Photo: Robbie Jay Barratt
We arrive at Somerset House by the time the dreamy support band, C-Duncan, have already started their 5 song set. Somerset House is still quite empty, people are mostly sitting on the ground with beer and chatting is way louder than the music. As soon as they start setting up the stage for Belle and Sebastian it starts to rain, which makes the conversation even louder.
A very sweet, slightly flirty girl with ginger hair appears on the screen. "Ladies and gentleman, please welcome on stage – Belle and Sebastian." This girl, it turns out, is an integral part of the show, and makes remarks between songs like, "Stuart, have you told them what the next song is about? Alright, I'll tell them. Next song is about sex."
Apparently on the event's website, you could register to become a dancer on stage – which explained about 30 people having fun behind the band and doing funny dance moves. Most fans in the crowd didn't know about this opportunity, which made them quite upset. 'I'm sooo jealous,' – says the girl standing behind me.
You can see how London is a very-very special place for the band. Stuart Murdoch keeps making nostalgic references, like, 'This song was written on a bus to Camden... wait, which number did you say it was?'('The Boy with the Arab Strap'). Belle and Sebastian also performs 'Mornington Crescent' - which Murdoch claims to have only played live once, so he makes a joke about getting the chords from guitar.com.
Even though Belle and Sebastian are mostly appreciated for their beautiful half songs / half poems, there is a lot of dancing and jumping and drums involved in the show, which actually made the perfect balance between the classic songs like 'The State That I Am In' and recent releases like 'The Party Line'.
"Don't keep them for too long... they are gonna miss their last buses," – says the girl on the screen before the crowd starts heading towards the exit.
