Sinister: When I was a boy I was KENfounded by CHU

[Rachel fruitloop-Apps]

Hello Sinister!

Some really exciting things have happened this past weekend! I want
to share my Belle & Sebastian experience with you. That is what this
post is about.

Ben already posted about our trip to Berkeley to see the show on
Friday. I have to add that the Greek Theatre venue in Berkeley is
spectacular. It is gorgeous looking, almost bowl-shaped the way that
the stone step seating graduates up to the top, with gigantic stone
columns as the backdrop to the stage and lots of greenery surrounding
the area. The sound was so rich, much better than at the Greek
Theatre in Los Angeles, which actualy was pretty damn good. 

Before the Berkeley show, we met up at the International House Cafe
right by the venue. Toy Stephen was there, remember him from Sinister
days of yore? The wonderful Katie Odle and I both agreed (when her
boyfriend Jeremy and Ben weren't present, of course!) that Stephen is
a Hunk-a-saurus Rex. That is also where I met Deborah and Solomon,
the San Francisco Treasure Hunt planners. We talked a fair bit about
our experiences planning treasure hunts in LA and SF.  It was so
great. Up until that time, the treasure in SF had not been found.
Katie was determined to find the treasure after the show. As it got
closer to showtime, the dashing Ian Rivamonte showed up with a bunch
of his friends, and we had quite a nice gathering. As it turned out,
Katie and Jeremy solved the treasure hunt clues and went to the final
destination only to discover that the treasure had already been
claimed only moments before, according to Deborah by someone named
Kevin. Katie was very sad. But she is still a winner in my eyes.
*sniff*

Anyone who got photos of the Berekely show, if you have any with
Deborah and Solomon onstage, please let me know. They didn't get any
documentation of getting their medals, and would really like photos
if there are any out there.

Fast-forward to the Los Angeles meeting place - a field next to the
parking lot of the Greek Theatre in Los Angeles. It was just Ben and
myself for quite a while.  He set up the cricket stumps and I chased
the ball down the hill several times through the parking lot.  We
could hear the sound check, and they were playing "Video Killed The
Radio Star" and Ben so quickly put the pieces together that the DCW
(DICKWIPE?) producer was Trevor Horn of the Buggles. I wasn't so sure
it was actually Trevor singing or maybe just Stuart doing a really
good rendition of it. Adrian Rudloff arrived, as did Phil, my best
friend Vicky and The Treasure Hunt Winners Mandy, Crystal and Esther
along with Alex and Scott. It was so great to meet the people who
solved my and Peter Crooks' carefully orchestrated puzzle. I believe
it was Stuart who later said the winners are like the Charlie's
Angels, and I have to agree! Sat in the field, they were trying to
decide if they would sing a song with B&S onstage that night or
request a song, and if so, which song? They decided they'd like to
have a crack at "Family Tree" and sang it beautifully for us
picnickers.

It was brilliant because Katrina had left 3rd row tickets and
backstage passes for us at the box office, which Mandy and I
discovered when we went up to try to find her. The set was only
slightly different from that in Berkeley, from what I can recall. 
The people around us were mostly seated through the show, which was
odd, because everywhere I looked, people were standing up and
dancing.  So Ben, Mandy, Esther and Crystal and I stood up and danced
for a good number of songs. I wasn't about to sacrifice a good time
that was to be had just because I was sat by people who were
uninspired. We were all a bit nervous through the show, wondering
when Stuart would ask the Treasure Hunt winners and planners to go up
onstage.  Before we knew it, they left the stage! We were shocked.
They came back for an encore of "Video Killed The Radio Star" with
Trevor Horn on vocals. It was amazing, but I had a hard time enjoying
it because I was worried that Stuart forgot about the Treasure Hunt. 
Then came Judy And The Dream Of Horses, and Stuart said that he DID
forget about the Treasure Hunt, but that he would talk to Mandy
backstage.  I'd be lying if I said that we weren't all terribly
disappointed. It's pretty crap cos they even published with the clues
that going up to request a song or sing a song with the band was part
of the prize. I had seen what he had in store for the Treasure Hunt
planners up in Berkeley, as well, and so I had expectations (which is
the root of most turmoil in my life in general - expectations.)

Ian Rivamonte was a superstar again, and got to go onstage and so the
speaking bit in "Dirty Dream Number 2" and danced around like a
maniac, it was great! The boy with the dark curly hair and glasses
who did the speaking part in DD#2 in Berekely also returned to the
stage in LA to dance during "Judy and The Dream Of Horses."  Ian was
also onstage again, and got the setlist, which was:

Fuck This Shit
Expectations
There's Too Much Love
Step Into My Office, Baby
Like Dylan in the Movies
Travellin' Light
Women's Realm
Lord Anthony
If You Find Yourself Caught in Love
Scooby Driver
I Don't Love Anyone
The Boy with the Arab Strap
The State I Am In
Jonathan David
Dirty Dream #2
String Bean Jean
Roy Walker
Sleep the Clock Around
Video Killed the Radio Star
Judy and the Dream of Horses

After the show, Ben, Mandy, Crystal and Esther and I went backstage,
and had a seat in a corner. They even had the treasure with them,
which was inside of a Belle & Sebastian cereal box that I created to
house the treasure box from Stuart. One of the girls took the other
two's backstage passes and went out to find Alex and Scott and they
also came backstage.(super genius!)  First, we spotted Sarah, and I
let her know that the Treasure Hunt winners were sat in the corner
and that they would love to meet her and get a photo with her. She
said that she was going back to the area where the band were and she
would let Stuart know as well. It was great because as I saw memebrs
of Belle & Sebastian, I'd approach them and usher them over to the
girls for a chance to chat and get photos. I felt like I was their
agent or something. Stuart came over and gave us all shirts - the
ones that I designed the logo for! He explained that he forgot about
the Treasure Hunt, and also he had left the medals for me and Peter
at the hotel, and also Stevie allegedly was getting uptight about the
time because they ran over too late in Berkeley. Stuart left his
jacket at the table, so I put it on and went over to talk to him a
while later. On the way, I had a nice conversation with Marissa who
is the model on the cover of the 'Fans Only' DVD, and Lisa, who
bought Stuart's car.  Stuart said that he'd come over and get his
jacket from me before he left and that I could continue wearing it! I
was more than thrilled!

The band spent a lot of time in that backstage after-party area.
Chris came in urgently toward the end with his dj gear and was
heading over to The Derby where he'd be spinning. He quickly posed
with the Treasure Hunt kids and talked for a little bit.  His
moustache and glasses just reminded me of Ned Flanders from The
Simpsons!

Sarah said that the band might return to the States in October, but
most likely will play in cities they didn't get to go to on this
short tour. Stuart said that this time they wanted to do a few
outdoor summer shows so that everyone would get high and listen to
the tunes and take in the scenery.

I was very happy to finally meet the lovely Katrina House from
Banchory.  Despite the fact that she had her hands full, she was very
kind to us all.

After the backstage thing, Ben and I gave Richard and Dan the
engineer a ride to The Derby. I stupidly left my ID at home, and Mick
and Stuart didn't have theirs either and couldn't get into the club,
they were extremely strict at the door. We stood outside for a while,
speaking with Sarah and Mick and a couple of friends (Jane Rockwood
and Sandra Christiansen.) Ben and I decided to depart since it was
getting on past midnight and we had to work the next morning.  Most
of the band was going off to another location. Before we left, Ben
took a photo of me and Mick in the back of a Volvo!

If you'd like to see our photos, they are at www.brapps.net/belles/

I know this is getting obnoxiously long, so I'll try to wrap it up. 
Believe it or not, some of us have been fans of Belle & Sebastian for
*nearly* as long as Jennifer Juniper has, yet still enjoyed the show
immensely. Despite all of this personal contact I had with them this
time around, I have to keep in mind that it isn't going to always be
like that. I have learned my lesson the hard way in the past.
Sometimes one starts to expect special treatment and considers
themselves to be better connected to the band than they are.  The
best connection, in my opinion, is in my car singing along and
harmonizing with Ben.  Or in my bedroom, jumping on the bed listening
to "The Lonliness Of The Middle-Distance Runner." I think how you
feel about the music depends a lot on what sort of relationship you
have with it. I want to keep mine based on the essence of it; they
tend to make songs I enjoy and want to sing along and dance to.
Jennifer said "the beauty and fragility were gone and replaced by
slick production."  I have to disagree. I still noticed missed notes
and mixed up lyrics, as usual. Besides, if it really were such a
slick production, then the Treasure Hunt wouldn't have been
overlooked, don'tcha think?

If you missed B&S on KCRW yesterday, they have it archived on their
site at:
http://www.kcrw.com/cgi-bin/db/kcrw.pl?show_code=mb&tmplt_type=program
Just scroll down to "Recent Programs"

That's all from me for now!
love,
Rachel fruitloop-Apps




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