Belle & Sebastian returned this year with Girls In Peacetime Want To Dance, debuting a new sound featuring longer songs and the influence of electronic dance music.
Yet for their show at The Riviera, the band largely stuck to their back-catalogue, performing only a handful of tracks from the new album.
Sandwiching “I’m A Cuckoo” between new songs “Nobody’s Empire” and “The Party Line,” the show opened on an extremely upbeat note, the massive band joined by a small string section.
“The Model” and “Le Pastie de la Bourgeoisie” were both unexpected choices from older records, while “The Boy With The Arab Strap” and “Sleep The Clock Around” provided a much-needed addition from their earliest records. Surprisingly, no songs from Tigermilk or If You’re Feeling Sinister were performed.
Throughout the set, fans joined the band on stage to dance, an indication of the new direction the band is taking.
Opener “Honeyblood” joined the band for “Lazy Line Painter Jane” prior to the encore, which consisted solely of “The Blues Are Still Blue,” ending as upbeat as the show began.
Watch videos from the performance and read the set list below.
Set list:
1. Nobody’s Empire
2. I’m A Cuckoo
3. The Party Line
4. The Model
5. Le Pastie De La Bourgeoisie
6. Sukie In The Graveyard
7. Perfect Couples
8. Piazza, New York Catcher
9. A Century Of Fakers
10. The Power Of Three
11. Enter Sylvia Plath
12. The Wrong Girl
13. The Boy With The Arab Strap
14. Lazy Line Painter Jane (with Honeyblood)
15. Sleep The Clock Around
Encore:
16. The Blues Are Still Blue
I'm A Cuckoo:
The Party Line:
Le Pastie De La Bourgeoisie:
The Blues Are Still Blue:
