Belle and Sebastian at the Barbican
25-09-05
Sunday night’s concert was an almost formal affair and a far-cry from the last time I saw Belle and Sebastian, a year and a half ago in a tent at the Oxygen festival in County Kildare. They were one of the last acts of the night, so the tent was full of tired, wet, sweaty people. The Barbican on Sunday was a world away from that sweat and muck!
As we walked in we could hear the announcement; ‘Ladies and gentlemen, please take your seats in the auditorium as the performance will begin in 15 minutes.’ Inside the auditorium there were Belle and Sebastian fans above me in the Gallery and below me in the Stalls. And we all had fat, cushioned seats and generous arm-rests. I took my seat, full of excitement and anticipation.
I was sitting too far aware from the stage to tell you what the band were wearing when they finally came onstage, though it’s a pretty safe bet that Mr. Stevie Jackson was wearing a suit! They were there to play one of my all time favourite albums ‘If You’re Feeling Sinister’ in full, but the show started with a selection of other songs.
And almost from the first words of the first song (Slow Graffiti) Stuart was forgetting lyrics! As Stevie said later as he held up proceedings because he wasn’t ready; it added a sense of the old school Belle and Sebastian gig, a homage to the shambolics of 1996!
The opening songs including one brand new unreleased one, some less new ones and one very old one – Electronic Renaissance from the Tigermilk album. This was met with enthusiasm from the crowd and it sounded very, very cool. It made me regret the fancy, comfy seats. I wanted to get up and dance! This was to become a familiar feeling throughout a truly rocking show. It felt so wrong to sit through songs like Me and the Major and Mayfly! I resisted the urge as long as I could, out of shyness and fear of reproach from the people seating behind me, but I couldn’t sit through ‘Judy and the Dream of Horses’! I wasn’t the only one who felt this way and as the band launched into the first chorus people all around me leapt from their seats. It was a glorious moment!
All these people were still standing when the band finished the song and left the stage, and lots of others got up to join in the rapturous standing ovation which seemed to go one and on. And the applause just got louder and the screams and shrieks more excited when the band returned to the stage.
After that short break, I danced ecstatically to Woman’s Realm, The Boy with the Arab Strap, Wrong Girl, I’m A Cuckoo, If you find yourself caught in love and Dog on Wheels. They played songs from almost every album and covered their back-catalogue admirably. So many wonderful songs, performed with such joy and enthusiasm. There may have been some long gaps between songs while people swapped or tuned instruments, but in between the gaps the songs were faultless.
Listening to If You’re Feeling Sinister this evening it sounded a little flat and quiet after the energy, excitement and wonderful atmosphere of Sundays performance. I am looking forward to Belle and Sebastian’s new album and seeing what they come up with next.