Beirut: A band adding pieces to its puzzle

Since its official start in 2006, the mixed bag of music that is Beirut has been tagged a one-man band. Surely that comes down to the fact that the genre-hopping, oompah-cabaret compositions of Beirut come from a singular font: Zach Condon. His big voice, tenderly quixotic lyrics, and idealistic mash of Mexican, Eastern European, and indie-punk noise have been the often hyped front and center of 2006's Gulag Orkestar, 2007's The Flying Club Cup, and 2011's The Rip Tide.

But Paul Collins, Beirut bassist and bouzouki, is living proof that this band is not just one person. The pair met when out-of-towner Collins became a film student ("not a very good one," he says jokingly) at the University of New Mexico in Santa Fe, Condon's home. Condon already was a bedroom recorder when he showed up at a local concert Collins was playing.

"Zach showed up with a laptop, a trumpet and, his big old voice and I was completely knocked out," Collins says. "I told him that I wanted to help him any way that I could, and we became friends."

After Condon released the (mostly) self-recorded Gulag Orkestar, Collins became part of the live ensemble. On Beirut's next album, Collins played bouzouki. "So mature and intense - I never saw anyone take music so seriously," Collins says enthusiastically. "I heard him first as a fan and knew that his music should be heard. That was my goal. The people who surrounded him from the start were those who wanted to help him get those songs, that voice, and his vibe out there."

Collins doesn't think of Beirut's three albums, composed and (mostly) played by Condon, as personal statements. Instead, he sees Beirut as both a team that he is rooting for and part of. "I'm a piece of a puzzle," he says. "We work on these things together, but it's Zach's work above all else."

Yet Collins' work and that of other Beirut members is quickly becoming a bigger piece of Condon's puzzle with greater involvement from the band. The Rip Tide is a more inclusive work - a full-bodied effort that finds ProTools enthusiast Condon using live takes of rhythm sections and bits of the band playing together at once behind him. "Port of Call" is most indicative of the new band-inclusive vibe.

"Zach came in last minute with his ukulele for a special recording session, had this chord progression, and we as a unit made that chord progression into a song - that's pretty much a first," Collins says.

The bassist has his own thing to be thrilled about. Soft Landing, his cluttered cabaret-pop ensemble with Beirut accordionist Perrin Cloutier, was recorded by Griffin Rodriguez from Need New Body, Philly's clamorous spazz-punk legends. "I wouldn't be in Beirut if I hadn't seen Need New Body," Collins says. "That band changed my life. I have a soft spot in my heart for Philly." Collins will show how soft when he and Need New Body's Chris Powell (now in Man Man) spin a post-Beirut party at Johnny Brenda's. Sounds like a night.

Paul Collins, Chris "Pow Pow" Powell, and DJ Bearbait spin the Beirut After Party at 10 p.m. Sunday at Johnny Brenda's, 1201 N. Frankford Ave. Tickets: Free. Information: 215-739-9684, www.johnnybrendas.com.