When Zach Condon first oom-pah-pah‘ed his Balkan way into the indie consciousness, he found himself a warm home, snuggled in between the baroque pop of The Decemberists and the sonic parade of Neutral Milk Hotel, comfortably nested into a scene where the Rhineland reigned supreme. Hailed for his muli-instrument prowess, firm grasp on Balkan folk and Gypsy music, and especially his age (the wunderkind was a mere nineteen at the release of his highly praised Gulag Orkestar), Condon’s band Beirut were as cutting edge as they were ethnographically eclectic. Now three albums into their career, Beirut have expanded beyond their niche musical stylings and with an exercised sense of restraint on The Rip Tide, they’ve created an album that’s more focused on flexing Condon’s songwriting muscle and less on geo-tagging musical genres. In support of that album, Beirut brought horns a plenty to Houston’s Warehouse Live this past Halloween night, their first return visit since their momentous performance at the grand Free Press Summerfest music festival. Hit the jump for the full recap.

- sunbear
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