Yeah. You read that headline right. It’s Belle and Sebastian. It’s in DC. It’s tonight. And as Joe the Biden might say; it’s a “Big Fucking Deal.”
How big of a fucking deal are they? We bought our tickets months ago. We had to order them online from a primitive computing machine in the middle of the desert. We had to deal with Ticketmaster, break out a credit card, verify our stupid change of address and everything. It got us to thinking: this is the first real life, bona fide concert the Chop has ever attended. We’ve seen thousands of bands, and they’ve all been in small spaces where you pay at the door and get a hand stamp.
Belle and Sebastian play DAR Constitution Hall tonight. 7 pm Doors.
But Belle and Sebastian is such a big fucking deal that the last time they played the area was also at Constitution Hall, and we said to ourselves we said; “Chop, it’s a big fancy concert. It’s at DAR, where freaking Morrissey plays. Those tickets are going to cost a fortune and sell out and yadda yadda yadda.” And we were right. But when we found out they were touring again, and coming back to DC in support of their new record Write About Love, we said “Fuck it. They’re from Goddamn Scotland. When are they coming back again, eh?” Yeah. It’ll be a while.
For our money (and these tickets ran to money), Belle and Sebastian is the best thing to come out of Scotland since whisky.
If that sounds like we’re drinking the Kool-Aid, well, maybe we are. B & S are something of a cult band, and after a few good years of casual listening we are definitely in that cult. Not since that other cult band, The Smiths, has a group of musicians so elevated pop music to the level of high art. We’re sure that Ke$ha is going to come back and shit all over pop again any day, but for now, for today- October 14… pop is exciting, whimsical, and wonderful again.
Don’t believe it? Go ahead and stream the new album courtesy of National Public Radio and tell us if we’re wrong. (Hint: We’re not wrong.)
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DAR Constitution hall is at 1776 D St. NW in Washington DC. Tickets for tonight’s show are sold out.
