hi there! i thought i would include a copy of my review of the show in chicago. i wrote this for an local LA music and film newspaper that is written by uni students and recent alumni. it has a distribution of over 105,000 readers in the southern california region. most of the readers have no idea who belle and sebastian are. keep that in mind while reading it! enjoy! :) Belle And Sebastian at the Metro in Chicago. -Jennifer Hjelm I flew to Chicago to catch a glimpse of my favorite band since they were only touring the East Coast. After the cancellation of two earlier shows in Philadelphia and Toronto due to illness, I feared I would miss my chance to see them live. Thankfully my prayers were answered and the band miraculously showed up on stage at the 1,100 capacity venue. The packed venue proved to be a tight fit for the band and the "cool indie kid" audience. I don’t know how the eight members even fit on the tiny stage, but they flowed gracefully around it between songs. The players kept trading off instruments proving their prowess on each one. Stuart Murdoch, the band visionary, started the set with "Century of Fakers" off an old EP, then moved to the unreleased "I Know Where The Summer Goes." This mini-American tour was more of an introduction to the band than a proper promotional tour. The set list spanned their three year career excluding their elusive debut Tigermilk. Chronicled as one of the best bands of the last few years, Belle and Sebastian like to keep to themselves. They rarely tour, conduct only a few interviews, and don’t do photo shoots. So when I got the chance to see them live, I jumped on it and flew to the nearest venue, albeit 2000 miles away. The crowd was thrilled to see the band and thankful Isobel (the cellist) was well enough to play. Every song including the six unreleased ones were well received, although Murdoch fretted that they played "too many" new songs. Highlights included "Chickfactor" which is penned and sung by guitarist Stevie Jackson. The duet "Lazy Line Painter Jane" proved that the band can actually rock out if they choose. Strong guitars, along with Murdoch’s voice raised above his somber speaking tone, proved the band to be more than an octet Simon and Garfunkel. The new song "Slow Graffiti" which is on the soundtrack for the movie Acid House, was absolutely stunning live. Belle and Sebastian are as wonderful as it is to hear the sound of their name roll off your tongue. The intricate instrumental details that most bands leave out are the mainstay of their uniqueness. I am completely enamored with this band; their angelic soft spoken songs, perfect melodies and the unassuming character of the band make you almost believe that they were sent down from heaven, via Glasgow, Scotland. Belle and Sebastian will release the four track EP "This Is Just A Modern Rock Song" on Dec. 7th. They will be playing the West Coast in the new year. +----------------------------------------------------------------------+ +---+ Brought to you by the Sinister mailing list +---+ To send to the list please mail "sinister@majordomo.net". To unsubscribe send "unsubscribe sinister" or "unsubscribe sinister-digest" to "majordomo@majordomo.net". For list archives and searching, list rules, FAQ, poor jokes etc, see http://www.majordomo.net/sinister +---+ "legion of bedroom saddo devotees" +---+ +-+ "the cardie wearing biscuit nibbling belle & sebastian list" +-+ +----------------------------------------------------------------------+