Belle and Sebastian - G2 @ Glasgow

Stuart Murdoch, a picture of airbrushed, smooth-skinned beauty, lulls the braying audience into rapt attention,

Article by Peter Crowther | 15 Feb 2006
Playing a warm-up gig to professional blaggers and Xfm competition winners happily clutching their golden tickets, Belle and Sebastian's intellectual charm is still very much in evidence. Stuart Murdoch, a picture of airbrushed, smooth-skinned beauty, lulls the braying audience into rapt attention, often letting his bandmate take the microphone whilst he whacked out a few dance moves. Managing to inject some passion into what is essentially an industry showcase with a few token fans is fairly difficult, but the band - Murdoch in particular - were able to summon up enough charisma to ensure an atmosphere was created. The set was notably missing in hits, mentioned by Murdoch as he considered playing Dear Catastrophe Waitress following a text from his girlfriend, who had dropped plates and was crying at her job in some West-End restaurant. Nonetheless, a beautiful set laden with the whismy you'd expect from them. [Peter Crowther]
G2, Glasgow, Jan 9