Of course you listened to/watched the live webcast of Belle and Sebastian’s Live concert from the Barrowlands last month. What, you missed it? Well, fret not, puir bairn. The audio is still available on NPR’s website (although the video is gone, alas).

This was a supremely fun concert in front of the Belles’ home crowd (although poor show for your booing when Stuart told you about the US stream, Glesgae). There’s some top-level banter and some exquisitely unleashed profanity when the group are brought drinks (“What, students is it? Keep it doon when ye leave”). It’s a pretty varied set list that ranges across the group’s discography (no “Wandering Alone”, though, which would have got Storytelling into the mix).

And it has to be said: I was pretty glib about Fold Your Hands, Child, You Walk Like a Peasant in my review of Write About Love; and one thing that this performance sort of throws into the mix is that perhaps the songs on Fold… are slightly better than a lot of Write About Love. Hmmm. It doesn’t help that one of the choices here from the new record is the distinctly sub-par “I’m Not Living in the Real World”, a song which hasn’t really stood up to repeat listens for me.

Of course, the rest of the gig is magic. And how could it be otherwise, with the kind of back-catalogue B&S have at their disposal?

Bonus points for B&S and their fans for raising over £6000 for the Glasgow Lodging House Mission over the three nights (if you want to support the Mission, you can still donate).

MP3: Belle and Sebastian – Santa Claus (The Sonics Cover), live at the Barrowlands, Glasgow, 21/12/2010

NPR: Belle and Sebastian’s Holiday Spectacular