On Thursday night, Glasgow hit Portland with all the impact of a warm hug and a hot pot of tea. Belle and Sebastian didn't rouse the Roseland rabble with earsplitting sonics and eye-scorching pyrotechnics. They did something far better: performed a terrific, exuberant show with expert musicianship, dance-ready pop numbers, and witty between-song banter. There are fewer happier crowds in the world than the ones at a Belle and Sebastian show, and with this joy comes a fair amount of excitable worry, too—will they play "The State I Am In"? What about "Lazy Line Painter Jane"? (We got the former, not the latter.) There's scarcely a song in the Belle and Sebastian catalog that isn't someone's favorite, which made their Portland show a revue of generosity, as the band seemed equally happy to trundle out old favorites like "Dog on Wheels" as showcase newer ones like "Allie" and "The Book of You."

I counted 13 musicians onstage—the six core members of the group, plus three auxiliary members, and then four local musicians who were recruited to play the string and horn parts. At one point, the quartet played a short bit from Stravinsky's The Rites of Spring, because, well, it's springtime. Frontman Stuart Murdoch's onstage persona is more of a chummy camp counselor than an icy, mercurial pop star, despite the esteem with which his songs reside in the hearts of Belle and Sebastian's devoted fans. There was no fourth wall to bust down; he and the rest of the band were welcoming and cordial, and in between songs, Murdoch admired Portland's MAX Light Rail (which he called the "tram"), asked about the Zoobomber bike "sculpture," and self-deprecatingly joked about his own dance moves. Stevie Jackson and Sarah Martin were apt foils, the former fully succumbing to the berserk ending for "Perfect Couples."

The show hit its stripey-shirted peak when the group invited two dozen or so members of the crowd up on the stage to dance along to "The Boy with the Arab Strap" and "Legal Man." Their faces ranged from incredulous to ecstatic, as some of them couldn't process the fact that they were bopping just a few feet away from their gentle Scottish heroes. It was of course, an evening affirmation for all the diehard fans, but more than that, it was a great show and a very fun night.

All photos by Autumn Andel. Lots more to look at, including pics of opener Perfume Genius, after the jump!