Why Does the Wilbur Theatre Suck? Better Rock Shows in 5 Steps
Photo of the Day, November 24, 2009: Hook, Line, and Sinker
Photo of the Day, November 25, 2009: Boston as seen from the harbor
Cheap Eats: Burtons Grill
Sports Redux: Nobody Puts Bergey In the Corner
While Scottish indie rock royalty Belle and Sebastian created enough of a stir to demand two sold-out shows along with The New Pornographers at the Avalon, our friends at Great Scott managed to tap into the demand for delectable sweetness by teaming up with Fenway Recordings to launch the North American tour of English duo The Boy Least Likely To.
Forty-five minutes of TBLLT and suddenly Belle and Sebastian seemed like a group of thugs. Book-ending the show with two of their catchiest numbers—“Hugging My Grudge” and “Be Gentle With Me”—they safely and quickly won over the crowd. This was no small feat for a twee group making their American debut, armed only with fragile songs and politeness. Like something out of Calvin and Hobbes, they took America on with paper hats and wooden toy swords.
A 6-piece touring band fleshed out Jof Owen and Peter Hobbs’ tinkering folk-pop: pre-show jitters were put at ease after the first few songs and the pair seemed genuinely endeared by the Boston reception. This managed to give Jof the gall to get through “The Battle of the Boy Least Likely To” a quiet number overpowered by crowd murmer, but Bostonist wouldn’t be surprised if they didn’t stick so closely to their limited setlist in the future. They rebounded and built the crowd back up again towards the parading “I’m Glad I Hitched My Apple Wagon to Your Star” and then “Be Gentle.”
By this time, everyone was happy enough on both sides of the microphone that doing “Hugging My Grudge” again as their encore was also well-received. (But what would one expect from a crowd drawn to songs that seem inspired by stuffed animals, milk and cookies, and Underoos.)
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