Sinister: Handbags and gladrags

[Simon Fallaha]

Hello everyone.

My last post was merely a link, so I thought I'd do a
longer one.

I actually began writing this last night under a
different title, but gave up. The title change comes
as a result of the song I am listening to at the
minute - alas, it's the Stereophonics' version. It's
not that it's bad - in fact, it's quite good - but
I've grown to prefer the version you hear in The
Office (or even Ricky Gervais's version, because you
know you'll get a good laugh out of it). Speaking of
The Office, I can't believe I didn't realise how good
it was until it was almost over. Ah well, I have the
DVD of Season 1 now, so that's more than a bonus.

"It's like the early part of this decade all over
again", said the Dirty Vicar once he saw my last post
- which was my first since before Xmas, as a matter of
fact. Since then, student life has been and gone (yes,
you can now call me a graduate) and I'm trying to find
a job. And I've seen countless films, and become a
regular contributor to a "Teachers" fansite (To any
"Teachers" fans on this list, who are you? There's a
lot to like about the show on top of The Boy with the
Arab Strap) and...been to three more
concerts/festivals.

The first one of these was the One Big Weekend here in
Derry, and it was fantastic. Got to hear Keane for the
first time, and see Franz Ferdinand and Ash at their
best. Avril Lavigne wasn't quite at her best, but was
still good. (Kelis doesn't do much for me,
unfortunately.) 

Then came the Future Kings of Spain, and then Graham
Coxon (both in Belfast's Limelight.)

And then...Oxegen. You knew with the line-up that you
were going to have a great time if you went there -
unfortunately David Bowie's injury made the Darkness
headliners by default. (You'll have already guessed,
I'm sure, that I'm not a fan of theirs.) Never mind -
for me The Divine Comedy, Ash, Franz Ferdinand (come
on, Peter Miller, they are not bad), Keane, PJ Harvey,
and lesser known acts such as Cathy Davey and Saucy
Monky (have any of you heard of them? I hadn't until
they supported Tim Burgess last year.) made the
weekend memorable.

But Belle & Sebastian's set was ahead of them all. I'd
no idea they were playing, even, until very close to
the festival itself. Since I'm feeling quite lazy now,
how this gig was for me can be summed up in a
paragraph from the article about Oxegen that I wrote
for a magazine:

"As I relocated to the Green Room at about 11.30 p.m.
for Belle & Sebastian, I had no idea what a reception
the band was in for. It appears that there are more
Belle & Sebastian fans in Ireland than I thought.
Changing record labels, along with apparently securing
the service of some talented new violinists who I’d
previously never seen, has really made a difference. 

That difference was visible in this extremely lively
and even friendly set, demonstrated when leading man
Stuart Murdoch invited a girl from the audience to
dance to two of the songs on stage. The band gave
great performances of songs such as “The Boy with the
Arab Strap” (also known as the theme from the popular
TV show “Teachers”), “Legal Man”, “Sleep the Clock
Around”, “Step Into my Office, Baby”, “I’m A Cuckoo”,
and more.

Stuart was a real livewire, and Sarah Martin just
showed what a versatile musical performer she is. How
she has compensated for the loss of Isobel Campbell."

Other songs that I remember they performed were:
I Fought in a War
The Model
You Don't Send Me

I'm sure there's more, but honestly, I can't remember.


Simply talking about this reminds me of what DV posted
about earlier - "the early part of this decade". And
in a way, seeing B & S at Oxegen brought me back to
December 2001 (yes, I remember the month) and that
fantastic B & S gig at the Mandela Hall, which wasn't
long before that Xmas. Makes me wish they'd do
something like that again in these parts, later in the
year...

Now, I hope those of you that were able to see them in
London (and that includes James, plus Sam Walton and a
few others who posted recently) had just as great a
time.

What I also didn't mention was just how good an album
DCW is. Actually, it's close to great. It took time to
grow on me, but don't all albums? 

Big shouts to Amy Skelton, DV, James and any of the
Irish Sinister posse that I haven't mentioned. And
although I defended Franz Ferdinand earlier, rest
assured that I don't intend to vote for them regarding
the Mercury Music Prize. 

Take care all

Psi


	
	
		
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