2008 Woodie Awards
WRMC 91.1 FM
On Rotation
Alison lacivita
Issue date: 3/2/06 Section: Arts
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Oh, Belle and Sebastian. So cute. So Scottish. I saw them for the first time at Pearl Street in Northampton two and half years ago when Dear Catastrophe Waitress was released. This is nothing against the band, but I fell asleep (the chairs were quite comfortable - theater seats - red velveteen) and was a little dismayed when I awoke to find the encore underway.
This time, thanks to the wonder of general admission, I managed to stay awake for the entirety of the show, which took place at Metropolis in Montreal. Before I begin to talk about the concert itself, I would just like to take a few moments to discuss the wonder of Canada. My twee-loving travel companion and I, feeling slightly hungry after crossing the border, found ourselves slightly skeptical of the numerous eating establishments all bearing the same moniker: "Restaurant." After many trials and tribulations, we eventually found sustenance at a gas station that sold French porn, clown makeup, toy shotguns, sandwiches in oddly shaped containers and, thankfully, Nutella, the food of the Lord. However, trouble reared its ugly head when faced with the question: "Think they have knives?" The answer, alas, was no. Just when we thought it looked grim, we spotted a towering stack of flat coffee lids and ingeniously decided they could be bent in half and could resemble the item of silverware we so ardently coveted. We were saved and armed in panoply complete, to complete our journey.
Finally, we arrived at Metropolis, land of the Canadian hipster. The opening band The New Pornographers, hailing primarily from Vancouver, began promptly at 8 p.m., and played for much too long. Once upon a time, I enjoyed a few tracks of their Mass Romantic album, but after the release of Electric Version, quickly stopped listening to them. Their performance assured me I had not missed anything since the cessation of my interest their music. They, thankfully, played a few tracks off of Mass Romantic, notably, "Body Says No," "The Slow Descent into Alcoholism" and "The Laws Have Changed." Other than those, I could not tell when one song ended and the other began because of the band's horribly boring and repetitive power chords and even more horribly boring and repetitive lyrics. The only redeeming thing about the band is the girl, whose vocal presence has sadly decreased since Mass Romantic. The only songs that did not make me irritable were those featuring her, which were, not surprisingly, the three off of Mass Romantic I previously mentioned. After about an hour of continuously checking my watch, they finally stopped.
This time, thanks to the wonder of general admission, I managed to stay awake for the entirety of the show, which took place at Metropolis in Montreal. Before I begin to talk about the concert itself, I would just like to take a few moments to discuss the wonder of Canada. My twee-loving travel companion and I, feeling slightly hungry after crossing the border, found ourselves slightly skeptical of the numerous eating establishments all bearing the same moniker: "Restaurant." After many trials and tribulations, we eventually found sustenance at a gas station that sold French porn, clown makeup, toy shotguns, sandwiches in oddly shaped containers and, thankfully, Nutella, the food of the Lord. However, trouble reared its ugly head when faced with the question: "Think they have knives?" The answer, alas, was no. Just when we thought it looked grim, we spotted a towering stack of flat coffee lids and ingeniously decided they could be bent in half and could resemble the item of silverware we so ardently coveted. We were saved and armed in panoply complete, to complete our journey.
Finally, we arrived at Metropolis, land of the Canadian hipster. The opening band The New Pornographers, hailing primarily from Vancouver, began promptly at 8 p.m., and played for much too long. Once upon a time, I enjoyed a few tracks of their Mass Romantic album, but after the release of Electric Version, quickly stopped listening to them. Their performance assured me I had not missed anything since the cessation of my interest their music. They, thankfully, played a few tracks off of Mass Romantic, notably, "Body Says No," "The Slow Descent into Alcoholism" and "The Laws Have Changed." Other than those, I could not tell when one song ended and the other began because of the band's horribly boring and repetitive power chords and even more horribly boring and repetitive lyrics. The only redeeming thing about the band is the girl, whose vocal presence has sadly decreased since Mass Romantic. The only songs that did not make me irritable were those featuring her, which were, not surprisingly, the three off of Mass Romantic I previously mentioned. After about an hour of continuously checking my watch, they finally stopped.