by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

It was probably a good thing that Belle & Sebastian didn’t play at The Admiral after all, judging by the audience size Saturday night at The Slowdown. It was a good-sized crowd, but far from a sellout, and a crowd that would have looked absolutely tiny on the massive Admiral floor.

The smaller crowd made for a more intimate setting for the band to roll out a nice selection of old chestnuts and new tunes off their just-released album, A Bit of Previous (2022, Matador). Stuart Murdoch handled almost all the vocal chores throughout the night, seated behind a keyboard when he wasn’t grooving with a microphone. Sarah Martin, who usually shares vocals (when she’s not playing violin) was absent due to an “unspeakable illness,” which was implied to be COVID-19, and while the violin parts were picked up by someone else, her vocals weren’t, and they were missed. No doubt her absence impacted the set list.

Despite all that, the 9-person band sounded great while videos similar to the mod stylish album artwork played behind them on a big screen. Set highlights included new songs “Unnecessary Drama” (their catchiest song in years) and “Young and Stupid,” and old faves “She’s Losing It” and “The Boy with the Arab Strap,” which got the mostly older crowd singing along. The three-song encore (really two-and-a-half songs) closed with a rousing version of “Judy and the Dream of Horses.”

It was a fun night, but I’m still waiting for my first show at the new Admiral (former Sokol Aud). The next show slated for Admiral is The Band Camino on Sunday night, and the next indie show is CHVRCHES June 15. Will the venue be ready?

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Read Tim McMahan’s blog daily at Lazy-i.com — an online music magazine that includes feature interviews, reviews and news. The focus is on the national indie music scene with a special emphasis on the best original bands in the Omaha area. Copyright © 2022 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.