Beirut

Beirut, originally uploaded by jellybeanz.

The following review will be presented in a style to re-create the experience of watching a Beirut gig

*Whoop-clap* It’s odd how a relationship with music changes over time. In 2007 […blackberry…], Flying Club Cup was my most listened to album […Myspace…] by miles, and […Yeah!…] at the time it seemed to sum up my favourite things in music. Maybe it was overplayed, but *loud claps* now almost two years on, the album doesn’t really feel as special as it did at the time. *Some people take pictures of themselves at a gig* The recent double EP […dinner…] was also a small disappointment, with a few moments of greatness in amongst other songs that aren’t really as memorable.

[…please can you stop talking so loudly…]

However in tonight’s set it was actually some of the ‘newer’ songs that came off better. In particular the material from the March of the Zapotac[…talks through the songs that aren’t on *the* album…]. The more familiar songs […oh I’m off, need to get somewhere else before 11…] meanwhile seemed more ploddy than usual.

The hour or so they played passed by quickly, but the problem was that I couldn’t enjoy it fully. The Forum is probably one of the worst medium sized venues for amplifying audience chatter, but when you have people clapping and whooping in the middle of songs, chatting loudly right next to you and crushed together, you really start to wonder what great music is worth all the trouble.

Favourite gigs of 2007

1. Daft Punk @ Wamu Theater, Seattle, WA, USA – 29th July
2. !!!, Holy Fuck, Midnight Juggernauts @ Koko, London, UK – 7th November
3. Dan Deacon @ The Dome, London UK – 7th December
4. Capitol Hill Block Party @ Seattle, WA, USA – 27th July
Girl Talk @ Bardens Boudoir, London, UK – 11th December
Matt and Kim and Jonquil @ The Barfly, London, UK – 9th November
5. Electrelane @ Koko, London, UK – 29th November
6. Acoustic Ladyland @ the Zodiac, Oxford UK – 29th April
7. Grizzly Bear @ the Scala, London, UK – 21st May
8. Silver Mt Zion and Jonquil @ the Zodiac, London, UK – 3rd May
9. Youthmovies, TTNG, Jonquil, Meet me in St Louis @ a house party, Oxford, UK 14th April
10. Beirut @ Rough Trade East, London, UK – 5th November
11. The Shins @ Bush Hall, London, UK – 26th February
12. Forward Russia @ Borderline, London, UK – 6th December

Favourite albums of 2007

1. Beirut – The Flying Club Cup
2. Justice – Cross
3. Jonquil – Lions
4. Holy Fuck – LP
5. Super Furry Animals – Hey Venus!
6. Daft Punk – Alive 2007
7. Keyboard Choir – Mizen Head to Gascanae Sound
8. Eugene McGuinness – The Early Learnings of…
9. Electrelane – No Shouts No Calls
10. Herman Dune – Giant
11. Tegan and Sara – The Con
12. Menomena – Friend and Foe

And a special mention for In Rainbows by Radiohead. When I paid £40 for the boxset, it really did seem like it cost too much, but when the boxset arrived it was worth every penny.

Non gig post

Back in April, I briefly wrote about the takeaway shows, a series of videos of bands performing in and around Paris. In the last few months they’ve posted videos of Final Fantasy running down the street, Beirut performing on a street corner, little kiddies dancing to Menomena and Liars drumming a lift. But now, in the collision of some of my favourite things this year, there is a video of Jonquil performing in a park. Their songs don’t have quite the same impact without the rolling drums, but there’s something quite special about the way they sound stripped down.

PS. I wished the crowd at the Beirut gig on Saturday reacted to the last song like this (another classic Blogotheque video). English audiences sometimes are a bit rubbish