Goodness gracious is Belle and Sebastian determined for you to have a good time.
The Scottish band returned to Toronto’s Massey Hall on Wednesday night for a delightful showing of their ninth studio album, 2015’s Girls in Peacetime Want to Dance. It turns out they’re right with that declaration – providing a set full of songs to have the masses moving their limbs, shaking off any notions that they may be a band best suited for a sit down.
To start, the band (numbering 13 musicians on stage, including a backing external orchestra) brought out a pair of dancers from the National Ballet of Canada for the building ballad “The Cat With the Cream”, from their latest album. The professional dancing gave way to the fan-provided excitement, with people rushing to the front for the set’s second song: “I’m a Cuckoo”, from 2004’s Dear Catastrophe Waitress. By the third number – 2015 single “The Party Line” – Belle and Sebastian had clearly set the mood for the evening: this would be a visit to the disco, in a way only Stuart Murdoch and company could facilitate.
They’re also an exceptionally personable band, and nowhere was it more apparent than in their ever-so-in-the-moment stage banter that peppered their set. Murdoch, Sarah Martin, and Stevie Jackson were all quick to talk, topics ranging from everything from the Toronto PATH system to who gets the last clap at concerts to our food courts. Murdoch also made note of the city’s masculine tendencies, pointing out both our love for tall buildings and our big lake. “It’s all very butch,” he added, before noting that our trams and our tokens are a delightful feminine touch.
While the set included old favourites from a band with a deep back catalogue, it was truly the new material’s chance to shine. Songs like the aforementioned “The Party Line” (whose video was incidentally shot in Toronto, Murdoch later reminded the crowd) and “Perfect Couples” brought a healthy dose of electronics. For the extended “Perfect Couples”, guitarist Jackson explained it was their version of Spinal Tap’s jazz odyssey. On it, Murdoch played bongos; Jackson took the near-spoken word vocal lead; and bass and synth from Bobby Kildea, Chris Geddes, and Martin all made it feel very Talking Heads at the dancehall. This is a compliment – it was very good.
For those in attendance holding out hope for early Belle and Sebastian, there was still plenty to hear. “My Wandering Days Are Over” showed up early and featured a nicely delivered trumpet solo, while “The Fox in the Snow” was dedicated to Joni Mitchell in light of her recent hospitalization.
As tends to be the case with “The Boy with the Arab Strap”, plenty of fans flooded the stage for a chance to dance at Murdoch’s beckoning – the vocalist even asking them to step closer mid-way through the song. He brought all the stage-crashers together at the microphone for its finish, slowed snaps leading the band into the next number, “Legal Man”. People were allowed to stay up and dance away their inhibitions for the 2000 single full of western guitars and a 70’s movie feel.
The 80’s also got their chance in the spotlight thanks to Tigermilk’s “Electronic Renaissance”, another highlight of the evening that saw the giant screen behind the band flash old school video game clips. Nostalgia aside, it sounded great and Murdoch twirled around on stage as the band made liberal use of keyboards, a keytar, and a melodica.
We were teased with a couple of lines from “This is Just a Modern Rock Song” at the request of someone in the crowd, but it was “Get Me Away From Here, I’m Dying” that ultimately ended the main portion of the show, Murdoch asking for help from everyone on vocals. Belle and Sebastian were beckoned back on for an encore, the video screen goading the audience with the message: “Oh how predictable, how bourgeois,” before the band returned to finish it all off with 1998’s “Sleep the Clock Around” – a nice way to cap off an entirely fun evening.
They’re a band that has established themselves as a can’t-miss live act and, thanks to a big back catalogue and an ability to connect with their audience, they’ll keep bringing the people back. You know what to expect when you go to a Belle and Sebastian show: you just never know how they’re going to deliver it.
