Hi Sinisters,
This just appeared on the B&S News page:
"Stuart Murdoch will be selecting the "Tracks of My
Years" on BBC Radio 2 every morning for the week Aug
2nd - 6th. The feature is part of the Ken Bruce show,
although as Ken is on holiday, the show is being
presented by Stuart Maconie.
Guests on "Tracks of My Years" select two songs a day,
songs which were either inspirational or which
symbolise a special period in their life, then they
have a wee chat explaining why they chose them.
The Ken Bruce is on between 9.30am and twelve noon.
The "Tracks of My Years" feature is "usually" on at
around 10.30am I believe."
Tailormade for The Pinefox, especially following the
revelation that our Struan is also a big Lloyd Cole
fan. What's the betting on Felt, Chicago & Andrew Gold
making an appearance amongst the artists chosen?
Sadly I shall be on my annual hols next week, so would
anyone like to record these spots for me, please?
Thanks,
Love
David
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+-+ "sinsietr is a bit freaky" - stuart david, looper +-+
+-+ "legion of bedroom saddo devotees" "peculiarly deranged fanbase" +-+
+-+ "pasty-faced vegan geeks... and we LOST!" - NME April 2000 +-+
+-+ "frighteningly named Sinister List organisation" - NME May 2000 +-+
+-+ "sick posse of f**ked in the head psycho-fans" - NME June 2001 +-+
+-+ Nee, nee mun pish, chan pai dee kwa +-+
+-+ Snipp snapp snut, sa var sagan slut! +-+
+-------------------------------------------------------------------------+
If you take a map of London, and draw a line from the church of St. Lucie's
in Old Street to that of St. Anne in Limehouse, you will notice that the
line's mid-point falls somewhere on the Bethnal Green road. I was astonished
to discover last saturday that the exact location of this midpoint is in a
public house called The Pleasure Unit. I was there last Saturday, attending
an event billing itself as The First Bowlie All-Dayer.
It went on all day, or at least from shortly after 3.00pm to around 2.00am,
and a number of bands played (as did a number of DJs). Visual artists also
had their work projected onto a wall for our additional entertainment. There
have been some posts on the subject already, I notice, and a frank exchange
of views between Mr Hester and the singer in one of the day's bands. Tribute
acts are funny old things, and they will always have an inescapable lack of
coolness. However, I find even half-decent examples of the genre
entertaining, and the Brunettie band were considerably better than that.
They provided me with much entertainment. It's an odd experience seeing a
band fronted by someone you know from the internet who are actually good
and stuff. Blimey.
I didn't like all the other acts, but I was very taken with this rockist
outfit called Echobeat. They rocked. I like things that rock. I also liked
Language of Flowers, but I maybe did not pay them enough attention as I was
DJing afterwards, and having to play amazingly good tunes in only 15 minutes
was a bit of a trial. I did my best. After that popular band Wintergreen
were on. Are they actually popular? Perhaps they are if MarkH came all the
way to see them. I liked them, anyway. I also liked Mad Mr Chris Gimour, a
Glasgow scenester some of you might know, who sang songs referencing the KLF
with lyrics about how bad he is.
then there was the Pinefox, who said:
> I am awaiting a post from The Vicar, which will
> redress the balance, about the DJs, the Brunetties, et
> al - we like the Kontroversy - and also tell about the
> medieval walls and things that we explored, recently.
I like controversy too, but only when it involves other people. The other
DJs were great. I particularly liked the chap who played 'Live Is Life', and
the version by Opus, not Laibach. What a funny fellow.
And as for mediaeval walls, what the Pinefox is talking about is the trip
Rener, the Fox, and I all made to Canterbury last week. They have mediaeval
walls there. And a cathedral. Whenever the Pinefox saw the cathedral he made
an aaa-aaa-aaaaaah noise, like the music in some film about Canterbury he
saw recently. The day before we went to The Globe in London, where these
women were appearing in a Shakespeare play. One of them was Josie Lawrence,
which was nice. The play was Much Ado About Nothing, and it was the usual
Shakespeare stuff about misunderstandings and stuff.
> That was exciting. The Vicar also has something to say
> about Rats.
Yes, I am reading a book about rats. They carry disease and spoil your food,
but they are also cute little fellows who make great pets.
Now I am back home in Dublin, where I am likely to remain for some time. Oh
well.
bless you all,
DV
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+-+ "sinsietr is a bit freaky" - stuart david, looper +-+
+-+ "legion of bedroom saddo devotees" "peculiarly deranged fanbase" +-+
+-+ "pasty-faced vegan geeks... and we LOST!" - NME April 2000 +-+
+-+ "frighteningly named Sinister List organisation" - NME May 2000 +-+
+-+ "sick posse of f**ked in the head psycho-fans" - NME June 2001 +-+
+-+ Nee, nee mun pish, chan pai dee kwa +-+
+-+ Snipp snapp snut, sa var sagan slut! +-+
+-------------------------------------------------------------------------+
Dear Sinisters and Sinistrines
[(Back to) Experimental Jet-set]
I don't know how much experimental, as long as the time I am actually
spending in the laboratory grinding spinaches in dense and sticky sugar
blobs is getting shorter and shorter, but definitely back to jet-set.
After a spent spinning around essentially any single country in Europe,
essentially to justify the fact I have been ripping of money (my not well
deserved at all payroll) our of (swindled) EU taxpayer, and rather
stationary year in Lundun town, in which I've swindled the UK taxpayer
instead, they have decided to board me on plane for another commonwealth
partner: Canada! Actually just to take stress the fact that I can't speak a
single word of French apart from Rene Arnoux, Alan Prost and La Pastie de la
Burguisie (although all of them pronounced with a quite tick Italian accent)
I've been shipped, I guess is the right term considering the budget problem
of the college I'm allegedly working for, to Montreal, Quebec, on the last
week of August. That makes the case for a couple of extra week to be spent
there, before being shipped back as a damaged good. I think one of reason I
keep on doing the work I do, don't ask exactly what it is because especially
at present have exactly no clue, is that the people **in the field** get
together in some lovely location. Few years ago, the university I used to
work for gave me the chance to spend some times in Australia, and that was
kind of a dream of youth coming trough. Most of people I talk to after that
was quite disappointed by the fact I have spent more time looking at
penguins rather then kangaroos and koalas, but they should have expected
from me to do something bizarre al least. Talking about childhood dream, I
think Canada as always been the other place I wanted to visit, must be
because of all of the Jack London's books I've read as toddler, and now I
feel quite excited at the idea I am going to be there in just a few weeks.
Although is not going to be winter and I won't be travelling on the infinite
snow and ice landscape riding a sledge. I am clearly attracted by open
spaces. That is probably why I wanted to be a sailor. Or an astronaut. I
guess everybody in the late seventies wanted to be an astronaut wearing a
silver suit and riding a space rocket. I don't know how I got think I would
have enjoyed playing the game of being a **scientist**, is it true I am?Â…not
quite sureÂ… Anyway I think a shiny silver suit would look much better then a
lab coat, even if some people can wear them with a certain class, I might
admit, I am not one of them.
[The case of murder classic]
You go to conferences and sent abstract of what you have done in the years
(what I have I done?). Some people get selected to talk. THEY get selected
to give a talk, some other get selected to provide entertainment, some for
both. Well, entertainment generally is not meant to be provided by
conference attendees, but it seems to be the case this yearÂ… One of the guy
I briefly work with, in France, without managing to learn the language.. oh
yes, I can say Renault and Citroen tooÂ… has been asked to play with his
blues band (?!?) after the lecturesÂ… probably the only thing he remembered
about myself were some odd stomp-boxes I use to built in the cellar. Apart
from a rather odd look, quite scientific I'd say, more then everything else
I have done in so-called-academia for several years now. To cut a long story
short I received this unexpected email asking if I wanted to play some tunes
as well. That would make me an active part of the conference for once, at
least till a gave up the bad habit of shouting at speakersÂ…oooppsssÂ…. I am
not sure if that I REALLY going to happen, but if so, my plan is to play,
well essentially destroy, a few B&S "classic"Â…well thought that some people
from the Montreal sister posse might have liked to have a good laugh at me
getting essentially completely shit-faced in front of the rest of the
**scientific community** and if you'll only sing alone I will be happy then.
Although I fear my Ph.D supervisor would deny he has ever known me, despite
having the name on the same papers.
" he should be an homonymous"
He'll said.
I'll deny I know him either.
[Somerset House]
I went to the fist gig at the Somerset house, a couple of weeks ago.
As soon as THE band stated to play the fist couple of songs from
Tigermilking I thought I was going to faint if they were going to do it all,
especially Electronic Renaissance, which would be fantastic to hear on stage
for once [I never had the chance to attend to any of the so-called "golden
age" performance]. Despite a tiny bit of disappointment for a few seconds I
really had a great time dancing around in choreographic style and waving
multicoloured fluorescent sticks for most of the gig.
I think that the 2-pint glasses they were serving at the bar were geniuses
as well. We've lost Mr. Chu at a certain point, I hope he didn't drown in
one of them as he allegedly has a few. Well, actually what's the point of
queuing at the bar two times when you can have two pints in a go? Well, 4 or
6 depending on the degree of juggling, acrobatic handling etc etc
[My Recent Record Addictions]
I don't know if you're really interested in that, but though it might be
nice scare some of recent, and less recent really, passion for a few bands.
Some of them have really rocked a couple of months of mine at least. So here
they are:
I had the new Bonnie Prince Billie (singing Greatest Palace Music) for a
while but haven't listen to it properly for a long while. I suddenly
discovered how much I really love the records just a couple of weeks ago.
Having literally fell in love with the first couple of Palace records,
especially the fist one (Palace brothers), I found it nice but a bit strange
to hear the same songs in the a more complete and flavoured rich
arrangement, almost in a sort of traditional Nashville-style country, but as
I stated to enjoy that, it became addictiveÂ… without many doubts, I think,
Will You Miss Me When I Burn, is one of the best song of the last 20 years..
will almost sound good if I do play that in the morning and with a bad
hangover, If I could ever manage that.
System Officer. This is a quite obscure record. I can't remember having
seen it around much, or ever reviewed. Was stupidly attracted by the cover
at a Pinback gig and decided I might have like itÂ…well I DO! So it wasn't
silly at all. It is 3 Mile Pilot back in action. It is only an EP, but the
song called system officer (just for a change) is sort of stuck to my Cd
player and can't really dare to take it offÂ… makes me danceÂ… especially when
tooth-brushing in the morning. The Dudley Corporation supported Pinback and
they were absolutely grand. They rocked nearly more then usual, they have
got class!
Mclusky. The difference between me and you is that I'm not on fire. I was a
bit suspicious when the new Mclucky record came outÂ… Do Dallas was a
masterpiece, hardly difficult to be repeated. In fact the new record despite
the usually sharp and clever Steve Albini I don't think is quite as good as
the one before. Although it is anyway superb. The opening song 'without MSG
I am nothing' is a bliss of genius.
Geoff Farina. The Usonian Dream Sequence. This is a rather old record, is
about 3-5 years old, or something like that. Remember of that because of a
song called 'not about a birthday'Â… in the middle of our special night if
you'll leave it will be alright, I'm never really satisfied, a slow kiss and
a bottle of wine, doesn't make everything Ok, so I am leaving anyway, hope
that you don't mindÂ… it was two of the people I care most for a couple of
weeks ago, and by chance, out of the blue, I remembered the song and how
much I liked and listened to this record when it came out, should have been
more or less the same time as BWTAT if I'm rightÂ… I had to listen to that as
well in succession.
And FinallyÂ… my favourites for a couple of years, essentially
THE EXPLOSION IN THE SKY!!! The are a revelation. On stage is a sort of
half mystic experience. I think they have the best song titles for
instrumental music as wellÂ… and record title as well. Those who tell the
truth shall die, does who tell the truth shall live forever. I think the
second part of the sentence is true, although often happens that they rather
die: the first songs shouldn't have been anything but 'greet death': I'll
do, of course! Â…on the 'the earth is not a dead cold place' got a couple of
songs that almost move me to tears each time I hear them 'first breath after
coma' and especially 'your hands in mine'. I can't listen to this song
without thinking how different my life should have been right today if I
were not a bloody idiot. But I am and can just live on memories. And
memories for how nice can heart. Is amazing how sometimes there is no need
for words to explain things. TEITS seems to know that quite well. Will be
back soon on the CD drive when my teeth will unrealistically shiny because
of System Officer.
Hope all of you are fine
Love and happiness
stefano
:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:
Stephano
School of Biological Sciences
Queen Mary, University of London
Mile End Road
London E1 4NS
:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:
Department of Biology
University College London
Gower Street
London WC1E 6BT
:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:
E-mail: s.santabarbara(a)qmul.ac.uk
:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:
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+-+ "sinsietr is a bit freaky" - stuart david, looper +-+
+-+ "legion of bedroom saddo devotees" "peculiarly deranged fanbase" +-+
+-+ "pasty-faced vegan geeks... and we LOST!" - NME April 2000 +-+
+-+ "frighteningly named Sinister List organisation" - NME May 2000 +-+
+-+ "sick posse of f**ked in the head psycho-fans" - NME June 2001 +-+
+-+ Nee, nee mun pish, chan pai dee kwa +-+
+-+ Snipp snapp snut, sa var sagan slut! +-+
+-------------------------------------------------------------------------+
Hello summer-fun kids and the list that still manages to bind us,
Again, time has whipped past me like some drunken bastard riding his
bike on the sidewalk. And again I have cursed it though it was far
too gone in all ways to have mattered. But at least it's still
summer. I've been riding my bike a lot, quite soberly, and too often
at dusk when all the bugs come out, making me wish I had a windscreen
for my face, or at least my mouth (blargh, bugs.) But dusk is still a
good time for bike riding, though I know from elementary school
visits from traffic police that it is also the worst time because the
low light plays tricks on drivers' eyes, kids, and they can't see you
as you chase a ball into the street or ride your bike wildly, hands
off handlebars, all over your neighbourhood. Yes, I know it, but
there's still a thrill in being a fast-moving shadow in the haze of a
slow summer evening. Death and bugs aside for a moment at least.
But right, I like the reporting back. It's all Good Ol' Days and
strange. It got me thinking about the first time I saw B&S in 2001,
how it was quite nice but something was off - partly that what had
been private was suddenly being shared by a theatre full of people
(yes, as you've said) and partly because the show happened two days
after the world trade centre attack. I recall thinking, as more and
more people joined their friends last-minute in front of me in line
(where I had arrived much earlier. Much.), that we'd all be more
aware of, er, humanity or at least other people as thinking feeling
things. But no, people prefered to bristle rather than smile, pose
rather than recognize a commonality. And maybe it was all too big a
show - too much spectacle and hype, too big a theatre with all its
velvet seats and gold trim and not enough audience to fill it either
with bodies or pomp. I enjoyed myself, but despite so much. Then in
the spring I saw B&S in Toronto, just before flying to England for
the first time. And it was one of the greatest shows I'd ever seen -
all fun and excitement, friends and dancing, and a cheerful,
confident band (plus The Aisler's Set!) It was the starter's pistol
to my holiday and freakin' hell did I run.
I supposed I'm talking about the Alignment of the Universe or Right
Place, Right Time things. Or I'm talking about getting older and
trying not to look back too hard on the past, but to see it as an
environment of which I was an active part. But then, maybe I've been
setting up a bizarre environment for myself right now that affects my
backwards view: tonight I've been writing articles about grad student
"life" (how do I rope myself, hangman's knots and all, into these
things?), reading "Watchmen" (how long has this taken me? I read the
first quarter six months ago and have ripped through the rest in the
past two days.), reading Foucault and Foucault criticism (ooh, ah,
ooh, etc.), watching 10 grindingly dull minutes of "Pearl Harbour" on
the CBCtv (and assuming that if a bomber plane scene can be dull then
the rest of the movie must be unwatchable crud), and unsuccessfully
defragging my aged computator. An environment for Nostaligia
Disaster, I know, I know.
I saw Camera Obscura a few days ago too, for the first time. I
started listening to them just over two years ago, so you see how
this ties together? It does (/me makes complicated tying motion with
fingers). The show was really lovely though a lot of people (esp the
French-speakers) had a tough time with the Scottish accents. Which
just added to the overall greatness, of course. They played all the
right songs and ended on "80s Fan", so what else can you ask for?
(Except the strength to not bluddy cry during that last one - what
the hell? These connections our brains make between songs and people
and times and things can be crippling even to women of steel such as
me.) I also rode my bike there.
I did not ride my bike to England in the early spring though. But I
did see several Sinister types again, and that was nice. This time
the holiday did not ressemble a race, nor did any grand event begin
it; it just seemed to happen, and a lot of it happened under cloudy
skies. I would never complain about clouds or rain though, not coming
from where I come from, and I would never complain about the weather
when given the opportunity to go to England or anywhere else. No, I
guess I mention it because the sky sets a mood that you can move in
and out of but not really escape (it being the sky). This sky made me
feel shadowlike, as dusk does, but slow and pensive. So there I was,
a slow and pensive shadow moving through London on foot or by bus (no
bikes, none), falling far too much in love with the A-Z (does it not
seem when you have no answers that something that appears to have
them all is most saviour-like? Though I now know that our salvation
couldn't possibly be in the A-Z, at least not the A-Z mini version.),
and generally letting things happen. Like going to Brighton on a
stormy day, getting drunk on more than one occassion, getting only
slightly lost on more than one occassion, looking at art, getting a
hate on for the Collection of History in Old Musty Places Far Away
from Where History Happened, doing some dancing, cooing at my
friend's new and amazing baby, getting rained on, reading, eating
haggis, making a conscious effort to Think Less, Feel More or
something silly like that (which never works, not even when watching
back to back episodes of Nick and Jessica: Newlyweds.) All necessary
and good.
A while ago Ken C. wrote about karaoke and I thought: How badly do I
want to karaoke to "Stay Loose" with Ken Chu? Very, very badly. I'm a
good back-up singer, Ken. Consider it. The last thing I karaoked was
"Sweet Child O' Mine" (it is a standard), before that "Little Red
Corvette" (which a friend told me afterwards was like an "indie-rock
spoken word version". haha!) I wish my local karaoke nite had more
indie pop. And by "more" I mean "any indie pop at all". (sorry to any
I offended with the use of indie-pop and indie-rock. I remember when
the debates raged for days over such terms. Those times have passed.
What have we moved on to now?) No, really, what have we moved on to
now? I'm going to listen to some music, ride my bike, read things and
do as much frolicking-in-summer as I can while you compose your
thoughts into email versions much more succinct and concrete than
this beast I'm about to hit send on despite so much.
Balloons with your name on them,
Robyn
=====
I was reading the dictionary. I thought it was a poem about everything. ~Steven Wright
~~~
Robyn Fadden rfadden(a)yahoo.com Montreal, QC
__________________________________
Do you Yahoo!?
Yahoo! Mail Address AutoComplete - You start. We finish.
http://promotions.yahoo.com/new_mail
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+-+ "sinsietr is a bit freaky" - stuart david, looper +-+
+-+ "legion of bedroom saddo devotees" "peculiarly deranged fanbase" +-+
+-+ "pasty-faced vegan geeks... and we LOST!" - NME April 2000 +-+
+-+ "frighteningly named Sinister List organisation" - NME May 2000 +-+
+-+ "sick posse of f**ked in the head psycho-fans" - NME June 2001 +-+
+-+ Nee, nee mun pish, chan pai dee kwa +-+
+-+ Snipp snapp snut, sa var sagan slut! +-+
+-------------------------------------------------------------------------+
my, i haven't posted in so long i feel unqualified to
forward this message from Stuart's diary. But I'm doing it
only because it reminds me why I like Sinister things,
like Belle & Sebastian.
hello to all,
Stevie.
>Hi
>If you have a ticket for tomorrow night's show in Brisbane
>(Wednesday 28th July) and you want to come and see us >tonight for free, just come down! Bring your ticket and we'll >let you in. We'll probably do an almost completely different >show.
>Two for the price of one..
>Also, if you've never seen the band and you fancy coming >to see us tonight, just come down and say that "Stuart said >it would be cool if I came down". They'll let you in. It's >doubtful that you would be reading this, but you never >know...
>If you're on one of the affiliated sites, Sinister or Bowlie for >instance, can you put the word around? Thank you. I can't >access our New's page from here, so not many people will >read this perhaps..
>See youse..
>Stuart
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To send to the list mail sinister(a)missprint.org. To unsubscribe
send "unsubscribe sinister" or "unsubscribe sinister-digest" to
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+-+ "sinsietr is a bit freaky" - stuart david, looper +-+
+-+ "legion of bedroom saddo devotees" "peculiarly deranged fanbase" +-+
+-+ "pasty-faced vegan geeks... and we LOST!" - NME April 2000 +-+
+-+ "frighteningly named Sinister List organisation" - NME May 2000 +-+
+-+ "sick posse of f**ked in the head psycho-fans" - NME June 2001 +-+
+-+ Nee, nee mun pish, chan pai dee kwa +-+
+-+ Snipp snapp snut, sa var sagan slut! +-+
+-------------------------------------------------------------------------+
hello,
here goes...
My lovely friend and I arrived at the Enmore Theatre at about 8pm, expecting to see Architecture in Helsinki kicking off their set, but they obviously started earlier and we only caught three or so songs. They seemed a bit boring though, which was disappointing as I like their records. Their last song (The Owls Go) was pretty good. This was my first time to the Enmore (and first gig in Sydney for that matter, excluding a very nice instore appearance by The Fiery Furnaces), and I was impressed. It has very nice acoustics and a great atmosphere.
Between sets we got some drinks, then I went off to the loo, not expecting the belles to start til 9pm. When I re-entered the unisex environment the band were on stage and Stuart was mentioning something along the lines of the band were a little tired and couldn't really remember the previous night's Melbourne show. I just got back in the theatre in time to see them kick off proceedings with I Fought In a War, after which Stuart made the following joke: Did you hear about the Gay Sailor? He steamed into Sydney. It didn't really get any laughs, probably because no one knows what steaming is (including me). I assume it is a gay reference? Anyhoo, B&S then played the following songs (in a very jumbled order and probably some omissions. and maybe songs that they didn't actually play at all - it all gets so confusing...):
Step Into My Office Baby
The Model
Wrapped Up In My Books
If She Wants Me
The Fox in the Snow
The State I Am In
If You Find Yourself Caught In Love
Like Dylan In the Movies
She's Losing It
You're Just a Baby
Asleep On A Sunbeam
Stay Loose
Le Pastie De La Bourgeouise
Travellin' Light
Judy and the Dream of Horses
Get Me Away From Here I'm Dying
The Boy With the Arab Strap
I'm A Cuckoo
Legal Man
Sleep the Clock Around
A very different set to the Melbourne show it would seem. They took a little while to get, the first part of the show was a bit flat (except for Stuart, who was dancing like a kid on red cordial for the whole show. I haven't seen anyone dance like him since, bizarrely enough, Billy Bragg). Wrapped Up In Books and If She Wants Me were my highlights of the first half. If She Wants Me was entirely cool and groovy actually, probably my favourite song of the night. Fox in the Snow would have been good but for a nasty mix which saw the bass buzz everything else into oblivion. Everyone cheered when Stuart forgot the words to The State I Am In, and again when he threw the microphone into the air and unsuccessfully tried to catch it (adding strength to David Hewitt's suggestion that Stuart stick to sports where you can't use your hands). If you Find Yourself Caught In Love was performed with huge amounts of gusto and saw the band blow out the cobwebs, move up a gear, take it to
a higher level, and other such cliches). Stay Loose was equally danceable, and Le Pastie (a pleasant surprise) really got the kids moving. Sarah got perhaps the biggest cheer of the night when she stepped up for Asleep On A Sunbeam, and she totally deserved it. She was just spot on all night, seemingly happy to stay out of the spotlight but when she steps up it is pure brilliance. I think she is my favourite member now.
Halfway through the set was cover time. After a fair amount of crowd and band interaction they had an attempt at Take On Me. No one knew the words, or the music, but Stevie figured out the chords in quick time and the band doo-ed and daa-ed their way to the first chorus, which turned into a big sing-along. This was a really cute warm fuzzy moment. Then they asked for more cover suggestions, someone yelled AC/DC, and so it was. Problem Child was performed in true Oz Rock style, except it kind of ended up sounding like an 80's indie tune (with Stuart's vocals. Stevie was lead guitaring himself silly and Bob epitomised the cool bass player (as he did all evening).
The second half of the set was a little patchy, but that may have been caused in part by my aching feet (I'd been wandering around Sydney and surroundings in the week leading up to the gig). The highlight was Arab Strap, which turned the Enmore into a great big disco. Legal Man ended the main set, before the crowd stamped their way to a brilliant encore - and gig closer - in Sleep The Clock Around. About a dozen lucky folk got to have a dance on stage and have photo's taken. And then, kind of suddenly, the lights came on and it was time to go home.
My overall impression - fantastic in some parts, a little disappointing in others. At times it was a little close to listening to the CD for my liking, a bit too polished and clean, but there were plenty of moments that were exactly what I'd hoped for.
I also think the gig was a little tainted by the way I perceive Belle and Sebastian. This could end up sounding completely ridiculous, but their music is really personal and intimate for me, and seeing them with a couple of thousand other people felt a bit like dating Kylie Minogue but having to share her with ten other people. You have the sheer delight of "woo I'm dating Kylie!", but it is tainted by the ten other blokes that also get a piece of her. Entirely selfish I know, but I'm always asking for more (more) more (more).
looking forward to hearing other Melbourne and Sydney experiences (the exact set list would be great!), and some Brisbane reports (this means you Alex!).
love,
terry
here's what i think: http://naivetysucceeds.blogspot.com
caitlin and terry's sinister recipe tree archives: http://www.joannou.net/topofthestairs/sinifood/
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+-+ "sinsietr is a bit freaky" - stuart david, looper +-+
+-+ "legion of bedroom saddo devotees" "peculiarly deranged fanbase" +-+
+-+ "pasty-faced vegan geeks... and we LOST!" - NME April 2000 +-+
+-+ "frighteningly named Sinister List organisation" - NME May 2000 +-+
+-+ "sick posse of f**ked in the head psycho-fans" - NME June 2001 +-+
+-+ Nee, nee mun pish, chan pai dee kwa +-+
+-+ Snipp snapp snut, sa var sagan slut! +-+
+-------------------------------------------------------------------------+
G'day all.
Well, finally, after all this time, the dream's been
realised: Belle & Sebastian on home turf. And it just
about lived up to what we were all hoping for, I
reckon. I'm not sure it was *quite* as amazing as the
last time I saw them (Hammerstein Ballroom, NYC, May
2002), but that's probably at least partly because
that was also the first time I'd seen them, which
always tinges one's view somewhat.
I'm not good at this whole "reporting back" thing, and
I don't have a setlist or anything, so forgive me if
my impressions are all a bit jumbled.
Firstly, the venue. They played down at the Palais in
St Kilda, which is one of my least favourite parts of
town, but the venue itself was a beautiful old
theatre, which the band themselves, and most of the
punters, seemed to really like. Except it was cold in
there. Really cold. Perhaps that was to make them feel
at home - I'm not sure.
They started off a bit wonkily, I'm afraid. Stuart and
Chris both owned up to making a lot of mistakes, but
I'm sure they weren't the only ones. The first few
songs were shaky, and the atmosphere in the room was
terrible. Everyone was sitting perfectly still, and it
was starting to look like it might be a bit of a long
night.
Stuart forgot most of the words to I'm Waking Up To
Us, and my missus (bless 'er) said "that's alright,
Stuart - I don't think your recent songs are that
memorable, either."
There were a couple of good tunes in the early going,
though, including Pastie and Slow Graffiti, which I
didn't really expect to hear. A pleasant surprise.
The first song they really nailed was Don't Leave The
Light On Baby, which seemed to warm the audience up
properly for the first time, although they didn't
really spring to life until The Boy With The Arab
Strap, at which point it seemed the gig really turned
a corner, and everything was going to be alright.
They played a couple off Tigermilk (My Wandering Days
Are Over and I Don't Love Anyone), which were two of
the better songs of the night. IDLA was thanks to a
group of people down the front who'd made a spiffy
banner requesting the song. They were asked up on
stage during that song, in order to prance around and
wave the banner about a bit. Fair enough.
We got a fair bit of stuff off DCW, including:
Dear Catastrophe Waitress
Step Into My Office, Baby
If You Find Yourself Caught In Love
Piazza, New York Catcher
I'm A Cuckoo
Asleep On A Sunbeam
Stay Loose
I think we also got You Don't Send Me, but I can't
quite remember. So that's most of them. I think
everyone was a bit surprised that we didn't get
Wrapped Up In Books or Your Cover's Blown, actually. I
was
pleased they didn't attempt Roy Walker, but
disappointed not to hear If She Wants Me, which is the
best of the new material, I reckon. I think I was
expecting a bit more of a Greatest Hits show, as
they've not been here before, but (as was rightly
pointed out to me by Sinister's very own Lawrence
Mikelsen, one of nature's gentlemen) the new stuff
sort of suits the way the band plays live these days a
bit
better anyway. It all made sense on the night.
Most of the new songs were delivered really well, with
special mention going to Asleep On A Sunbeam. It was
an absolute pearler.
Off IYFS we got Seeing Other People and Judy And The
Dream Of Horses, which I think were the only two. Both
were fairly tidy renditions, if memory serves.
And off TBWTAS I think we only got Simple Things and
The Boy With The Arab Strap. For my money, those were
actually the best two songs of the night, with the
possible exception of the encore, which I'll get
to a bit later.
As for FYHCYWLAP, I already mentioned Don't Leave The
Light On, Baby, and I think the only other song we got
was The Wrong Girl. And it stank. Something just
didn't work about it live - it was the worst song of
the night by a mile (and I really like the recorded
version),
and the only genuine stinker.
I think the only song they played off of Storytelling
was that harmonica thing that Stevie does. They opened
with it. I can never remember what it's called.
EP songs included Le Pastie De La Bourgeoisie,
Jonathan David, I'm Waking Up To Us, Slow Graffiti and
Legal Man. Oh, and Lazy Line Painter Jane, which was
the encore. They were going to play something else,
but I think someone over on the other side of the
theatre was
shouting for LLPJ, and Stuart acquiesced. And he got a
bunch of loons up on the stage, including one girl who
claimed to be able to sing Monica Queen's parts.
Actually I think her friends volunteered her. I
couldn't really hear. In any case, it turns out that
she/they was/were actually right! She was only a
little waif of a thing, but she absolutely nailed it.
It's not an easy song to sing (we've all had a crack
at it in the shower - admit it), but I reckon she was
all over
it. Kudos.
Then, when the stage invaders were wandering off,
Stuart grabbed hold of one of them and gave her a kiss
on the cheek, and started talking to her. He then
announced that it was the girl from the cover of LLPJ,
and seemed surprised to see her. I'm not sure if he
was telling the truth or just on the pull. He took her
backstage, in any case. Best of luck to him.
Oh, and the novelty cover was a bit of a weird one.
They took ages to decide, and I don't think they'd
heard of many of the classic Oz Rock tunes that people
were shouting out. Someone asked for the Stones,
though, which set Stevie off, so that's what we got.
They made a pretty good fist of Under My Thumb, in the
end. I was particularly impressed with how quickly
Chris figured out his part, which didn't sound very
easy. He was playing a Glockenspiel or a Xylophone or
something. One of those ones you hit with little
wooden sticks. I can never remember the difference.
As for the band:
Stuart was actually fairly personable, if a little
embarrassing at times. I guess that's part of his
charm, though, eh? His voice actually seems to have
gotten even better, but his dancing hasn't.
Stevie is, like, totally the man. Stage presence, rock
moves, and that occasional bit of jittery leg thing
that he does to let you know that he's *really* into
it. And as far as his voice and his guitar playing
goes, I don't think he dropped a stitch all night. No
complaints here. When the band implodes, his'll be the
side-project to keep an eye on, I reckon.
Sarah was on fine form, I reckon. She seems to be able
to play any instrument she picks up, and her voice was
spot-on. She still looks a little nervous sometimes,
like when she fiddles with her water bottle while
singing, but there's no need for it. Asleep On A
Sunbeam was one of the high points of the night - no
question.
Richard only ever seems to use about half his kit, and
grimaces a lot, but he gets the job done. He was the
quiet achiever of the night.
Chris really impressed me, actually, and not just
because he shaved his moustache off. When he was done,
I'm pretty sure those ivories *stayed* tickled.
Mick's another one of these annoying sorts who seems
to be able to play anything he picks up, including
bass guitar and a couple of different sorts of horns.
I tried to play the trumpet once, and it's fucking
impossible. He also seems like kind of a cool guy. I'd
have a beer with him. Oh, and he sometimes has to
shake one of those little plastic eggs, and he looks
so *serious* about it. He even had to shake a large
one in one hand (more like an orange than an egg,
really), and
a small one in the other hand, and had a different
tempo going for each. I reckon that's pretty hard to
do. Hats off, Mick.
Which leaves Bob. I remember reading something that
the band or one of their elected representatives said
about replacing Stuart David, and it was something
fairly dismissive along the lines of "playing bass
isn't exactly rocket science", which made me think
that this new Bob character might just be a bit of a
monkey, hired for his long locks and tight jeans. Not
so. He actually had it going on, I reckon. And not
just on the bass. He played the strummy guitar bits on
Piazza, and
he also plays the noodly guitar wig-out in Stay Loose.
Who knew? He's a bit of a dark horse, that one.
Oh - one last thing: it's just as well that football
(soccer) is Stuart's sport of choice. He and Stevie
were trying to be slick at one point, and play a bit
of catchie with a tambourine. They both fucked it up
royally. And to think, Stuart referred to our national
sport, and Melbourne's official religion (the AFL) as
"Gay-FL". It's just as well B&S fans are all pasty,
twee weaklings. If he'd have said that in any other
room in Melbourne that night, the clumsy sod would
have had his shit fucked up, I reckon.
Bulk love,
-Vanilla Flavoured David.
PS: Apologies if this posts twice - I posted this a
while back, and it seems not to have gone through, so
I'm trying again.
PPS: Okay, that was ages ago, and I'm going to try it
again now, from my old email account. Perhaps it's
gmail that sinister's having problems with. Other
people seem to be posting and replying to each other
in real time. Peter Miller said: "We haven't had much
Reporting Back from Australia." Well, I'm trying,
dood. I've been trying for the past couple of days.
Bloody stupid Internet. Fingers crossed that this one
goes through. If you lot get this three times: tough titty.
Find local movie times and trailers on Yahoo! Movies.
http://au.movies.yahoo.com
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To send to the list mail sinister(a)missprint.org. To unsubscribe
send "unsubscribe sinister" or "unsubscribe sinister-digest" to
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+-+ "sinsietr is a bit freaky" - stuart david, looper +-+
+-+ "legion of bedroom saddo devotees" "peculiarly deranged fanbase" +-+
+-+ "pasty-faced vegan geeks... and we LOST!" - NME April 2000 +-+
+-+ "frighteningly named Sinister List organisation" - NME May 2000 +-+
+-+ "sick posse of f**ked in the head psycho-fans" - NME June 2001 +-+
+-+ Nee, nee mun pish, chan pai dee kwa +-+
+-+ Snipp snapp snut, sa var sagan slut! +-+
+-------------------------------------------------------------------------+
On the way through the London 1 AM rush hour in the Mooromobile on the way
to Chez Sister Disco last Saturday night, Mooro suddenly answered a question
I had asked him six months ago. And somehow that really impressed me. It
reminded of like what when The Pinefox suddenly starts replying to posts
from 1997.
We had been to see Belle and Sebastian at Somerset House, and we all agreed
that they were more betterer at the exclusive Real Fans Only gig at the
Islington Academy. Mooro didn't even bother getting a set-list.
I saw Kenneth P. Chu with a massive plant pot sized pint of lager. He looked
very happy. It was a bit like a scene from Bill and Ben the Flowerpot Men.
There were hardly any twee people. There was hardly any dancing.
On his way out, Carsmile was brandishing some kind of glow-in-the-dark
radioactive anal probe.
Before the gig I went to the pub where I met some listees past and present.
They seemed like a nice bunch. Warrander John came, but I didn't recognise
him because his glasses seem to have grown. I didn't recognise Lucy either
at first. Cabbage knocked someone's pint over with his arse. The Pinefox
talked to me about Lloyd Cole's forthcoming comeback.
I walked over Waterloo Bridge with Lixi.
Before the gig I went round the back to try and get Stuart's autograph, but
when they came out the bouncers put some big fences across so I couldn't get
to him. One bloke told him not to play his new single because it's shite, so
Stuart flicked him the vees. Another bloke, possibly under the influence of
plant pots of beer, squealed in excitement. All in all it was like a cross
between The Beatles at Shea Stadium and Polanski's 'The Pianist', with me in
the Adrian Brody role.
I am glad they did Mooro's request, but I think they should have worked it
out beforehand. Watching people work stuff out is not very interesting,
unless it is 'Être et Avoir', which I haven't seen anyway. What with working
songs out and Stuart's philosophical monolgues it sometimes felt like being
trapped in Jean-Luc Godard's nouvelle vague masterpiece 'One Plus One'.
Actually it was very good. All that was missing was The Brunetties. I am
just trying to make it sound bad to cheer up all the poeple who couldn't go.
After the gig, Mooro's gaydar was in good working order, as he swiftly
spotted the big predatory lesbian manager from 'Footballer's Wives'. I saw
her kissing a man, so maybe she has been cured. It was probably my presence
that did it.
Sunday was similar, only no Mooro :-( I thought the performance was better
and there were fewer drunks. I didn't see Robin Stout. For a moment I
thought the Brazillian chap dancing on stage *was* Jordi. It was like the
'Puttin' On the Ritz' scene from 'Young Frankenstein'. My attempts to get
pulled up on stage came to nought. I enjoyed watching the security staff
dither when asked to help heave indie kids up onto the very high stage
though. I mean, I just wonder what the insurance postion would be if they
did their backs in giving a leg-up to a rhythmically challenged heffalump
from Basingstoke?
We haven't had much Reporting Back from Australia.
Cheers,
Peter
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To send to the list mail sinister(a)missprint.org. To unsubscribe
send "unsubscribe sinister" or "unsubscribe sinister-digest" to
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+-+ "sinsietr is a bit freaky" - stuart david, looper +-+
+-+ "legion of bedroom saddo devotees" "peculiarly deranged fanbase" +-+
+-+ "pasty-faced vegan geeks... and we LOST!" - NME April 2000 +-+
+-+ "frighteningly named Sinister List organisation" - NME May 2000 +-+
+-+ "sick posse of f**ked in the head psycho-fans" - NME June 2001 +-+
+-+ Nee, nee mun pish, chan pai dee kwa +-+
+-+ Snipp snapp snut, sa var sagan slut! +-+
+-------------------------------------------------------------------------+
<< My emails aren't becoming posts....
What the hell is going on!
idles >>
Maybe Aunt Sadie doesn't recognise your name and has been stealing your
letters and using them to line the cat litter tray or something. You know
how she is sometimes. Try posting under one of your real names - retrosec or
idleberry - and she might be less confused. It's a bit like Eminem, Slim
Shady and Marshall Mathers. Sadie always gets confused between them, too.
Why they keep on posting letters to her house, I don't know. Hoping to steal
some reflected celebrity, perhaps.
<<
>the rest of it was a bit crap really...there was a Blondie tribute
>band called Brunettie (I kid you not)
That was my band. Thanks for the support. Don't be so miserable, everyone
loved us and it's just some fun. We get people dancing and we love playing
this music just as much as playing our own songs. We actually make money
from this band and yeah so what if that's a sell out.
PS. Bowlie rocks and I don't care if you all can't stand even the mention
of the name. >>
Nice to see a bit of bitching on a Sunday night. Sure beats the Antiques
Roadshow... though, hold on a moment.. five thousand pounds for a pair of
candlesticks?! Who'd have thought it?
Who is Bowlie?
Hester, telling it how it is, continued:
<< I understand large numbers of people don't have a lot of time for Your
Cover's Blown, seeing it as some kind of sell-out or whatever, but I really
like it. >>
Yeah, it's great. Sounds kind of grubby and debauched, well, for belle and
sebastian anyway. Most people I've spoken to about it quite like it, anyway.
I think it's certainly the best EP since I'm Waking Up To Us.
Legal Man is awful.
bye!
ROBIN X
_________________________________________________________________
It's fast, it's easy and it's free. Get MSN Messenger today!
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To send to the list mail sinister(a)missprint.org. To unsubscribe
send "unsubscribe sinister" or "unsubscribe sinister-digest" to
majordomo(a)missprint.org. WWW: http://www.missprint.org/sinister
+-+ "sinsietr is a bit freaky" - stuart david, looper +-+
+-+ "legion of bedroom saddo devotees" "peculiarly deranged fanbase" +-+
+-+ "pasty-faced vegan geeks... and we LOST!" - NME April 2000 +-+
+-+ "frighteningly named Sinister List organisation" - NME May 2000 +-+
+-+ "sick posse of f**ked in the head psycho-fans" - NME June 2001 +-+
+-+ Nee, nee mun pish, chan pai dee kwa +-+
+-+ Snipp snapp snut, sa var sagan slut! +-+
+-------------------------------------------------------------------------+
My emails aren't becoming posts....
What the hell is going on!
idles
+-------------------------------------------------------------------------+
+---+ Brought to you by the Sinister mailing list +---+
To send to the list mail sinister(a)missprint.org. To unsubscribe
send "unsubscribe sinister" or "unsubscribe sinister-digest" to
majordomo(a)missprint.org. WWW: http://www.missprint.org/sinister
+-+ "sinsietr is a bit freaky" - stuart david, looper +-+
+-+ "legion of bedroom saddo devotees" "peculiarly deranged fanbase" +-+
+-+ "pasty-faced vegan geeks... and we LOST!" - NME April 2000 +-+
+-+ "frighteningly named Sinister List organisation" - NME May 2000 +-+
+-+ "sick posse of f**ked in the head psycho-fans" - NME June 2001 +-+
+-+ Nee, nee mun pish, chan pai dee kwa +-+
+-+ Snipp snapp snut, sa var sagan slut! +-+
+-------------------------------------------------------------------------+
