We went to see Belle & Sebastian on Sunday night. Some reflections on the experience:
The Music
I can say that they lived up to my expectations. While I reckon ½ of what they played was material I didn’t know, I could still nod my head and tap my foot in time. Mid-way through the concert, 5 or 6 of them stayed on stage while the rest had a break, and they mucked around with an ACDC track.
The Musicians
Like a Mini-orchestra – very talented bunch, but not surprising given they formed as part of a music college project. 12 people on stage most of the time, with a core group of 7 that were on the stage all the time. Everyone on stage seemed to be really into the music they were playing.
They spared no effort in reproducing the sound they create on the albums, using trumpets, French horns, shakey things, recorders and other unnameable instruments. Apart from the drummer and main keyboardist, most of the musicians swapped instrument at least once during the concert (acoustic guitar, keyboard, bass, electric guitar, aforementioned novelty instruments). 5 strings players (1 cellist, 4 violinists) came on and off the stage as needed. Three of them sing, with Stuart Murdoch taking the lead in most instances. Only thing we could complain about is the bass, which wasn’t mixed very well and vibrated just a bit too much.
The Stage Antics
The lead singer is very funny, in a likeable, goofy kind of way. They all had fun, showing off, mucking about, and joking with each other and the crowd. At the end, they let some people get up on the stage and dance, and the concert ended with the very accessible B&S band members posing with the fans for their cameras/mobile phone cameras, which was a bit of a different way to end a concert.
The Fans
As I always find with concerts, there are fans that spend so much time thinking about their fave band that they seem to think they have more of a relationship with the band than they actually do. They shout out obscure references to lyrics or things that go over most people’s heads. There were a few more people like this than usual in the crowd.
Boogie-ability
As I alluded to earlier, most of their work is foot-tapping, head-nodding stuff, with possibly the exception of “Boy with the Arab Strap” and “Seeing Other People”. The lead singer boogied away most of the night when he didn’t have a guitar or keyboard in front of him, and his dancing style reminded me of Ian Curtis’s or a less drugged-out version of the dancing guy from the Happy Mondays (Bez).
Rating – 8/10
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