So Willow and I were both working from home last week and she noticed that Stuart Murdoch of B&S fame was going to be interviewed on NPR. We listened to most of it (until we got cut off by one of my webconferences) and he mentioned some of his influences during the conversation, to note:
The full concert later that day in DC as well as interview can be found online, NPR kicks ass! (NPR : Belle and Sebastian, The New Pornographers).
The concert was a blast! Alberto, Willow and I loved the set list and got close enough to the stage so that the venue didn’t stop us from enjoying the show. Personal favorites for me where “The Fox in the Snow”, “Judy and the Dream of Horses” and “The Boy with the Arab Strap”, though I must admit I was disappointed that they dropped “If You Find Yourself Caught in Love” maybe to make room for a local favorite or two.
Stuart was as inadequately charming as we often believe he really is. He talked to the audience and made a pretty quick connection by pointing out lyrical influences of SF in his songs.
Interesting note: he read the lyrics for Mike Piazza New York Catcher off the page in case he would forget a line or two. He didn’t really seem to need it that much.
Now, a word about the venue: avoid it as much as you can! The Concourse at the Design Center (or whatever it is actually called, specifically) is a long wide warehouse that should be used for what it was originally designed for, and that wasn’t concerts!
The worst acoustics I have heard since the Rolling Stones at Three Rivers Stadium in Pittsburgh circa 1994. You will have to be pretty darn close to the stage to see the show and not be bothered by the echo.