Gig played on 11/02/06

Pity the terrified Belle & Sebastian fan who got their diary befuddled and accidentally witnessed the last rock force to roar through these very speakers. The Strokes' audience is, essentially, rather different to the one here tonight. Indeed, the talk in the aftermath of the NYC tornado's recent show at the Apollo was of flying haymakers and, probably, bottles of piss. The only sign of civil unrest we get this evening occurs when 2,500 people swoon at the opening bars of "The State I'm In" and a minor rumpus over the "Scotland's For Me!" t-shirts on the merchandising stand.

Perhaps sensibly, your correspondent decides not to vent his fury at a girl who spends the duration of The Brakes tearaway support set naggingly banging her Gola! satchel into his groin, preferring to soak up the last bolts of confrontation we'll be hit with tonight. An indie 'supergroup' when it seemed such a thing was impossible, if not actually an oxymoron, the four Brakes have accelerated away from their 'day-jobs' in British Sea Power, Electric Soft Parade and Tenderfoot like their lives depended upon it.

And judging by the noisy fury and rabid language of "Heard About Your Band" and "I Can't Stand To Stand Beside You No More", perhaps they do. Indeed, the radically different spiky sonics and comic slapstick of "All Night Disco Party" and the six-second onslaught of "Comma Comma Full Stop" amount to the revelation that there's only one band these four smart noiseniks should be playing in and it's called The Brakes.

Consequently, your heart sinks a little at the prospect of a two-hour set from Belle & Sebastian, taking on the spectre of a milkshake consisting only of sugar after The Brakes' single malt. Now touring an album that has seen the group further shed their bed-sit and bicycles roots for a wider, '70s-inflected, glam star panto, such thoughts are not helped by violins outnumbering guitars two to one on-stage. We are, inevitably, proved utterly wrong. From the first notes of an epic, nostalgic "The State I'm In" to the bolting conclusion of "Sleep The Clock Around", this is a grand, majestic display.

Now light years from the ramshackle Sunday School collective that used to play gigs shivering behind their aloof egos, tonight Belle & Sebastian soar to the stars, 12 colourful figures in sleek, joyous, dramatic glory. The elegant live strings - six violins and a cello - that couche "If You're Feeling Sinister", "Dog On Wheels" and the spaghetti western shoot-out of "La Pastie De La Bourgeoise" leave the audience dancing like drunk teenagers. With an overwhelming emphasis on careless fun, newer material like "Sukie In The Graveyard", the sky-high "Song For The Sunshine" and a horn-tastic "Funny Little Frog" are propelled by the infectious performance of ringleader Stuart Murdoch.

It's all handclaps, whistling sessions for 5,000 people, dapper hats worn purely to add to the showmanship of the occasion and confirmation that Belle & Sebastian are in very, very rude health. Needless to say, we leave wearing a "Scotland's For Me!" t-shirt.

by Ben Gilbert