-thumb-110x110-455795.jpg)
Build Your Own BBQ for Under 10 Bucks!
Zenyatta Makes "Her"Story
Pixies 'Doolittle' @ The Palladium 11/4/09
Stadium to the Sea: LA Marathon Releases 2010 Course Map
A Buttermilk Truck Sneak Peek: Red Velvet Pancakes, Hawaiian Bread French Toast & More...
photo of Belle and Sebastian with the LA Philharmonic by chotda
Slowly creeping my way down Highland Boulevard in some of the worst LA traffic I've ever experienced, almost completely surrounded by my soon-to-be fellow audience members, I was mentally preparing myself for a night consisting of sweet little diddies and teen misfit anthems from not only Belle and Sebastian, but Belle and Sebastian backed by the LA Philharmonic, with The Shins opening for them. Add in some red wine and fancy cheese along with the scenery of the Hollywood Hills, and there's not much more you can ask for on a summer night in Los Angeles.
Although I attempted to conquer the traffic and make it to the Hollywood Bowl on time by sneaking out of work an hour early and skipping dinner, unfortunately, my effort was defeated, and I was only able to catch the last two songs of The Shins. Unlike many live music venues I've experienced, I guess the Hollywood Bowl means business when they say show begins at 7:30. Oh well. Not surprisingly, The Shins saved their two most popular songs for the end of their set. "Caring is Creepy" and "New Slang" appeased indie rockers and Garden State fans alike, and was a satisfying beginning to the night.
Belle and Sebastian has been one of my favorite bands for years, but I was honestly hesitant about seeing them this time, one, because the venue was so huge, and two, because I haven't been the biggest fan of their newer albums. But, because B&S "got me through it," ("it" meaning teen angst, breakups, self reflection, etc. etc.) I felt like I owed them something; definitely a good choice. This was by far the best time I've ever seen them, in the most fitting environment. Just watching Stuart Murdoch skip around the stage was worth it alone. What a charming, witty Scottish gentleman. At one point near the end of the show, fans in the front rows rushed the stage just to join him for a dance; totally surreal for such a huge concert venue with such a tame lineup.
Although the band usually consists of at least thirteen members, the fact that Belle and Sebastian was accompanied by the LA Philharmonic allowed their live performance to finally achieve the full orchestral sound heard on their studio albums. Of course they played a bunch of songs off their newest album "The Life Pursuit," but they also kept it real with old school hits from "Fold Your Hands Child You Walk Like a Peasant," and "Boy with the Arab Strap." Watching "Don't Leave the Light on Baby," "La Pastie de la Bourgeoisie," and "Sleep the Clock Around" being performed live by such a wide variety of instruments gave me the satisfaction of seeing Belle and Sebastian the way I've always wanted to see them: in the mountains, surrounded by good people, a wee bit drunk, with that warm, fuzzy feeling on the inside.
add to stumble upon
add to reddit
tweet this
post to facebook
awesome article!! Makes me wish I could have been in those mountains.. drinking that wine.. hearing that music. :( Soon enough!
Ali McCarthy nailed the concert right on its head! I had the same mixed feelings (they had brought me through so much) and abivalence towards seeing them....however, the show was amazing!
Uh Ali, did you have a memory lapse?
For the record...on the 6th, they only played ONE off of "Life Pursuit": "Sukie in the Graveyard". Since when does one song in an entire setlist constitute "a bunch?"
The Bowl concert was heavier on the earlier albums, unlike the previous LA show at the Wiltern in which B& S played many off of "The Life Pursuit"
I didn't write my own review of the show because I don't have much to say about the music. I was there, too...I've loved Belle and Sebastian since "Boy with the Arab Strap" and likewise don't care much for anything they've done from "Waking Up to Us" onward.
But my experience at the show had both little and everything to do with the music; it was a drug-fueled experience of sheer, screaming terror, from which I'm still trying to recover. I was really looking forward to it, too. But as I never quite expected to break where I've been bent so many times before, the horrors I experienced through most of the show shattered something in me. I'm not sure I'll ever be able to listen to Belle and Sebastian again.
I believe it was something about the Bowl itself that caused these vibes. People were dancing in the aisles; you couldn't walk anywhere; it should have been happy, right? But there were all these old people as well, season ticket holders, a very strange mix of a crowd; maybe it was just shocking that there should be so many people at a B&S concert at all...maybe it was just how mainstream this band has finally become. Maybe their new songs aren't very good.
But I also saw something insidious and dishonest about the way Stuart skipped around the stage. I've seen him perform before; I know he's not a naturally skippy person. He was skipping for effect, in that scarf of his. The sham was unbearable. And all blown up on the big screens, and all the people watching the screens, like some kind of pep rally. And the lyrics --
I've listened to Belle and Sebastian's lyrics a million times before, but I've never heard what I heard this time; they were telling these people to be depressed, to go home and shut up. Every use of the word "you" was dripping with antipathy toward the crowd, or so it seemed to me. It was almost like he Stuart was a stranger from another planet having a laugh at this throng of earthbound morons. Yes; there were aliens among us. The band was eating our souls; sucking huge amounts of energy out of the crowd and giving back nothing but pouty, half-hearted laments.
Without wanting to or meaning to, I realized at this show that all pop music is propaganda designed to numb peoples' minds, all music fans are idiots, and everything that we take for granted as enjoyable about reality is a lie covering up an unspeakable crawling nightmare that's just below the surface, and hidden in all the places between the things that we see and touch.
I didn't write my own review of the show because I don't have much to say about the music. I was there, too...I've loved Belle and Sebastian since "Boy with the Arab Strap" and likewise don't care much for anything they've done from "Waking Up to Us" onward.
But my experience at the show had both little and everything to do with the music; it was a drug-fueled experience of sheer, screaming terror, from which I'm still trying to recover. I was really looking forward to it, too. But as I never quite expected to break where I've been bent so many times before, the horrors I experienced through most of the show shattered something in me. I'm not sure I'll ever be able to listen to Belle and Sebastian again.
I believe it was something about the Bowl itself that caused these vibes. People were dancing in the aisles; you couldn't walk anywhere; it should have been happy, right? But there were all these old people as well, season ticket holders, a very strange mix of a crowd; maybe it was just shocking that there should be so many people at a B&S concert at all...maybe it was just how mainstream this band has finally become. Maybe their new songs aren't very good.
But I also saw something insidious and dishonest about the way Stuart skipped around the stage. I've seen him perform before; I know he's not a naturally skippy person. He was skipping for effect, in that scarf of his. The sham was unbearable. And all blown up on the big screens, and all the people watching the screens, like some kind of pep rally. And the lyrics --
I've listened to Belle and Sebastian's lyrics a million times before, but I've never heard what I heard this time; they were telling these people to be depressed, to go home and shut up. Every use of the word "you" was dripping with antipathy toward the crowd, or so it seemed to me. It was almost like he Stuart was a stranger from another planet having a laugh at this throng of earthbound morons. Yes; there were aliens among us. The band was eating our souls; sucking huge amounts of energy out of the crowd and giving back nothing but pouty, half-hearted laments.
Without wanting to or meaning to, I realized at this show that all pop music is propaganda designed to numb peoples' minds, all music fans are idiots, and everything that we take for granted as enjoyable about reality is a lie covering up an unspeakable crawling nightmare that's just below the surface, and hidden in all the places between the things that we see and touch.
strike,
go back to art school you douchebag.