Robbie Williams gig [18th December 2006 @ Telstra Dome]

No, this isn't an early April Fool's Day joke. I really went to the Robbie Williams concert.

Lorin wanted to go to see him and she couldn't find anyone else who wanted to go, so I performed my husbandly duties and accompanied her to see him at the Telstra Dome in the Docklands.

Look, to be quite honest, I quite enjoy some of his music. I'd never buy one of his albums, but Lorin does have his Greatest Hits CD at home which pretty much includes all the songs you'd want of his on a single disc. He has released some great catchy songs over the years, and if I had to pick a contemporary "pop" artist to see in concert he'd probably be high up on my list (keeping in mind that most of the music I like is not classified as "pop"). He also possesses that cheeky British arrogance (similar to the Gallagher brothers) which is a strangely likable quality.

Opening with hit singles Radio and Rock DJ, it did take a while for the gig to start taking off. The acoustics were pretty poor at the start, and the first few songs were reminiscent more of a poor karaoke performance than a superstar rocking 65,000+ fans in a huge stadium. He pranced around with cocky swagger, and pictures of him flashed up on the giant screens. Yes, this was truly a man who was way too much in love with himself. When he did talk at the start, the only words he could seem to get out were "Australia!!!" and "Melbourne!!!". It wasn't looking pretty from our vantage point in the standing general admission section.

Luckily it got better. The hits starting coming one after another, Robbie started talking to the audience a lot more and his charisma starting to shine through. He also used the sure-fire technique of audience interaction to get the crowd into the music, getting fans to wave their hands in the air during Monsoon, encouraging an "Australian wave" (basically a Mexican wave) and talking to a fan's friend on her mobile phone (in which you could simultaneously hear 10,000 teeny-bopper girls' hearts flutter).

He came out for his encore in an Adidas-sponsored outfit, and sung his early anthem Let me entertain you (which would have made a better opening song than Radio). You could really feel the energy in the place by this stage, and after singing a few other less-memorable songs, he appeared to be ending the night with his lovely ballad Angels (probably my favourite in his repertoire). Then he made some comment about "doing it for the kids" before playing the final song of the night Kids (sans Kylie, who he duets with on the studio version).

All in all, a surprisingly enjoyable gig for me. Lorin's enjoyment was unfortunately reduced due to not being able to see the stage properly, even from standing far back in the general admission section (but luckily there were big TV screens which she could see most of). I also assured her that she wasn't missing much by not being able to see the stage. Next time we go general admission we'll have to follow the lead of an enterprising young person we saw there, who brought along a small esky that also worked as a height-enhancer :)

But it does raise an interesting point -- can't they design standing sections in stadiums to be more friendly to the shorter fans? I'm sure it wouldn't be difficult to angle the floor, in a similar way to how they arrange seats in cinemas, to increase the chances of shorter fans being able to see the stage. Maybe even make the stage higher up?

UPDATE: According to the Blogger stats, this is my 100th blog post. Woohoo!

U2 gig [18th November 2006 @ Telstra Dome]

I'm back online baby! Apologies for the brevity of this review, but I've been out of blogging action for a few months (wedding planning, wedding, honeymoon) but now I'm back. I'll try to be more regular in my posts, but I don't want to jump back in the deep end with a huge post so I'll keep this brief.

U2 were originally supposed to be here in March this year but they postponed the Aussie leg of the tour after guitarist The Edge's daughter became sick. They finally made it to Melbourne, last Saturday and Sunday night at the huge Telstra Dome stadium at the Docklands. I went to the opening Melbourne gig on Saturday night.

Opening with City of blinding lights from their most recent album How to dismantle an atomic bomb, Bono and the lads impressed the huge crowd with a blistering set covering their whole career, from debut single I will follow to the new Green Day collaboration single The saints are coming. Although, notably there were no songs from their mid-90's albums Zooropa and Pop where they went out on a stylistic tangent with mixed results (both creatively and commercially).

Our seats were directly front-on -- at many venues this would be a positive, but not at Telstra Dome where sitting front-on also means you are a sports stadium length from the stage. But being such a veteran stadium band, U2 knew how to make the show enjoyable to even those who could only see them as ant-size dots on the horizon. There were huge TV screens which initially showed a close-up of the band members, and over the course of the gig they were used for displaying special effects, political texts, and other items of interest.

The band often appended snippets of other songs to the end of an original U2 song -- a couple of songs they used in this way were Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band and Here comes the sun by The Beatles, and Rock the casbah by The Clash. Bono also dedicated some U2 originals to people who inspired him, like Joe Strummer and Michael Hutchence.

Bono has never been shy of expressing his political opinions, and definitely didn't hold back here. He talked a lot about poverty in Africa and commented that to "defeat a monster you don't have to become a monster" (obviously in relation to the war in Iraq).

In one of the more poignant moments in the gig they put up the word Coexist on the TV screen, where the C was a crescent (signifying Islam), the X was a Star of David (signifying Judaism) and the T was a crucifix (signifying Christianity). During the performance of the superb One from Achtung baby, they showed translations of the number in various languages, to show that despite all of our cultural differences we should all be united.

Despite the lack of intimacy (a common complaint I have about concerts in huge stadiums), it was a very enjoyable gig. They ended with the song Kite from their excellent 2000 album All that you can't leave behind. It was a satisfying ending to the gig, but the lyrics seemed to take on more relevance as I put my arms around my new wife and friends as we sang along to them.

Who's to say where the wind will take you
Who's to say what it is will break you
I don't know
Which way the wind will blow

iTunes 7 rocks my world!

Apple has just announced iTunes 7.0, a new version of their popular iTunes jukebox software. Along with this comes an iPod firmware update. Just another update, you hear? No siree. Apple have finally added a feature that I have been wanting since I've had an iPod.

Gapless playback.

Yes, you read that right. Apple have finally fixed the gapless playback (segue) issue.

I've ranted about this in a previous post, and that was before I even purchased an iPod. In fact, it was one of the things which was deterring me from buying an iPod. Eventually I caved and got one, but it has always annoyed me. So much so, that I tended to avoid listening to albums like Dark side of the moon and Abbey road on my iPod because they just didn't reflect the experience of listening to the same albums on CD. I was always hoping that Apple would listen to their customers, and in this case they have and I'm very happy.

I'm happy they have implemented it, but I'm extra happy because they did it so goddamn elegantly. While initial reports (from various sources) indicated that I would have to manually go through my collection and tag the albums/tracks which require gapless playback, iTunes did all the hard yards for me. After upgrading, it ran a quick analysis over my 50GB+ library and automatically figured out which sequences of tracks require gapless playback. A quick iPod sync later, and I was listening to the awesome medley on Abbey Road as nature intended it. For the first time on my iPod, Mean Mr. Mustard and Polythene Pam were characters in the same story, not separate ones with gaps.

Niiiice! (those extra i's are in honour of Apple, who I am very happy with at the moment).

In an ironic twist, I was listening to Brian Wilson's SMiLE album just yesterday. This is an album where each track is a chapter in a complete work, with segues galore. I was holding off on listening to it because I knew it wouldn't be very good on the iPod. Now I can listen to it again just like Brian Wilson wants me to :)

FYI, the next item on my iTunes wishlist is the ability to perform AND or OR operations on playlists, on the iPod. For example, let's say I have these 2 playlists:

Party mix
Tracks I haven't played in 2 weeks

I want to be able to AND these playlists, so I can hear all party mix songs that I haven't played in 2 weeks. At the moment, I have to create another playlist in iTunes just for this purpose. But I want to be able to do this from the iPod, so I can do it at home (and not from iTunes, which is on my work computer).

A few quick reviews

Sorry about the lack of posts, but between being flat out at work and flat out at home organising my wedding (I'm getting married in November), I simply haven't had any time. I will try to find time to post something now and then to show that I'm still alive.

This is just a quick post to let you know about a couple of albums that I have been listening to quite a bit lately. In both cases I enjoyed them when I first purchased them, but on the last few listens they suddenly "hit" me. That's a great feeling :)

Guided By Voices - Bee Thousand

I talked about this band and album in one of my best of 2004 posts, as GBV were one of my great discoveries of the year. Like the Replacements, their albums are predominantly patchy affairs. But unlike the Replacements, they released a definitive statement, a masterpiece where all cylinders were firing and they didn't put a step wrong. And this is that album.

It takes an open mind to warm to this album. First thing you need to forget about is the natural human response to be put off by a poor quality recording. You need to learn to appreciate a song on its own merits and not by how it's been recorded. Think you can do that? Then you are ready for this album.

You've probably heard the term lo-fi bandied around the indie press, but this album truly defined the lo-fi "genre" (if you can call it that). While some bands add fuzz to their music in an attempt to give them some rough and unpolished credibility, these guys literally recorded this album on 4-track tape in their basement. And just like Rockette Morton of Captain Beefheart's Magic Band was "fuelled by beans" on their freak-out album Trout Mask Replica, Bob Pollard and the boys were fuelled on beer during the making of Bee Thousand. And lots of it. There's a reason why many of their fans affectionately called them Guided By Beer.

This album consists of 20 tracks, and beneath all the fuzz and tape hiss lies a charming set of melodies and fantastic songwriting that gets under your skin (in the best way possible). Some of the songs only last for a minute, but they cram more hooks and melodies into that minute than most bands can muster in an album. 16 of the 20 tracks are sung by frontman Bob Pollard, but guitarist Tobin Sprout contributes vocals to 4 of the tracks and they are some of the best tracks on the album (Awful bliss being my personal favourite).

This album was released in 1994, but its melodic spirit lives in 1968. If you were always a believer that the White Album was the best Beatles album, this is the unheard 3rd disc. Yes, the tracks on this album are that good. When this album hits you, you won't know how you lived without these songs in your life.

The Wedding Present - Seamonsters

I have to thank album reviewer Adrian Denning, whose excellent review convinced me to buy this album. If you are a Smiths fan, but always wished that they were a bit louder, then this is the album for you.

Frontman David Gedge's vocals, like those of Morrissey, are definitely an aquired taste. But I've always preferred vocals that are a bit "different", and Gedge's vocals add a real emotional and unique element to these songs. Credit must also be given to producer Steve Albini (who has worked with Nirvana, PJ Harvey and countless others) for his amazing production, which adds an eerie and understated quality to these songs, raising the vibe ante to the max. Just check out opening cut Dalliance, when it suddenly goes from a medium paced rock song to a distorted freakout. Amazing stuff.

You need patience with this album. It didn't hit me as being brilliant until I'd given it close to 10 listens. Some songs are more immediate on the first listen, while others creep up on you. But they will grow on you, so please give it a chance. A highly underrated gem of an album.

Downloads

Guided By Voices - Awful bliss [Link Removed]
Guided By Voices - Echos myron [Link Removed]
Guided By Voices - Queen of cans and jars [Link Removed]

The Wedding Present - Dalliance [Link Removed]
The Wedding Present - Dare [Link Removed]
The Wedding Present - Heather [Link Removed]

UPDATE: Song links removed.

RIP: Arthur Lee 1945-2006

Arthur Lee, of seminal 60's band Love, died on August 3rd of acute myeloid leukemia.

The core Love lineup released 4 albums from 1966 to 1979 - Love (1966), Da Capo (1967), Forever Changes (1967) and Four Sail (1969). The most critically acclaimed of these albums, Forever Changes, is rightly lauded as a lost classic and one of the greatest albums of all time.

Unlike many other highly acclaimed albums of the era, it has aged remarkably well and I agree that it is a brilliant album which deserves to be mentioned in the same breath as Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band by the Beatles, Pet Sounds by the Beach Boys and Odessey and Oracle by the Zombies. It definitely has the sound of the psychedelic 60's but there's a dark undercurrent to songs like The red telephone and You set the scene which give it a timeless eerie quality as well.

Unfortunately, Forever changes never gave Love the commercial or chart success which they clearly deserved. But we all know that talent and commercial success are often mutually exclusive.

Rest in peace, Arthur. Your contribution to popular music will live on forever.

Downloads

Love - The red telephone [Link Removed]
Love - You set the scene [Link Removed]

UPDATE: Song links removed.

RocKwiz DVD launch!

Last night Pete, Dean and myself went to the RocKwiz DVD launch, a party which was held in the Gershwin Room at the Espy. It was all a bit mysterious; the invites were only for ex-contestants and they clearly stated that it was an "invite only" event, and that we couldn't even bring anyone along. There was a lot of speculation before hand - was there going to be a free bar tab? Were they going to do any filming? Were we going to be able to mingle with the celebrities?

[Sidebar: See previous posts about Pete and Dean's appearance, and my appearance on RocKwiz.]

When we arrived and Pete offered to buy the first round, it became clear that at least one of these speculations was true. There was a free bar tab, and suddenly I regretted driving. There was also free finger food; suddenly we regretted buying that kebab we had only eaten 15 minutes ago.

After a few quiet drinks, a few nibbles, and a quick chat with Brian Nankervis, we were led to the front of the Gershwin room where Brian and hostess Julia Zemiro gave a spiel about the success of the show, and about the RocKwiz DVD which was about to be launched nationwide. Shortly afterwards they drew a raffle (we were all given tickets as we entered the Gershwin room); Dean was one of the lucky three who won a RocKwiz backpack, which included a copy of said DVD, a RocKwiz duets CD, a T-shirt, stubbie holder, alcohol of some sort, badge and playing cards.

Then there were some more speakers: the head of programming at the SBS (whose name escapes me) talked a bit about the show, and Mushroom boss Michael Gudinski talked a bit about the Australian music scene in general. This was followed by a live performance of the Johnny Cash hit Jackson by Vika Bull (from Vika & Linda and Black Sorrows) and Dave Larkin (from Dallas Crane); and a performance of the Tom Petty/Stevie Nicks hit Stop draggin' my heart around by the legendary Tim Rogers (from You Am I) and Rebecca Barnard (from Rebecca's Empire). Then the four of them got together and did a nice cover of the Byrds hit So you want to be a rock 'n' roll star.

Tim Rogers in action
[Photo courtesy of MarkG]

After a bit more chit chat from Brian and Julia (and a sneak preview of the DVD on the big screen), the formalities of the night were over. And this is where the night started to get interesting...

Pete, Dean and I (together with MarkG, the husband of a work colleague who was also on the show) decided to mingle a little bit with the celebrities who were there and get some happy snaps.

[Warning: Lots of name-dropping ahead.]

L-R:Me, Tim Rogers, Pete, Dean.
This photo was taken shortly before Dean asked Tim the meaning behind one of his songs, at which point Tim told him that it was about his ex-wife. Dean was a bit apologetic at this point, and Tim told him it was cool and gave Dean a kiss on the neck to let him know that there were no hard feelings.
[Photo courtesy of Pete]



L-R: Mark, Tim, Rebecca Barnard, Me.
As seen from the photo, Tim was clearly inebriated at this point of the night.
Mark: "You're excited? Feel these nipples!"
Me: "I'll have what he's having"
[Photo courtesy of MarkG]



Rebecca Barnard looking at one of the photos on Pete's camera.
Tim: "Hey baby!"
Pete: "Somebody...please pinch me"
[Photo courtesy of MarkG]



Me with my old RocKwiz teammate Ross Wilson (of Daddy Cool fame).
Yes, this is the same guy who sung the Aussie rock classic Eagle rock.
Me: "I can't wait to post this on my blog!"
Ross: "I've come to clean your pool..."
[Photo courtesy of Pete]



Dean with his old RocKwiz teammate Linda Bull (of Vika & Linda and Black Sorrows fame).
Dean: "I knew I shouldn't have had the garlic sauce in my souvlaki before..."
[Photo courtesy of Pete]

Unfortunately, Pete's old teammate Glenn Tilbrook didn't make the trek from the UK to come to the DVD launch. So Pete missed out on his team reunion.

The three of us with Julia Zemiro, the hostess with the most-ess.
Julia: "Get these weirdos away from me"
[Photo courtesy of Pete]

We left shortly after, playing the You Am I classic Hourly, daily on the way back home. We were all on a bit of a high from the great night (although Dean and Pete's high may have been more alcohol-induced than mine :)

What a night!

I am the walrus...goo goo goo joob

Here's the infamous Abbey Road cover by a little known band called The Beatles:



And here is yours truly at the very same pedestrian crossing:



Note that I am wearing shoes in the photograph, so there is no need to worry loyal readers; I am not dead. Here's me sitting on the steps of Abbey Road Studios:



Here's a house which I was told was Paul McCartney's old house -- at 9 Cavendish Avenue, St. Johns Wood (5 minute walk from Abbey Road)...



...and then when I got home and googled for the address, I discovered that he lived at 7 Cavendish Avenue. So I have a nice shot of his old neighbour's house :)

Finally, here's the rooftop in Savile Row where the Beatles did their infamous "rooftop concert" in 1970 (also the apparent location of the final gig by the Be Sharps):



All sacred sites for big Beatles fans like myself (well, except Macca's next door neighbour...but you can forgive me for that one).

RIP: Syd Barrett 1946-2006

Syd Barrett 1946-2006

I arrived at work yesterday to the news that Syd Barrett, founding member of Pink Floyd, died at the age of 60.

Syd only played on their first 2 albums, Piper at the gates of dawn and Saucerful of secrets. His songs had a very different sound to the space-rock which Pink Floyd were most known for on mega-popular albums like Dark side of the moon and The wall, having a much more whimsical element to them. His sound was largely influenced by his experimentation with LSD, the use of which led to him leaving the band after their 2nd album, and eventually to his isolation from the world in the early 70's due to mental illness. The 1975 Pink Floyd album Wish you for here contained the 10-part epic Shine on you crazy diamond, which was apparently a tribute to Syd. A common story states that an overweight and hard-to-recognise Syd actually appeared in the studio during the Wish you were here sessions, only adding to his mystique.

I'm not going to be one of those bandwagon jumpers who says that I've been a huge fan of his just because he died; the truth is, I'm not. I only have 2 albums which he contributed to: the aforementioned Piper at the gates of dawn, and his solo debut album from 1970 The madcap laughs. While his songs on Piper definitely add a unique element to the Floyd sound, I can't say it's the kind of stuff which warrants repeat listens for me. And his solo album has its charm, but it's also incredibly dated. I'd much rather give Dark side of the moon or Meddle a listen over any of those albums.

There's no doubt he has had a lot of devoted fans over the years, and his music has influenced countless musicians. Rest in peace, Syd.

Downloads

Pink Floyd - Scarecrow [Link Removed]
Syd Barrett - Octopus [Link Removed]

UPDATE: Song links removed.

Split Enz gig [11th June 2006 @ Rod Laver Arena]

Kiwi legends Split Enz formed in 1972, had a cult following in the 70's, a bit more success in the 80's, and broke up in 1985. Neil Finn (who joined the band at the time of their 1977 album Dizrythmia) and Paul Hester (who played on the last Split Enz album See 'ya round) formed Crowded House with Nick Seymour, and the rest is history. Split Enz have had various re-formations since their "official" breakup (notably for the Enzso album and its inevitable sequel in the late 90's), but this was the first time they had really toured as a unit since their heyday. Although, for a band that has had so many lineup changes over the years, using the word unit is a bit ambiguous.

The particular Enz incarnation who were touring this year were the True Colours lineup from 1980, which was their most commercially successful album: it spawned their biggest hit I got you which gave them a bit of international success. This lineup was made up of Tim Finn (guitar, keyboards, vocals), Neil Finn (guitar, piano, vocals), Noel Crombie (percussion), Malcolm Green (drums), Nigel Griggs (bass) and Eddie Rayner (keyboards).

The gig was at Rod Laver Arena, a huge stadium in Melbourne which is suited more for sporting events than intimate musical gigs. So while the gig definitely lacked intimacy (especially in contrast to the Belle & Sebastian gig the night before), they made up for it by putting on a spectacular show.

Opening with the new-wave hit Shark attack (from True colours), they played an exciting setlist which covered most of their hits, with a few rarities thrown in to satisfy the dedicated fans. The biggest surprise of the night was an epic performance of Jamboree, the closing song from their Dizrythmia. Tim Finn introduced the song as one "written by Phil Judd", who was a core member and songwriter of the earlier Enz lineup before he left after their second album; also prompting the band to abandon a lot of the art-rock sound that Judd brought to the group and opt for a more pop/new wave sound.

One of the gig highlights for me was their performance of Matinee idyll. It started out being a fairly true-to-the-original version, before Tim asked Eddie Rayner poetically "won't you please, play the bridge on the ivories?" and then left the stage. For the next few minutes, Eddie played those ivories like a man possessed, before cult favourite percussionist Noel Crombie took centre stage to play the spoon solo from The woman who loves you, the superb epic closing cut from their 2nd album Second thoughts. It was a truly memorable gig moment, and a real crowd-pleaser.

Other highlights included a great version of Pioneer / Six months in a leaky boat, and a rockier version of early single Bold as brass, preluded by a bizarre skit where a member of the audience was spanked on the bottom with a towel. They closed with a solid performance of their 1981 Corroboree hit History never repeats (one of their signature songs) before bowing to the applause of 12,000 fans who still wanted more. I'm guessing many of the more obsessive fans will be there again on Monday night, where the band will hopefully show that history does indeed repeat*.

A class act all around.

Downloads

Here's a very poor quality video from the gig. Probably not worth the download ;-)

Split Enz - I Got You [Link Removed]

And here's some choice Split Enz cuts. My Mistake is one of their more popular (early) songs sung by Tim Finn, The Devil You Know is a later-period Neil Finn song (not unlike Crowded House in sound) and The woman who loves you is a very early and experimental Tim Finn song to give you a feel for their artier sound. And it has a kickass spoon solo from Noel Crombie!

Split Enz - My Mistake [Link Removed]
Split Enz - The Devil You Know [Link Removed]
Split Enz - The Woman Who Loves You [Link Removed]

All download links will stay up for a week.

*I'm aware that The Age used a similar "history repeats" pun in the closing line of their recent review. I'd just like to make it clear that this review was in draft status long before I even read that Age review, so I wasn't ripping them off.

UPDATE: Song links removed.

Belle & Sebastian gig [10th June 2006 @ The Forum]

[Photo courtesy of Mark]

I started my recent Augie March review by saying that I'm not a big fan of the Hi-Fi Bar as a venue. Well let me start this review by saying that the Forum is one of the best venues in Melbourne, if not the best. It's so beautiful and scenic; it has high ceilings, excellent ventilation and impressive acoustics. Even if you aren't enjoying the music, you can appreciate the impressive Roman style architecture or stare up at the "perfect night sky" blue ceiling. Yes, I love this venue; it truly makes others pale in comparison.

I last saw Glaswegian band Belle & Sebastian two years ago, at the Palais Theatre in St Kilda. It was a sit-down gig, which obviously has its benefits (great for letting the legs rest) but also has some negative aspects (losing the intimacy and the "connection" with the band that you only get from standing up close). The Forum eschews ticketed standing vs. sitting segregation; instead you can gauge your mood and sit further back, or if you feel like it you can stand up and get closer to the stage. After a bit of debating in our group (Pete, Simone, Mark and myself) we decided to stand. It was a good decision.

Opening with The state I am in from their debut album Tigermilk, the band let loose on an impressive two-hour set which covered a good cross-section of their ten-year catalogue (although they notably didn't include any songs from their two least critically acclaimed albums Fold your hands child... and Storytelling). They played most of the songs from their new album The life pursuit, including current singles The blues are still blue and White collar boy, the latter of which frontman Stuart Murdoch used as an opportunity to introduce all the members of the band.

There were some surprise entries in the setlist: early (and uncharacteristic) Tigermilk cut Electronic renaissance being the biggest surprise; others from left-field included stand-alone single Dog on wheels and underrated B-side The loneliness of a middle distance runner. It was great to see the band playing some obscure fan favourites, although being such a cult band means that "obscure fan favourite" will differ widely between fans (much to the disappointment of a couple who were yelling out for My wandering days are over, but never got their wish.)

Stuart Murdoch is a very charismatic frontman, with Stevie Jackson being his loyal Peter Sellers lookalike side-kick. Stuart joked between songs and he kept the banter up with the audience, ensuring that the gig had a personal connection rather than simply a musical one. When Stuart and Stevie invited a couple of ladies on stage to be involved in the "love-triangle" of Jonathan David (or "love-trapezium" as Stevie so eloquantly put it), the whole room erupted in laughter. They are the kind of guys you would like to hang out and have a few drinks with, and it just goes to show how much more there is to a performance than the music. Their fans were also very well-behaved; although there was the smell of ganja in the air, there was a lot less of a "dickhead element" than most gigs from recent memory and there was lots of room to move (surprising considering it was a sellout gig).

They ended their first set with Judy and the dream of horses, before going off stage and coming back for their only encore. At this moment Stuart decided to jump up on the side balcony, pose for a little while with the statues (much to the cheers of the audience) before jumping down and playing a completely surprising cover of Jump by Van Halen with the rest of the band. It was one of those classic "gig moments" which sealed the already fantastic deal for me.

Here's a quick shot of Stuart in action (courtesy of Mark again):



They ended the encore set (and gig) with early classic Get me away from here, I'm dying. For the first time in ages, these were not the words I was thinking as I left the venue at the early finish time of 11pm. My love affair with live music is back on. How long will it last? Watch this space.

Downloads

Here's a short video from the gig:

Belle & Sebastian - Dog On Wheels [Link Removed]

And here's some choice Belle & Sebastian cuts:

Belle & Sebastian - Seeing Other People [Link Removed]
Belle & Sebastian - Dirty Dream Number Two [Link Removed]
Belle & Sebastian - Another Sunny Day [Link Removed]

All download links will stay up for a week.

UPDATE: Song links removed.