Neil, Just to let you know that, whilst it may not seem like it, a lot of the listees here on Sinister are with you all the way. Belle & Sebastian have done pretty well for their fans as a band (despite what some listees have said), by not spreading their b-sides over 3 CDs, not doubling up their tracks on releases etc., and putting on the sort of shows which are a real "event" (or so I'm told ... I live in one of the many counties where B&S have not *yet* visited) It's sad when a minority of American-centric fans feel they have a monopoly on fandom, and even sadder that they feel the band "owes" them gigs. For heaven's sake ... if you want to be into a band that does gigantic, State spanning shows, start buying Dave Matthews Band records. American fans are no more or less important than anyone else (in the way that, as a country, American is no more important than the rest of the world, despite what a lot of it's citizens think ....) American fans, try not to worry. It's not like Neil has said B&S will *never* come back to the US. He's just asked you to be patient. Like the rest of the world has had to be patient. Hell, I'm sure B&S will be playing New York long before they ever play Auckland, New Zealand. Don't make Sinister listees sound like the sort of headcases who hang out on morrissey-solo.com And Neil ..... keep up the good work. There are a lot of us out there, silent or otherwise, who think you do a great job. cheers, Lawrence Mikkelsen +-------------------------------------------------------------------------+ +---+ Brought to you by the Sinister mailing list +---+ To send to the list mail sinister@missprint.org. To unsubscribe send "unsubscribe sinister" or "unsubscribe sinister-digest" to majordomo@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 +-+ +-------------------------------------------------------------------------+