Sinister: Reporting Back from Portland...

[Stuart Gardiner]

OK, so I went to see some band play on Thursday. You might have heard of 
them.

As is traditional, I'll start with an inaccurate setlist, probably missing 
at lesat one song and certainly not in exactly the right order, but fairly 
close... Quite a few pleasant surprises in there...

The State I Am In (sounding much fuller than normal, and better than ever - 
maybe they've just got a better soundman now?)
Another Sunny Day (why on earth hasn't this been a single yet? It's easily 
the most radio-friendly song on the album - are they just waiting until the 
summer to release it?)
Funny Little Frog
Belle And Sebastian (!!! Not heard that one live for years !!!)
Sukie In The Graveyard (the one song from the new album which didn't really 
work as well live as on the record)
Electronic Renaissance (worked remarkably well live. Although I now know why 
Stevie doesn't normally dance on stage...)
Song For Sunshine (because every album has to have its clunker, right? And 
it's not nearly as bad a clunker as previous albums... I just keep wondering 
why they sing "Sunshine, the OC" in the chorus, have they become addicted to 
rubbish TV shows?)
We Are The Sleepyheads
Dress Up In You (which apparently is approximately 26% a true story...)
Slow Graffiti (Yay for another blast from the past...)
Portland, Oregon (Stevie's song, performed only once before when they played 
Portland 5 years ago. A bit cheesy sounding, but one of his better tunes. 
The lyrics might need some work though - "It's a rainy state, // But it's 
great when you're on a date")
Jonathan David (still sounding as great as ever - I never understood why 
some people didn't rate this song)
Get Me Away From Here, I'm Dying
Your Cover's Blown (I can understand why people didn't rate this one 
though... The middle bit's great, the rest is forgettable)
I Don't Love Anyone (yes, it still sounds like a Beautiful South song)
I'm A Cuckoo
White Collar Boy (featuring more evidence of why Stevie shouldn't dance on 
stage)
Judy And The Dream Of Horses

For the encore, Stuart asked for requests from the audience, and they got 
together and decided which ones to play. The winners were:
Expectations
Lazy Line Painter Jane (as usual, featuring a girl pulled out from the 
audience singing the Monica Queen part. The difference being, for possibly 
the first time when I've seen them do it, the girl who came up not only knew 
the words but could actually sing)

So, a massive four songs from Tigermilk, plus another even older song from 
the Dog On Wheels EP, but no Twattybus or Fishyclap... They sounded 
fantastic throughout, so much more energy onstage than in the old days (or 
maybe it's just because I'm not allowed to drink at the moment so I was 
actually stone cold sober at a gig for the first time in ages? Seriously, 
it's over two months now since I got really ill, this is the longest I've 
gone without alcohol since I was about 15...)

They were on good form for the between-song banter as well, whether it was 
complaining about the magically self-detuning guitar, or complaining even 
more about Stevie's whistling during the subsequent short delay. For the 
fashion police out there, no real surprises: Stevie in a suit, Stuart in a 
tight white T-shirt and bowler hat, Sarah in a hoodie, Mick in a checked 
shirt, Richard gurning behind the drumkit, and Chris completing his 70s 
throwback look with a pornstar moustache.


You know, B&S fandom might not be the same as it used to be - Sinister and 
Bowlie are both pretty much dead, and most gigs aren't one-off events any 
more - but the music's better than ever. As the Duke would say, Keep The 
Faith Kids.

Big Stu

(noticing that the Decemberists, the Shins and the New Pornographers are all 
playing ATP, and wishing he could go... All three ex-B&S support acts, and 
the first two both from right here in Portland...)


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