Sinister: corruption of a happy soul -- YEEHAW!

[m. paisley]

Belle & Sebastian! In Austin!

Well.

I generally travel by bus, with a bookbag full of helpful supplies including 
such items as my flashlight, a state map, a bus schedule and some decent 
reading material (ideally, something thick with a hard cover in case I need 
to press some leaves or blossoms). If the Backyard venue had not wanted me 
to also pack my standard concert supplies, which include a camera and a 
recording device, they ought to have said so before I got to the gate.

The man said he needed to go through my bag.
"Uh...am I allowed to have a camera?"
"No."
"Oh. I have a camera."
He repeated that he needed to go through my bag to actually see the alleged 
camera.

Wow, I realized. SECURITY here is HARDCORE! I was further impressed by the 
fact that my friend who had driven was already inside the gates. It would 
have been cool if he was permitted to walk with me back to the car to stow 
my things, or perhaps even if he had been allowed to lend me his car keys to 
go by myself, but SECURITY was very firmly against this scheme.

NO RE-ENTRY!

Humbled by the single-minded purpose of these Titans among men, I waited 
until they looked away, handed the bag to my friend, got my ticket torn as I 
walked through the gate (taking care not to declare the dead whore I had 
buried in my cleavage, the crack vial behind my ear, or my trusty shotgun 
tucked in my left pant leg) and retrieved my bag.

I also recorded the whole show, hence this set list:

(Cornershop, the opening band, was kinda lame. Their own tambourine girl 
refused to get up and dance. Criminy, what's the point of a sullen, sitting 
tambourine girl, anyway?

Their songs were long, and I was glad when they were over.)

Stevie (I think it was Stevie) twittered a happy tune on his harmonia and 
the REAL music began...

sleep the clock around
dirty dream number two
waking up to us
seeing other people
wandering alone
if you are feeling sinister
my wandering days are over
seymour stein
the model
*a cover of 'texarkana baby' for us Texxxans!* WESTERN SWING!
me and the major
boy with the arab strap
fox in the snow
state that i am in
get me away from here, i'm dying
there's too much love
wrong girl
middle distance runner
legal man
a cover of the Byrd's 'so you want to be a rock & roll star'

The light rigging high above the stage was creaking at times, in the breeze 
(we were under the stars, fab!) and every so often the members of the band 
would glance upwards with a worried look. Struan actually missed a lyric 
when a strong gust gave it a good rattle.

He also had a false start during 'the state that i am in,' having just come 
off some banter about getting drunk in austin bars, singing "i was hammered 
for a while" instead of the usual, and then starting over. His voice was 
lovely.

The crowd was a bit sad that there was no encore, which is pretty rude in 
Austin. I don't think I've ever been to a show where the band didn't play an 
encore. But perhaps it's not the same in Scotland?

Or maybe the SECURITY people threatened to take Struan's ball away. They 
were so silly. As the crowd thinned, a guy I'd met at a party came round to 
get my number, as we'd set off fireworks by the Law School at our university 
after a party a month ago and were both keen on doing it again. (We wore 
cowboy hats and took turns with an ancient violin and a drum and possibly 
some beer as the festivities welcomed the dawn.)

SECURITY came and shouted at us to move along, and we couldn't help but 
laugh. These burly angry men were treating the twee B&S fans like a Circle 
Jerks crowd. Anyway, SECURITY told my renegade cowboy friend and myself that 
if we didn't get out in five minutes, he'd come "take care" of us.

As I'd already dealt my drugs, emptied my shotgun into the stars (which, at 
night, shine BIG and BRIGHT deep in the heart of Texass) and turned a 
handsome profit on my dead whore, I decided to call it a night and spend the 
rest of the evening with my illicit recorded tapes and film.

Since it was my very first time ever seeing one of my most favorite bands, I 
wanted to write it down for y'all, since so many of you were kind enough to 
share your experiences for me. The only thing missing was Isobel, who was 
evidently skipping the Austin show to rest up, I'd have liked to see her 
onstage.

Stringed instruments, sequined cowgirls, Stevie dancing, Mick in a Beerland 
t-shirt, Struan hopping, a mass of indiekids turned out for a band (one 
which they never thought would tour TEXAS!) and underhanded nonsense...

~ Paisley




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