Belly Live at the Teragram Ballroom, Los Angeles

“The people of Los Angeles are the first people to see us…. Kind of like the guinea pig audience,” Belly bassist Gail Greenwood said to an intimate crowd at the Teragram Ballroom on August 8th. Worries of being test subjects were out the door with supportive cheers. Belly kicked off their first tour in two years this week in support of Dove, their first new music in 23 years. A lot has changed since the ’90s, but that evening proved Belly fanship stood the test of time. Upon entry to the stage, welcome by resounding applause, frontwoman Tanya Donelly said, “Oh my god. So there’s some repeat offenders here. Let’s see if we got any better in two years.”

After beginning with “Low Red Moon,” Donelly called for some help: “Hey Colin. Every piece of paper in the dressing room, can you bring forward?” There was no need to worry over a slight mishap, even after the second setlist was brought out instead. It was all worth it when the quartette jumped into the punky “Dusted,” per the choral singalong. Greenwood joined and exceeded those jumping. Most of the night, anything with a hint of an uptempo beat signaled Greenwood headbanging or jumping, her blonde hair thrashing about.

The night was a testament to the everlasting Belly and celebration of their revival. However, it was the continuous chatting (even calling out of) with the crowd that kept the night apace. Before their hit “Feed the Tree,” Donelly made sure the crowd took note of the two ambient microphones to her left and right, as she could hear the conversations backstage. “This and this,” she said pointing to each microphone, “is making my journal tonight.” At one point, Greenwood took to both sides of the stage to take photos of the audience with her phone.

The first set closed out with “Gepetto” and “Mine,” signaling a brief intermission before round two, and returned with “Shiny One,” the first single from Dove. Upon return, drummer Chris Gorman had traded his button up for a t-shirt. Donelly and Greenwood had touched up their half up ponytails. After blessing the crowd with “Seal My Fate” and “Slow Dog,” requests for “Puberty,” from 1995s King echoed from the audience, as they had throughout the night. Donelly was honest: “We are well past that… I’m on the other side of that.” Despite disappointment, chuckles ensued. Afterall, once Belly completed the slew of Dove tracks, pleased everyone with “Super-connected,” leaving Donelly especially smiley and Greenwood to really rock out.

The encore wasn’t so much a celebration, but a reflection on both the night and their career. The set mellowed out, closing with “Full Moon, Empty Heart,” “Judas My Heart” and “Starryeyed,” each from a different Belly album. With “Full Moon,” the audience exuded their best back up vocals. And for “Starryeyed,” Donnelly’s sweetly high voice soothed the crowd before they went off into the rest of their night. Belly had proved their revival worthwhile.

Setlist

Set One

1. Low Red Moon
2. Dusted
3. Army of Clay
4. Red
5. Artifact of the Heart
6. Feed the Tree
7. Stars Align
8. Now They’ll Sleep
9. Gepetto
10. Mine

Set Two

1. Shiny One
2. Seal My Fate
3. Slow Dog
4. Faceless
5. Quicksand
6. Girl
7. Human Child
8. Super-Connected

Encore

1. Full Moon, Empty Heart
2. Judas My Heart
3. Starryeyed