Praying For A Friend Is Contagious

Belle & Sebastian @ Radio City Music Hall 6/10/2015
Nobody’s Empire / I’m A Cuckoo / The Party Line / The State I Am In / Dirty Dream Number Two / Perfect Couples / Piazza, New York Catcher / Allie / Cat with the Cream / If You’re Feeling Sinister / The Wrong Girl / Dear Catastrophe Waitress / If You Find Yourself Caught In Love / The Boy with the Arab Strap / I Didn’t See It Coming / Sleep the Clock Around // Lazy Line Painter Jane / Judy and the Dream of Horses

Belle & Sebastian “Cat with the Cream”

I’m pretty sure this was the biggest headlining, non-festival show of Belle & Sebastian’s career in the United States. They really went all-out for it – a huge video screen with full-produced videos matched up to some of the newer songs, dancers, a string section, and special guest Dee Dee Penny from the Dum Dum Girls showing up in the encore to sing “Lazy Line Painter Jane.” (I never thought I’d get to see them do that song, and I was beyond thrilled.) But as much as they endeavored to put on a big, lavish show there was a bit of the old B&S ramshackle charm on display – the dancers were definitely not pros, and you could sometimes see the cursor of the computer controlling the video screen appear on the screen itself.

The performance was impeccable, though. Belle & Sebastian became a very tight live band over a decade ago, and they’ve only become more confident. The main attraction of seeing this band live is just to hear Stuart Murdoch’s voice in person – it’s such a gorgeous, delicate thing, and it’s not a surprise that the songs that stripped out a lot of sound to focus on it, like “The State I Am In” and “Piazza, New York Catcher,” inspired the most passionate response from the audience. I was particularly moved by his performance on “Cat with the Cream,” one of the best cuts from the new album. The vocal melody is so simple and lovely, and I love how it contrasts with this trilling, vaguely menacing string section.

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