Belle and Sebastian Turn on the Charm at Matador at 21

Posted on Oct 3rd 2010 4:00PM by Jason Cohen
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Jordi Vidal, Redferns

Anyone who thought Las Vegas was a strange place to hold the Matador at 21 concert is probably unfamiliar with the Belle and Sebastian live experience. Fastidious, musicianly and beautiful on record, the band remains those things onstage, but with a let-us-entertain-you presence that invariably includes comic banter, props and fan participation.There are times when frontman Stuart Murdoch can be like a twee Tom Jones, while he and guitarist Stevie Jackson also come off like the Scottish Smothers Brothers.

Last night at the Palms Casino, there were even souvenirs. Prior to 'Piazza, New York Catcher,' Murdoch produced a Whole Foods grocery bag full of day-glo mini footballs. "These are for the kids in the audience, though I doubt there's anybody here under 45," he cracked. Murdoch then dazzled with his throwing arm, reaching the Pearl Concert Theater's 300 level with one toss. And when five fans joined the band onstage to dance, they were rewarded with a Belle and Sebastian medal, Olympics-style.

Opening with an intricate and lovely version of 'I Didn't See It Coming,' the first song from their new album 'Belle and Sebastian Write About Love' (out on Matador Oct. 12), the band played a career-spanning set, from 'I'm a Cuckoo,' to 'The State I Am In' to 'Sleep the Clock Around,' to a storming 'Me and the Major.'

During the opening of 'Step Into My Office Baby,' rowdy members of the audience -- pretty clearly Guided by Voices fans, already pumped for Sunday -- chanted Gary Glitter's 'Rock and Roll Part 2' over the beat. And on 'Suki in the Graveyard,' Jackson dished out a few licks of the Rolling Stones' 'Paint It Black.' Later, Jackson enticed the crowd to join him for an easy "oooh-ooh" vocal line on his song 'I'm Not Living in the Real World' (also from the new record), then announced that everyone would also have to go up one key -- and another half key after that (the fans still pulled it off).

"It's an existential experience sharing a stage with Sonic Youth and Pavement," Murdoch said of playing the event, before confessing that he once conducted a disastrous interview with Sonic Youth in 1989. "I asked Thurston a question and he yawned in my face. I don't blame him."

Matador was "the one label where the guys on the label are definitely more rock 'n' roll than the guys in the band," Murdoch added.

Watch streaming video of Matador at 21 courtesy of MySpace below.