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March 21, 2006

Belle and Sebastian


Update: This is the 3rd time I've seen them and I'd have to say it was an even better show than when Eugene and I saw them in Berkeley. Getting to have the New Pornographers open was a special bonus at tonight's show. And despite being an especially weird venue, the Concourse Exhibition Center (home to comic book conventions) allowed for a giant crowd while still letting folks get close to the stage.

Seeing Belle and Sebastian is sort of like going to a dorky summer camp. Everyone has their own favorite parts and there are some loosely traditional elements (like getting someone to come up and dance on stage). It's also the best behaved concert crowd I've run across. Except, of course, that each person really wants to hear his or her favorite song and the range of favorite songs is seemingly quite broad. But since they closed with my favoritest song, I'm stoked.

Here's the set list for the curious:
  1. Stars of Track and Field
  2. Another Sunny Day
  3. Funny Little Frog
  4. Sukie in the Graveyard (apparently about an SF Art Institute student)
  5. If You're Feeling Sinister
  6. Electronic Renaissance
  7. Song for Sunshine
  8. We are the Sleepyheads
  9. Piazza, New York catcher (folks love hearing their hometown mentioned in a song)
  10. Fox in the Snow
  11. She's Losing It
  12. Your Cover's Blown
  13. Dog on Wheels
  14. I'm a Cuckoo
  15. Jonathan David
  16. White Collar Boy
  17. Judy and the Dream of Horses
  18. Simple Things (first encore)
  19. Boy with the Arab Strap (second encore)

7 comments:

Matt said...

Are there any more B&S songs like Electronic Renaissance? I love that one.

goldman said...

To my knowledge, it's unique - their one foray into electro.

It was a highlight of the show. They played up the danciness to a silly extent.

Matt said...

Stuart Murdoch was interviewed by Terry Gross earlier this month. It was a nice little interview. I learned that he lives/lived in a church, and he called songwriting an exercise in writing "bad poetry."

Kat said...

Hi Jason:

Please let me know if you are in charged of blogger administration. I need your help ASAP.

Kisses!

goldman said...

The best ways to get help with Blogger are:

1) the help site

2) the help group

3) contacting Blogger support

James said...

I thought B&S was awesome. The New Pornos was not so much. Was the sound as crappy where you were as it was where I was? And were there as many talking-while-a quiet-song-is-playing jerkfaces hip-grinding against their annoying girlfriends?

goldman said...

I thought he sound was surprisingly decent at the Concourse Exhibition Center ... maybe I wasn't expecting much from the place that also houses bridal gown shows.

But the New Pornographers definitely didn't sound as full as they do on the albums ... it's the 2nd time I've seen them and I don't think they do the live show very well.

There was a dearth of hip-grinding in my quadrant of the crowd. More pogo'ing and quietly respectful mouthing of lyrics.