Belle and Sebastian

It’s the last night of Belle and Sebastian’s UK tour and the mood is celebratory. The band may be clearly exhausted by months on the road, but Stuart Murdoch and co are able to summon up enough jittery energy to leave the packed O2 Academy well and truly satisfied.

It has to be noted that the audience, a mixture of striped-T-shirt sporting super fans of a certain age and self-consciously awkward teens, is easy to crack. Opener ‘I Didn’t See it Coming’ sets the tone, a slice of charmingly infectious pop enhanced by the gentle interplay between lead vocalist Murdoch and violinist/vocalist Sarah Martin, although it is at odds with the over-cooked lighting effects that precede it.

The opener may be from new record Write About Love, but this is a set that is very much dominated by old classics, which is no bad thing. The crowd, particularly some of the rather intoxicated first generation fans, lap up classic such as the understated ‘Piazza New York Catcher’, catchy ‘La Pastie De La Bourgeoisie’ and uplifting ‘I Am A Cuckoo’. At times the subtle arrangements are a little too underpowered for such an adoring audience, as Martin and Murdoch’s delicate vocals become lost in such a large venue. Nonetheless, the substantial string section and occasional bursts of brass provide some startlingly beautiful moments. Lush ballad ‘Lord Anthony’ is a particular stand out, enhanced by Murdoch’s carefully considered theatrics, although the effect is slightly ruined by the over-enthusiastic contributions of the man next to me, word-perfect but perpetually out of time.

A tender version of ‘Slow Graffitti’, featuring Murdoch on piano, is also well received but on the whole it is the up-tempo numbers that stand out most. Perky renditions of ‘Sleep the Clock Around’, ‘I’m Not Living in the Real World’ (with guitarist Stevie Jackson on vocals co-ordinating audience participation) and ‘I Want the World to Stop’ demonstrate Murdoch’s trademark moves at their best, the awkward limby spasms that launched a thousand twitchy imitators at indie nights across the country (just visit Fibbers on a Friday and see what I mean…) The standout is undeniably hit(ish) single ‘Legal Man’, which in a display of the sort of carefully controlled showmanship in which Murdoch seems to relish, involves an endearingly awkward stage invasion as four bewildered audience members are invited up, encouraged to stay for a delightfully jerky dance off to the irresistible ‘The Boy With the Arab Strap’, and finally rewarded with medals before being quietly escorted off by jaded looking stage hands.

Overall this gig is an intensely likable evening, proving that Belle and Sebastian can still deliver a powerful punch live. Perhaps most affecting is the brilliantly enthusiastic double encore of ‘Judy and the Dream of Horses’ and ‘Me and The Major’. The songs may be fifteen years old, and Belle and Sebastian may have now reached an enviably lean middle age, but their distinctive brand of fey indie pop remains as fresh and addictive as ever.