Belle and Sebastian

The Belle and Sebastian and Devotchka show at the Fillmore was great. Devotchka plays such a fun show. They are really hard for me to describe. It's polka and belly dancing and Bauhaus and further international flair. There's the singer with his guitar, a guy on the drums, the other guy who switches between fiddle (violin?) and accordian, and the lady who switches back and forth between tuba and stand-up bass (cello?). A very strange mix that you might not expect to rock hard, but it does. They also used this thing that I kept calling (to myself, in my head) the invisible instrument. It was about half the size of a bread box, looked like an old desktop, walnut-cased radio with an antenna coming straight out the top. When he put his hand near the antenna, the device made a haunting, electronic sound. The tone, pitch, and intensity all varied as he moved his hand closer or farther, up or down, and slower or faster near the antenna. I was surprised by the apparent precision with which he played the invisible instrument.

I wasn't expecting the Belle and Sebastian set up to be so large. I think there were from 7 to 12 people playing some role in every song. Man, that guy has a beautifully delicate voice. Denver was their last stop in America before heading home to Scotland. They played for a really long time. By the time they came out to do their encore, Stuart said that it had already been their longest show of the tour. Boy were they good. At the shows that I have been to lately, I have been really impressed with the quality of the sound. Hearing these bands live is a crisp and clean as a CD.

I was pleasantly surprised to find that I knew most of the songs. I didn't realize that my collection of their songs is as extensive as it has become. I think that they played music off each of their albums.

It was a darned good show. I'm disappointed that I ended up going there and then home alone, but perhaps it is for the best. The girl I initially asked was unable to find a babysitter. Like I said, probably for the best.

I tried calling a few other people and sent a babbling email to Missy offering her the ticket as I had read that she was in Denver for the week. Alas, no one was answering their phones, and Missy was only here for the business portion of the week.

Jonathan 5/09/2004 09:56:00 PM