Kiosk: Burning Hot in Beirut

There were fewer than a hundred people at Metro Al Madina's small theater in Beirut during Kiosk's concert Wednesday night but the energy shot through the roof. Arash Sobhani along with band mate Mohmmad Talani, gave a thundering performance as if they were back in Tehran after eight years of exile.

The audience -- a mix of local Iranians, Lebanese and some Europeans and Americans -- seemed to enjoy every song, even though many didn't understand Persian. Special guest Zeid Hamdan, one of Lebanon's most celebrated alternative singer/songwriters, gave a heartfelt performance of a few of his hits accompanied by two brilliant Syrian musicians, Khalid Omran on contrabass on Dani Shukri on drums.

"It was great," Mohammad said after the show. "I don't know, in a strange way it was different than all our other concerts. I think maybe it was because we were close to Tehran."

Arash added: "We had not performed our songs so close to Iran. It's really bad that we can perform in Istanbul or Beirut but we can't in Tehran. Hopefully one day anyone can have a concert wherever he likes."

The concert was an appropriate climax to Arash and Mohammad's tour of the region. They visited Istanbul, Cairo (minus Mohammad: he wasn't given a visa on his Iranian passport) and Beirut, to meet alternative musicians and discuss the role and impact of music on social and political change.

Their message on stage could not have been more political. They started off with a song by Fereydoun Farrokhzad, an outspoken critic who was assassinated in 1992, called "Shab Bood, Biaban Bood" (It Was Night, It Was the Desert) and ended with "Mashti Mashallah", a song by another protest singer, the late Fereydoun Foroughi. Before almost every song, Arash made sure everyone knew his lyrics were targeting the Islamic Republic.

Few Iranians bands have performed in Beirut so naturally Kiosk's concert drew lots of media attention at a time of growing tensions in the region. On the morning of the concert, for the first time in a long time, Lebanese army soldiers were patrolling Hamra St. where Metro is located. It was a sign that recent bomb attacks in Lebanon and the looming American military action against the Assad regime were causing security concerns even in traditionally safe neighborhoods.

Luckily there were no incidents during our five-day stay. In fact we all felt like we were in Tehran, minus the compulsory hijab.

I hope you enjoy these clips from the concert.