A short review of a Stereolab concert

Blahdiblah, Stereolab, very popular band, went on hiatus when the two of them who were a couple stopped being a couple, now they're back, best album is Astral Weeks etc. This was a sold out concert in the National Concert Hall's main auditorium, which is a bit of a soulless barn that arguably is not well-suited to non-classical concerts. Emma Tricca (interesting folk-adjacent support act) seemed a bit lost in the place, or maybe that's just me in my almost right-at-the-back seat talking. Stereolab filled the space a bit more (the fact that people forsook the bar and took their seats for their set helped). They didn't play many songs I recognised (but that's on me as I own surprisingly little of their music despite having seen them live a gazillion times) but it was all pretty enjoyable. Laetitia Sadier made everyone stand in their seats and dance, which in some ways was nice as it made the concert more engaging but it did mean I wasn't able to get a relaxing snooze in. I did like how Sadier and Tim Gane came on from opposite sides of the stage, echoing the Beach Boys in their "We hate each other" period.

There was also a distinct sense of people out for their one gig of the year about the event, which probably is a feature of acts like this who have been around a long time. The queue for the merch stall was phenomenal, as was the range of stuff the band was selling to soak the last euros out of the audience (ranging from sensible stuff like nice t-shirts, tour singles, albums etc. to items of more questionable utility, like commemorative beer trays (which nobody was being forced to buy)).

Still broadly enjoyable but it was hard to escape the nagging feeling that instead of attending I have should been at home either resting or preparing for the interview I had the following week.