Photos: Beirut Live on KEXP [Chicago, IL; 10/03/07]

Photos by Sanchez and Kitahara

With all the tours we report on a daily basis, it's easy to forget they're actual events that involve real people losing sleep and spending days in vans just to play their music for an hour or so before doing it all over again.

When Beirut arrived at Chicago's Engine Studios yesterday for a live radio session on KEXP, they inadvertently reminded me of the reality of touring with their mussed hair, dirty clothes, and general grogginess. But they didn't need to look rested to play their six-song set like pros. All they needed was a little warm-up (which, due mostly to the band's instrumentation, looked and felt like a high school band rehearsal) and the presence of bandleader Zach Condon's strong vibrato.



That voice would probably sound good over rush hour traffic, and I feel bad for the bandmate that has to harmonize with him. But the whole ensemble gave five songs from The Flying Club Cup and one traditional ("Cocek") a casual feel that suited the music well, allowing those of us present to drift in and out of Condon's already dream-like world.



The set was a prelude to Beirut's show tonight at the Portage Theater, and when the session's host asked Condon if the band plans to ease up on the touring any time soon, he responded, "You go until you collapse, basically." That's great, guys, but please don't actually collapse.

More photos and tour dates below.



Setlist:

Nantes
A Sunday Smile
Cocek
Forks and Knives (La Fête)
Cherbourg
The Penalty

Hear the whole thing HERE.



















Beirut:

10-04 Chicago, IL - Portage Theater #
10-08 San Francisco, CA - Herbst Theater #
10-09 San Francisco, CA - Herbst Theater #
10-10 Los Angeles, CA - Avalon #
10-11 Los Angeles, CA - Avalon #
11-06 Manchester, England - Club Academy
11-07 Glasgow, Scotland - The Arches
11-08 Leeds, England - Irish Centre
11-09 Cardiff, Wales - The Point (Swn Festival)
11-10 London, England - The Roundhouse
11-12 Paris, France - Olympia (Inrocks Festival)
11-13 Strasbourg, France - La Laiterie (Inrocks Festiival)
11-14 Brussels, Belgium - Botanique
11-15 Amsterdam, Netherlands - Paradiso
11-16 Lille, France - Grand Mix
11-18 Copenhagen, Denmark - Vega
11-19 Hamburg, Germany - Fabrik
11-20 Cologne, Germany - Kulturkirche
11-21 Munich, Germany - Elserhalle
11-22 Schorndorf, Germany - Manufaktur
11-24 Lyon, France - Ninkashi
11-25 Zurich, Switzerland - Mascotte

# with Colleen