{"id":17623,"date":"2013-07-18T16:56:55","date_gmt":"2013-07-19T00:56:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.thelefortreport.com\/blog\/?p=17623"},"modified":"2013-07-19T05:33:05","modified_gmt":"2013-07-19T13:33:05","slug":"review-photos-and-videos-belle-sebastian-lovefest-at-the-santa-barbara-bowl-101713","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thelefortreport.com\/blog\/2013-07\/review-photos-and-videos-belle-sebastian-lovefest-at-the-santa-barbara-bowl-101713\/","title":{"rendered":"Review, Photos and Videos: Belle & Sebastian Lovefest at the Santa Barbara Bowl 10\/17\/13"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Ensemble\"<\/a><\/p>\n

All photos: Greg Lawler<\/strong><\/h6>\n

Scotland’s Belle & Sebastian<\/strong> brought their amiable big band to the Santa Barbara Bowl<\/strong> last night and gave the modest, but ardent, crowd one of the most entertaining and heartwarming shows of the year.\u00a0 From the moment they walked onstage it was a lovefest between band and audience.\u00a0 For many, given the band’s scant crossings of the Pond, it was the first time seeing them live.\u00a0 While the band’s setlist was not a strict “Greatest Hits,” Belle & Sebastian<\/strong> did manage to hummingbird from one melodious album to the next from their deep discography, sampling many of their dulcet songs along the way.\u00a0 The 13-piece<\/strong> band, led by singer-songwriter-dancer Stuart Murdoch\u00a0<\/strong>and other core members Stevie Jackson, Chris Geddes, Richard Colburn, Sarah Martin, Mick Cooke<\/strong> and Bobby Kildea <\/strong>(further embellished with a savory string quartet and heavenly horns by Mick Crooke<\/strong>), was in fine fettle throughout despite some of the crew and equipment apparently having a difficult time making it from Austin<\/strong> to Santa Barbara<\/strong> in time for the show.\u00a0 All’s well that ends well.<\/p>\n

\"StewEntrada<\/a><\/p>\n

Belle & Sebastian<\/strong> opened with instrumental trollop, Judy is a Dick Slap<\/strong><\/em>, before segueing to crowd-pleasing I\u2019m a Cuckoo<\/strong><\/em>, which set the crowd off into a night of dancing and crowd-singing.<\/p>\n

\"StewDance\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Leader Stuart Murdoch<\/strong> engaged in heartwarming interaction with the crowd throughout the show, at one point requesting a fan apply mascara to him (during Lord Anthony<\/strong><\/em>, natch).\u00a0 At another point, Murdoch<\/strong> invited a fan up to act as audience cue-card girl.\u00a0 He also made a song-long foray into the Bowl audience, taking a tightrope walk along the Bowl’s stone wall while high-fiving fans and giving hugs to some wheelchaired fans along the way.\u00a0 The interactive lovefest was capped off when the band invited 40 or so fans up stage to dance during favorite Boy With the Arab Strap<\/strong><\/em> (watch the video way below) and then invited them to stick around for Legal Man<\/strong><\/em> <\/strong>(during which some of the olders felt vindicated when Murdoch admonished the young dancers to “put down your phones”), before capping matters off by kicking B&S-emblazoned beachballs into the crowd.\u00a0 In addition to a songwriting acumen that makes him the British-equivalent of Burt Bacharach<\/strong>, Murdoch<\/strong> is a gregariously engaging and empathetic leader in a live setting.<\/p>\n

\"StewSideCropped\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Though clearly the centerpoint, the show didn’t focus solely onMurdoch, as sidekick\/guitarist Stevie Jackson<\/strong> took over lead vocals on To Be Myself Completely<\/strong><\/em>, and multi-instrumentalist Sarah Martin<\/strong> took a scintillatingly sonorous turn on I Can See Your Future<\/strong><\/em>.\u00a0 After the Boy With The Arab Strap\/Legal Man<\/strong><\/em> dance-fest, the band went on to close out their set with much-loved Judy and the Dream of Horses<\/strong><\/em> before returning for a short encore comprised solely of their hallmark song, the crowd-sing favorite Get Me Away from Here, I\u2019m Dying<\/strong><\/em>.\u00a0 Other song highlights of the show included The Stars of Track and Field<\/strong><\/em> (dedicated to Wimbledon-winner Andy Murray<\/strong> earlier in their tour), If You’re Feeling Sinister<\/strong><\/em>, and Piazza, New York Catcher<\/strong><\/em> (with its San Francisco touchstone references).<\/p>\n

\"EnsembleStewLegUp\"<\/a><\/p>\n

At show’s end, the Santa Barbara Bowl<\/strong> and its audience had an unmistakably warm glow about it (having nothing to do with the skunks Murdoch<\/strong> kept smelling).\u00a0 While we were sad to see their set end, there are murmurings that the band will soon return to the studio to begin work on a new album, it’s first since 2o10.\u00a0 We look forward, then, to the band returning to California near-term to give its audience continued contentment and joy.\u00a0 Long live Belle & Sebastian<\/strong>!<\/p>\n

\"StewTwist\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Check out more photos from the show below, a video of the band performing Le Pastie De La Bourgeoisie<\/em><\/strong>, the fan-dance video, and the setlist.<\/p>\n

\"StewKeys\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\"StewStripes\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\"BlueTrioBelle\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\"BelleandAssist\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\"StewBlueEnsemble\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\"BlueGuitarDude\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\"StewReverieCrop\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\"RightGuitar\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\"EnsembleBackTurned\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\"StewSetlistlook\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\"StewBuddy\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\"StewCloseCrop\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\"BelleViolin\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\"BelleCurtain\"<\/a><\/p>\n