So the second night of the Beirut shows was so much better than the first night that it’s hard to even sensibly compare them. Part of that had to do with me and my friends getting there much earlier, which meant that we had a much better position on the floor, but even still the difference was pretty shocking. The main thing that was better was the sound. I complained a lot about the sound of the first show and it was really night and day with this one. The sound guy still sucked, there were still little hiccups here and there, but it was enough better to make a huge difference. Finally the trumpet and french horn players didn’t have to kill themselves to be heard at all. And finally things were at least a bit balanced between all the elements.

I didn’t start out thinking thinks were going to come together like that. The sound for The Apple Miner Colony was terrible. That said, I’m not sure how much of that was really the fault of the sound guy. For one thing they had almost no electronic instruments, even the guitar and banjo were not mic’ed which made it hard to get a good sound I’m sure. Plus they had a ridiculous 25 members which would be difficult to get arranged right no matter what. That said I really liked them and I wish I could have gotten one of their albums. I think that recorded they probably sound great.

Next was The Brunettes and I liked them even more this time than last time. They are so much fun to watch live and the sound was much, much better. They even commented on how much better it was during their set, and they seemed to be having a lot more fun on stage. They were doing ridiculous things like dancing competitions and the whole set was awesome. They were so good that I’m going to see them tonight at the Rickshaw Stop, and I’m actually really excited about the show.

Finally Beirut. My complaints from the first night were simple, they didn’t play for long enough and they sounded super flat. Maybe it was because I was right at the front but they sounded great this time. Everything was loud and well balanced and harmonic. The band seemed to be much happier with the sound as well, and they played a much longer set than the first night. They played pretty much everything I wanted to hear, although this time they didn’t play Gulag Orkestar which is one of my favourites. Still they played like four encores or something like that and it was an amazing show. I’m so glad I went both nights.