BELLE AND SEBASTIAN

Already a crowded stage with full band, support musicians and guests from Japan on strings and trumpet, Belle and Sebastian filled out the floor space even further when they invited nearly 30 audience members to dance and sing along on stage to “The Boy with the Arab Strap” and “Legal Man” near the end of their Saturday evening set.

They began with “Nobody’s Empire”, a selection from their new album, accompanied by black and white images of friends, families, and couples on the video screen. After hitting on fan favorite “I’m a Cuckoo” to get fans in the mood, Stuart Murdoch announced “Watashi-tachi wa Belle & Sebastian desu! Party no junbi wa?” (We are Belle & Sebastian! Are you ready to party?). They then dove headfirst into the groovy, danceable “The Party Line”.

The band seemed to flip-flop back and forth between older cheerful hits and newer, more funky numbers. “She’s Losing It” and its smooth saxophone solo preceded “Seeing Other People” before they played “I Want the World to Stop” to great crowd response. Recreating their polished album sound perfectly live on stage, it was the backing band and support from guests on strings and trumpet that really helped round out the whole sonic package.

His luggage lost at the airport, Stuart felt the need to borrow a few props from the audience during “Lord Anthony”, as he roamed offstage to fetch a hat from one crowd member and mascara from another. After the aforementioned two-song dance party, the audience members were ushered offstage and the band finished off with the mellow “Judy and the Dream of Horses”, before coming back on for an encore of “Get Me Away From Here I’m Dying” and kooky “The Blues are Still Blue”.

SETLIST:

Nobody’s Empire
I’m a Cuckoo
The Party Line
She’s Losing It
Seeing Other People
I Want the World to Stop
Perfect Couples
Lord Anthony
Electronic Renaissance
The Wrong Girl
I Didnt See It Coming
The Boy with the Arab Strap
Legal Man
Judy and the Dream of Horses

Encore

Get Me Away From Here I’m Dying
The Blues are Still Blue