speed of dark

Brandon Bethancourt of Alaska In Winter

Alaska In Winter opened for the last date of Beirut's American tour at the Avalon in Hollywood last Thursday night. The compositions, arrangements, and most of the recording under this name was done by one person, Brandon Bethancourt, with help in the studio from Heather Trost of A Hawk and a Hacksaw, Stephanie Lamm, Zach Condon of Beirut, and others. Under those circumstances, there is no actual live band, so Bethancourt handled the problem with a clever ploy: his backing band consisted of a montage of videos on a large screen at the back of the stage, showing mostly himself but others as well, playing the various recorded parts on widely-varied instruments. Bethancourt's live vocals were thus accompanied in a way that displayed rather than hid the range of his talent.

The exception was the first number, "Dance Party In the Balkans," performed with some of Beirut's band members.


Setlist:
1. Dance Party In the Balkans
2. The Beautiful Burial flowers
3. Rain on Every Weekend
4. The Homeless and the Hummingbirds
5. Your Red Dress
6. Balkan Lowrider Anthem
7. Staring at the Sun
8. Close Your Eyes

To further add interest to the performance, as Bethancourt performed the songs on his debut CD Dance Party In the Balkans, he did what at first appeared to be a slow strip-tease, removing the dark blue jacket, two shirts, a pair of pants, and even his shoes at one point, but never his fur hat. "I have to match my 'band,'" he explained, meaning the virtual band in the videos.

Click through the thumbnails to watch the costume changes through the set:

Through several e-mail exchanges and an e-mail interview, I have come to like this young man very much, and I was especially charmed by his shy humor during this show. Although he could not vary his pre-recorded arrangements, he ad-libbed some lines into the lyrics to add a personal touch to the evening's performance. For example, he should have put the jacket back on during the last number, but it was too hot; and he sang about that!

Here is an example of one of the backing videos, which Brandon uploaded on Youtube. This song is "Balkan Lowrider Anthem," one of my favorites:



Alaska In Winter's next concert appearance will be on November 14 with Austin band The Octopus Project at Launchpad! in Albuquerque, NM.

Last Saturday I posted an Interview with Alaska In Winter in which, I am extremely embarrassed to say, I spelled Brandon's name wrong.

Many thanks to Brandon for getting me the press pass to this concert, and to Andrea from Live Nation for her patience, persistence, and trust.

MySpace | Website | Label: Regular Beat Records
Buy at Regular Beat Store, HMV, Rough Trade, and Amazon-U.K.

Tomorrow's post will feature the other performers at this concert: Beirut and Colleen.