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.