I don’t know any of their songs and I’ve no idea which one is Belle, nor indeed which one is Sebastian (if either,) so it seemed like a good idea at the time to wanter down to the Astoria last night to see Belle & Sebastian in concert.
I love the Astoria – because it’s a decent size venue, but one that still remains fairly intimate.
B&S played well – very mellow with their 60s Californian influences worn very much on their sleeves – with a little Elvis Costello and late 70s / early 80s punk and electronica thrown in for good measure. It felt like ideal music for a balmy summer festival rather than a cold December night…
The band was huge – numerically at least. At one point 12 people on stage playing, including a string quartet.
Top prize for the most bizarre moment came when midway through the lead singer intorduced the drum technician who proceeded to tie balloons into the shape of different animals – accompanied throughout by the music from ‘The Gallery’ on one of those Tony Hart programmes we grew up with.
I still don’t know any of their songs, and I still don’t know which one is Bell and if there’s another called Sebastian, but I do no I quite liked them!
3/5.
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