Sinister: American Pernod with your older sister

[Sam Walton]

Hello Sinister

Wow. Two posts from me in the space of a week - it's as if it's 2002 all over again. And indeed aiding that feeling this weekend was my reunion with Mummy I've Grazed My Knee (of this parish) and the appearance of Belle & Sebastian on a stage in front of me. The group played:

 # I Didn't See It Coming (an new mid-tempo piano-led number with Sarah sharing vocals with Struan)
 # I'm A Cuckoo
 # Step Into My Office, Baby
 # The State I Am In
 # I'm Not Living In The Real World (an new upbeat Stevie-sung number in the style of Wandering Alone, with handclaps and oooh-wah backing vocals)
 # If You're Feeling Sinister
 # Sukie In The Graveyard
 # Fox In The Snow (this was in brackets on the set list)
 # Jumpin' Jack Flash (not on the set list)
 # Funny Looking Frog
(# either Dog on Wheels/Stars Of Track & Field - this was dropped because of the Stones cover)
 # The Boy With The Arab Strap
 # If You Find Yourself Caught In Love
 # Judy & The Dream Of Horses
 # Sleep The Clock Around
====
 # Get Me Away From Here, I'm Dying
 # Legal Man

Jumpin' Jack Flash was an impromptu cover after Stuart revealed that Stevie had had a dream about playing it the previous night. At this tidbit the crowd cheered with expectation, and after a little persuasion the band relented and, given that it was entirely unrehearsed, the song sounded pretty tight. It was also heartwarming to see Stevie clearly fulfill something of a dream by playing the song in front of thousands of people. Elsewhere, when it all came together, the band sounded lovely, and the atmosphere in the crowd during the old ones (particularly Sinister and Fox in the Snow, both of which put to use a 16-piece string section) was terrific. Funny Looking Frog was played considerably slower than usual, and consequently sounded even more unremarkable, and the decision to end the encore with Legal Man was odd; the band didn't look too happy (or indeed able to play) with their number-15 smash hit from ten years ago, and it closed the show slightly limply. The new songs? Well they're on YouTube already so you can make your own mind up. Personally, they were passable, but I wasn't keen.

But, as I say, when it was good, it was brilliant. The band themselves looked much the same as ever, and Stuart played host with great confidence, getting about 20 audience members up on stage  (almost all of them teenage girls picked by the security) to dance during TWATTYBUS, and leading an amusing chant of "Maggie Maggie Maggie! Out out out!" during the breakdown of Step Into My Office Baby.

I wondered, before they began, whether I would ever see B&S again after this show. Now it's done, and I enjoyed the gig, I'm not sure. I'd probably go back, but all the same, I loved that band and, for some reason, now seems about time to draw a line. I was talking to Mummy I've Grazed My Knee earlier in the day about how I wouldn't be too disappointed if they declared this new album as their swansong, played a few farewell shows and left us all with warm feeling of completeness. But then again I guess we all have to make a living somehow.

Anyway. Maybe YOU were there. Back in the old days a post like this would be referred to as Reporting Back; the list would be awash with discussion. But it's quiet round here these days, so you'll just have to make do with me. 

Bulk love,


Sam.x





   ================================
        "He's strictly a pain in the ass, but
          he certainly has a good vocabulary"    
                        - Holden Caulfield

 		 	   		  
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