Day Two started out playful and fun with a quiz game run in part by Stuart Murdoch that focused on some multi generational spanning music and film references. It really is something special to see members of Belle and Sebastian in different contexts and also enjoying their own festival and all of the musicians throughout the weekend they themselves have played and collaborated with! Murdoch commented on all the wonderful bands later on while headlining and his sincerity as always came through. “If you can’t run into a member of Belle and Sebastian at Bowlie, what’s the point?!”
The Parsonage
First up on the main stage was The Parsonage. The ensemble sings in tribute of Graham Parsons, and is a 20 piece choir who sing covers mainly a cappella with a light playing of an acoustic guitar. The choir sounded absolutely lovely but also chose some very sweet songs like “After the Gold Rush,” by Neil Young, “Marz” by John Grant, “I Want to Sing That Rock and Roll” by Gillian Welch, “No Fun,” by The Stooges as well as “Brass Buttons” by Parsons. The talented choir ended on a perfect note with Lou Reed’s “Satellite of Love.”
The Cords
The Cords were a nice follow up featuring the jangly indie pop of Eva and Grace Tedeschi. They thanked Belle and Sebastian and noted it was the biggest stage they had played on but they did a nice job with super sweet vocals on top of tweeting guitar progressions and drumming.
Monica Queen
Playing as a five piece, Monica Queen played rock that was also, at times, country music inspired. At times, it also seemed fitting that the bassist was wearing a Music Saves shirt as some of the audience seemed to be having a sort of religious experience. There was a great deal of strength in having four of the five band members sing in unison at some points and nice interactions between band members on stage as well.
The Vaselines
The Vaselines have been a vital Scottish rock band since 1989. Though they haven’t released any albums since 2014’s stellar V is For Vaselines, the band is on top of their game! Original founders Eugene Kelly and Frances McKee have always had a great sense of timing and interchanges between them and adding keyboards, bass, drums, and a third guitarist fills in their songs all the more. They played a great set with possibly their two most famous songs (in part due to Nirvana’s covers), “Jesus Wants Me For a Sunbeam,” and “Molly’s Lips.” “Son of a Gun” was another special highlight for a fantastic site from a band we’ll all continue to treasure!
Callum Easter
Channeling a catchy dark wave sort of energy, Callum Easter loaded on the reverb and played with a Wasp, Mellotron and other pedal effects as well as incorporated a live drummer to create an effect that proved atypically dancy with some repeated lyrics that stayed with the audience…..what do we think about the world today?
CMAT
Ciara Mary-Alice Thompson or CMAT is the type of human you might imagine doing kicks and flipping her hair as soon as she was born. She’s an incredible performer with a striking voice who knows how to energize an audience with her songs all the while falling down purposefully or spanking band mates. Together, these Dubliners played a silly yet also tight set with fans up front singing emphatically along to every lyric. Thompson did say she was a Belle and Sebastian nerd growing up and much shyer than she presents now. Either way, she made the set quite fun despite the rain.
Bis
“Every sound that we make is the sound of a heart break!” exclaimed Bis but the audience was so excited that the only heart break was the sound of silence at the end. Playing as a dynamic three piece, Bis belted out every lyric fast and furious with no down time and the crowd loved it. 30 years of Bis and the trio had the energy of teenagers! Truly, it was our lucky night with “Eurodisco” as the pinnacle of their set.
Belle and Sebastian
What a gift to be able to see Belle and Sebastian two nights in a row in their home city! One might argue the band was even more energetic the second night with Murdoch dancing right from the beginning. It was also great to hear so many different songs than the first night with only one repeat. After all, the band could literally play several nights of shows without duplicating a single track!
Once again, Murdoch’s sense of humor came through as well, joking about politicians that don’t represent the people, how terrible Brexit is or Stevie Jackson running late initially and just barely making it. He also kidded about how today he was a pop star and usually no one would be talking to him. You could tell the positive energy between them all was just right as usual. Every single one of them brings their own unique personalities and talents to help make the music we cherish so much.
Additionally, there was that familiar balance between melancholic melodies and catchy twee pop we all love dearly! Highlights of the set included ones screamed out by the audience when they came out for an encore the previous night including many very old favorites they don’t often play these days. Some of these magical tracks included: “The State I Am In,” “Dylan in the Movies,” and “Stars of Track and Field,” “Sukie in the Graveyard,” “Piazza, New York Catcher,” “Seymour Stein,” “Dog on Wheels” and so many more! The best moment was when the audience again joined him on stage for “The Boy With the Arab Strap,” and he asked a young boy if, when he went back to school in September, he was going to tell everyone at school about being on stage with Belle and Sebastian. Stuart Murdoch even danced on top of his piano at the end!
Crowd:
