Beirut: not just in Lebanon!

I saw Beirut play last night at the Grand Ballroom. This was quite a feat, considering the tickets have been sold out for awhile, and I only found out about the show on Monday night. However, it's amazing what some cash slipped to a security guard in cahoots with the scalpers around the corner from the door can accomplish. In this case, it accomplished three passes for me, Lauren, and Peter (after a solid 20 minutes, however, of lingering around the front of the venue, attempting to talk down the scalper's prices and otherwise looking suspicious). And despite having to relocate ourselves in the crowd after a brief and unpleasant stint next to the drunkest people in the place, the show was amazing. I want to know how it feels to have a voice like Zach Condon. You know, the kind of voice that doesn't even need music, or even words, really. But I'm glad there is music, because I'm such a sucker for horns and ukeleles, both of which Beirut has in abundance. It's the perfect music for swaying, which is what a majority of the audience seemed to do throughout most of the show. If you've never looked out at a crowd of hundreds of people swaying blissfully, let me tell you that it's very comforting. And as an added bonus, they played not one, not two, but three encores. All in all, a satisfying experience.