend stand out on their first two records: the overall fast and upbeat grooves, the intricate drum patterns, the driving bass lines, the explosive chords and guitar solos reminiscent of surf rock.
Beirut Set List
1. Nantes
2. Mimizan
3. Postcards from Italy
4. East Harlem
5. Cocek (traditional folk song)
6. A Sunday Smile
7. The Akara
8. The Shrew
9. Elephant Gun
10. Cherbourg
11. Santa Fe
12. Vagabond
13. Coshen
Vampire Weekend Set List
1. Cousins
2. White Sky
3. Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa
4. Diane Young
5. Unbelievers
6. Holiday
7. Step
8. Horchata
9. Everlasting Arms
10. Finger Back
11. California English
12. A-Punk
13. Ya Hey
14, Don’t Lie
15. Campus
16. Oxford Comma
17. Giving Up The Gun
18. Obvious Bicycle
Encore:
19. Hannah Hunt
20. Walcott
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