Maybe I’m not the best person to write a review of Belle and Sebastian, because I know nothing about them, but clearly most of the crowd in St David’s Hall did, clapping and hooting like a ‘Stars in their Eyes’ audience 3 words into every song. And it seemed that most of the crowd had seen Belle and Sebastian before, despite it being their first appearance in Wales. Dedicated fans, indeed… Afterwards, I spoke to two girls who had come over from America just to watch the band at the Royal Albert Hall and here. Now that’s dedication. Belle and Sebastian fans tend to border on the obsessive, so maybe I am well qualified to write a review, most people either loving or hating them.

And so, Belle and Sebastian trooped on to the stage. First impressions were that there were a lot more members than I’d expected. Including the string quartet, there must have been 13 on the stage at some points. And very laid back it seemed too, with a row of comfy chairs for the female singers to relax on when not undergoing the stress of performance.

Early on, the audience were involved, with Stuart (main singer) chatting with them in between most songs. At least, that is, until some started shouting random comments that didn’t even earn the standard chuckle that most heckles get. Maybe it was because he didn’t understand the accent, maybe it was because they were talking crap. He was wise to ignore.

Highlight number 1 of crowd participation: Belle and Sebastian asked for a song they could play during their ‘interval’. Ace of Spades was requested and gamely attempted. Sadly they did not continue and Je T’aime was the choice, complete with French quotes from the guy with the guitar who isn’t called Stuart (I do not apologise for my lack of knowledge of the band).

Aside from the music, there was one aspect of Belle and Sebastian that did not fail to amuse. They cannot dance. None of them. Even the outsiders (like the trumpet/horn player) tried but could not. The crowd knew they were in for a treat when Stuart, during an opening song, gave the best demented hopping display since Freddie stopped skipping in front if the Dreamers. The dancing would never again reach those heights, but Isabel was always worth watching. Her clapping was neatly in time with her pointy shoe shuffle and did anyone know that there were so many variations of a simple clap? The time spent practising was time well spent.

The dancing spread to the crowd, and I watched as the girl from the local record shop as she swung her arms in the aisle to every song (and even carried on in between them). Highlight number 2 of crowd participation: She was called on to the stage to dance for everyone. And she did, and she was better than all of them. But then, I could have stepped on to the stage and not looked out of place (what a way to damn yourself with faint praise). Tall guitarist guy did a little dance with her, but he’s very uncoordinated, and all I could think of while watching them, was an uncle dancing with his niece at a wedding.

Looking like he’d stepped straight out of a Proclaimers tribute band, he had an ‘interesting’ guitar style. Having it on the shortest strap setting, he would play his 7th chords on the off-beat (no need to do it in EVERY song) while his right leg went into spasm. How he didn’t fall over, I will never know… But this did not detract from his attempts at dancing. The only explanation for his mystifying dances was that he must not ever have seen what he looks like.

But! Enough talk of the dancing! What about the music? They all played pretty well, although I must question the songs. Basically, the songs were individually very good, but variation? No. As I’ve said, I don’t know Belle and Sebastian songs, so I was disappointed that each followed the ‘acoustic start, crescendo with more instruments piling in, finish with a “Hey Jude repetition of chords with string quartet and horn player belting out the same solo every time” school of thought. It dawned on me 3 quarters of the way through that I had been listening to the same song all night. This is not a massive criticism, because the crowd clearly loved each and every song (reserving biggest cheers for, inevitably, Boy with the Arab Strap and show closer Legal Man), but to a non-fan it began to grate. There were enough varied musicians aboard to mix things up a bit. How about a song with just acoustic guitar, just a string quartet, or even a lively song where we weren’t encouraged to clap along? The two electric guitars, bass and drums could have had a go on their own. Having one song with a flute solo and one with a recorder solo just isn’t varied enough when the songs are already similar-sounding. But the sound of Belle and Sebastian filled what would be a hard place for a traditional ‘rock’ band to play.

Acoustically, the setting was excellent; the speakers were placed high enough in the air to create a warm echo. The room demanded at least one song played on a single acoustic guitar, but we were to be denied. A shame.

Belle and Sebastian are a likeable band, if not for me. I could not shake off visions of them being sixth formers from the music department invited to play in assembly. They switched instruments so often that I thought at one point we would see xylophones brought out for them all to bash in an ‘end of lesson’ manner. When it came to playing the songs, they all seemed to know what they were doing (although endings were mainly preceded by the nod of Mr Guitar). In between songs, there was much milling around the stage being lost.

And now, to sum up: a night that I don’t regret. I was entertained and it was in the way I had expected I might be entertained. And at least now I know what it may be like to be at a Songs of Praise: Live! concert.