Sinister: The Longest Reporting Back Ever

Krister Bladh kristerbladh at xxx.org
Sat Mar 27 21:53:36 GMT 2004 

Hi my fellow Sinistereens!
This post has become horribly late because I’ve had to change mail-addresses (though not from nme!) and stuff and everything has been a real mess and just now I noticed that I wasn’t in nursery and maybe I hadn’t been put back there at all. So I thought: what better time for a comeback that for a good old reporting back?! Yes, I have finally seen BELLE & SEBASTIAN live. It was indescribably fucking good! (I never use that word but today will have to be an exception). I really can’t believe it. And I even got a f.. a Setlist. Actually I’d written down all the songs, just case I didn’t get my hands on a setlist, which is a kind of an awkward thing to do while dancing around in uttermost joy. Alright it’s time to get the Story going
 (if you’re really lazy, like me, you should probably just scroll down and read the titles – cause that is setlist)

I went to Copenhagen a while after school (if you remember, which you probably don’t, I live in Sweden, which is not the same country as Denmark) and it was freezing cold, because I was only wearing my corduroy jacket and a shirt. (Of course I was also wearing my upside-down badge in case there were any sinisters. there probably wasn't, but I think some Icelandic guy was planning to go there. Anyway, no one noticed my badge, until after the show - and they hadn't heard of Sinister.) Waiting outside the door to venue I was amazed how few people there were
 and they were mostly Swedish. I mean it wasn’t sold out when I checked in the morning and even though it’s Denmark
 (no offence, if there happens to be any Danish people reading this) seriously!! It’s BELLE & SEBASTIAN. In Stockholm and Gothenburg the tickets sold out last year! Here, it didn’t fill up until after the opening act and I’m not even sure about that. The opening act or “foreband” if you translate from Swedish wa
 s Aerospace, a Swedish band I can recommend strongly, if you bother to care. I new they were really good even though I’ve never heard them. They did a fine job, though you could hear the vocals.

Passion Fruit
---------------
Then Stevie, Mick, Bob, Richard and Beans came in and they started playing Passion Fruit, which I had only heard as the end of Stop, Look and Listen. It was great. I didn’t have a very accurate picture of what Stevie Richard looked like so it was a bit confusing at first. I even thought that Mr. Murdoch had darker hair.

Expectations
---------------
Then Stuart and Sarah entered and everybody started to shout and scream. At least I did. They all had kind of ordinary clothes, except Stuart who was wearing brown flares to go with the 70’s interior of the venue he said. He picked his acoustic Taylor and started playing F#, Bm, F#, Bm
. You know what that means don’t you? Yes, Expectations! Too bad it was the only Tigermilk song, but according to their “secretive” encore sign language they were thinking about playing I Could Be Dreaming. They had a woman playing cello, I think you’ve mentioned her before.

Step Into My Office Baby
------------------------------
Time for a new song, the people in the back had to hear something familiar too. But they thought it was over when it came to the second string part. This when string section started getting busy too. Mick played some horn too. And Stuart was able do his little dance for the first time.

Seeing Other People
------------------------
Stuart moved over too the piano and I thought: can it be an old song, can it be an old song?! I was right! I was under the impression that they didn’t play many songs from Sinister. But now they had rehearsed and he didn’t even forget the vocals once. Absolutely the best song so far.

DCW
-----
I don’t remember much from this song, except that I really noticed the strings for the first time. It is kind of short too.

Belle & Sebastian
---------------------
Yes, you read correctly – I didn’t mix up the title with the band. Stuart said there are always some hardcore indie kids who wants to hear old obscure songs at shows. “Songs I hardly know I’ve written”. My heart stopped. We’re they going to play Rhoda or Pocket Book Angel or something like that. And then they started playing I was one of the few who recognised the song. It was really fantastic! I don’t think they’ve played that song much, but I was hoping they were going to play something from the EP:s and that is probably the song the song I was most pleased to hear in the whole set.

The Wrong Girl
-----------------
It says Travellin’ Light in the setlist but that’s Stevie-song too.. anyway Stuart said “This is a song written by Stevie Jackson on which I play bass. That should be enough for you to know which it is”. He played an opaque bass guitar that he was sad to say he could play more on. It was really good to hear Stevie sing a whole song, cause he’s a great singer.

The Boy Done Wrong Again
----------------------------------
What’s this I thought, another Sinister song, and a rare one at that! Unbelievable! It was so wonderful with the violin and cello and all. It nearly made me cry.

You Don’t Send Me
-------------------
Probably the song on DCW I like the least, it’s still great I mean, but a little less.

(Family Tree)
----------------
Yes, I know they don’t play that song now that Bel’s gone but it was “the time of the show where we usually take a break”, which means time for a person (usually a girl) in the audience to sing a song. A girl from Malmö got to sing Family Tree. Another girl wanted to sing Stuart’s favourite Smiths song, but he said the band wouldn’t play that. She did quite alright although she forgot the lyrics for the second verse – it was the only song that wasn’t in the song-book. She got a real medal that said “I made it with Belle & Sebastian”. Now that I think about it wish I would have sung My Wandering Days Are Over, but maybe they would be offended because I sing to much like Stuart. I couldn’t even decide what I would like to sing then.

Piazza, New York Catcher
--------------------------------
It was great it in all it’s simplicity, with just Stuart singing and Mick on acoustic.

There’s Too Much Love
-----------------------------
Yes! The first FISHYCLAP song. And one of the best! I just love the strings at the end!

Love On the March
-----------------------
It was interesting to see who played what on this song. Stevie was singing, Mick played guitar and Stuart played a little keyboard.

Fox In the Snow
------------------
According to the setlist they chose between this and Slow Graffiti. I’m glad they took Fox, cause it’s still on of their best songs. Stevie’s solo on his Martin is one of the best ever. Yet another Sinister song.

I’m a Cuckoo
----------------
They chose between this and If You Find Yourself Caught In Love here. I like the latter better, but they finally got a chance to rock out and there was some serious jumping going on!

Roy Walker
--------------
Time for inviting many kids up on stage for some finger-flicking. I finally understood what the distortion pedal that I laughed at in the sound-check – it was for Mick’s solo. Stevie did own solo, on the harmonica. They didn’t really manage the intertwining vocals but it still rawked.

Woman’s Realm
-------------------
Another one of my favourite FISHYCLAP songs! Again with some glorious strings and guitar at the end.

Stay Loose
-------------
I thought this was going to “the last song”, but I was wrong. It was very good, but does he have to try to sing with that robotic voice live?

Legal Man
------------
Oh no, it’s the last song and the first one I couldn’t completely sing along with! I have to buy that 12”.

Encore
--------
For the encore there were hundreds of suggestions. Someone said Le Pastie and I agreed but Stuart just said “Nah, it’s been a long time
”They finally decided for Judy and played an extended version of it. It was to good to be true. I almost lost my voice.

You may have noticed there where no TBWTAS songs, but they compensated me with playing the title-track as the real last song. And when Stuart’s vocals trailed of there at the end I knew it was over



I hope there will be some reports from Stockholm and Gothenburg. My condolences to Astrid and Johan who weren’t able to get in. I mean, how stupid is that? 18-year limit at a B&S concert! Old beer-drinkers shouldn’t be allowed.

I’m sorry if I’ve taken up much of your time,
but I warned you!
Chris

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