Belle And Sebastian live in Athens September 2022

This was my first indoor concert in almost 3 years! I figured that since I was OK wearing a mask at outdoor gigs and since I had also been on a summer holiday a few days before, wearing a mask while on the ship and whenever I was indoors at a public place, I figured I could finally go to such a concert. It was, after all Belle And Sebastian. I had seen them back in the summer of 2015 in Ancona, at what was for me back then, a legendary concert and one of my top 5 live gigs ever, so I would have liked to see them again. In the last few years they had released an album that combined 3 EP's (How To Solve Our Human Problems), a soundtrack album ("Days Of The Bagnold Summer"), a live album during the lockdown ("What To Look For In Summer") and this year a brand new album ("A Bit Of Previous"). I had listened to all of these during the summer (I even watched the movie - The Days Of The Bagnold Summer) and so I was well prepared.

I set off for the venue immediately after work wearing my mask (which I wear during working hours anyway) and I arrived in time to catch a free place at the front and to the left of the stage). Support was provided by Amalia & The Architects, a Greek band and a welcome surprise (They even played a cover of "Blister In The Sun").

 

Then it was time for Stuart and his mates. It wasn't like 2015 and I didn't expect it to be like 2015 with the "special circumstances" under which we went to that gig, but it was, after all, Belle And Sebastian. It's all a matter of taste. In fact, a friend of mine who had seen them the first time they had come to Greece almost 20 years ago refused to come because they don't play the songs he wants to hear anymore. As far as I'm concerned I don't care which ones they play. "The Boy With The Arab Strap" is a sure thing and although there was no "The State I Am In" this time, or even anything from "Girls In Peacetime Want To Dance" which, in my opinion, is the best of their later albums, there were however many others to keep me happy (including "Dear Catastrophe Waitress").

 

 

One final thing I should mention, is that this was one more concert of those that we were promised for the summer of 2020 when everything was cancelled. It wasn't rescheduled for 2021 and wasn't initially announced for the summer of 2022 so I thought we had missed our chance. It was announced much later in the year (during the summer I think), so it turned out alright after all. And thankfully, we didn't have to go all the way to Terra Vibe to see them, where they were supposed to play two years ago...

 

SETLIST:
01. Dog On Wheels
02. I'm A Cuckoo
03. Young And Stupid
04. She's Losing It
05. Unnecessary Drama
06. Reclaim The Night
07. I Want The World To Stop
08. Piazza, New York Catcher
09. The Stars Of Track And Field
10. Chickfactor
11. Another Sunny Day
12. The Boy With The Arab Strap
13. Dear Catastrophe Waitress
14. The Wrong Girl
15. I Didn't See It Coming
16. Wrapped Up In Books
17. Get Me Away From Here, I'm Dying
Encore:
18. Sleep The Clock Around
19. Le Pastie De La Bourgeoisie
20. Judy And The Dream Of Horses