'A Bit of Previous' Back with Belle and Sebastian

Belle and Sebastian performing at the Greek Theatre, LA by Jacob Alvarez

WITH SUPPORT FROM TENNIS AND THEE SACRED SOULS

In the early 2000s, Glasgow natives Belle and Sebastian dominated the indie scene with albums like Fold Your Hands Child You Walk Like a Peasant and Storytelling. I of course was a child then running around playing legos and Playstation so I was unaware of them at the time. I was first introduced to their music back in 2015 with their album Girls in Peacetime Want to Dance, due to Coachella that year. I went to see them with my friend Luis due to our favorite indie head Mac DeMarco opening. We stuck around for the headliner, but not many did. From then on, I looked into their discography and started my relationship.

Belle and Sebastian and The Smiths/Morrissey in my opinion have the best album covers, diving into portrait imagery of various people, both in happiness and in pain. Peasant’s cover is my favorite, with the two children staring at each other as if they want to murder one another and my favorite track “There’s Too Much Love” happens to be on it as well.

Belle and Sebastian performing at the Greek Theatre, LA by Jacob Alvarez

The crowd was much more laid back than my past visits at the Greek, with the venue even opting for a seated pit as opposed to general admission. Therefore, photographers were pushed to the FOH which isn’t ideal at a place like the Greek. Tennis was playing their smooth jams so I got to enjoy much of their set with my partner Paige. The audience was feeling them which was a nice scene, and singer Alaina Moore announced that her parents flew out from Georgia to see them open for their heroes. How can you not be romantic about music?

At about 9:15PM, I stood near the soundboard as a blue screen showcasing the band’s initials and the title of their latest record appeared. The artist heavy Belle and Sebastian made their way on stage and quickly jumped into favorite “Nobody’s Empire” that I was all too familiar with from 2015. The entire audience rose to their feet and stood for the entirety of the set. They danced to “Unnecessary Drama” and “Seeing Other People” while singer Stuart Murdoch made quips about being in LA, seeing himself on the screens that played along the stage, and being back on tour after quarantine. I didn’t believe they would but the band played “Another Sunny Day” which they left out of their set back when I first saw them so it was great to have experienced it. Unfortunately, they didn’t take my request for “There’s Too Much Love,” as they’ve been letting the audience orchestrate their encore. Belle and Sebastian performed a rendition of “Fuck This Shit” and finished strong with “The Boy With the Arab Strap.” The shoot wasn’t ideal but I was happy to capture the backdrops of some songs while listening to the quirky nostalgia of the music. Check out the set list here!

PS: Check out our gallery of photos from the performance!

PS: Check out our gallery of photos from the performance!