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When Lou Barlow brought Sebadoh into this world, it was a far different beast than the Dinosaur he’d left, and some people made the mistake of thinking his slower, softer, more sensitive songs helped spawn the misty-eyed howling of emo (though I suppose Barlow himself didn’t help matters). Nothing could be further from the truth, as distorted loud rock music more than made up the bulk of his work, songs like “Willing To Wait” or “Soul And Fire” be damned. There were a couple of distinct phases to the band, and this tour would feature #2, as the first reunion in 2007 had original member Eric Gaffney along for the ride, and focused primarily on the early material that he helped construct. After he left, Jason Lowenstein would assume a larger songwriting role, and the band hit their stride with 1994’s Bakesale and the follow up, Harmacy.
Bob D’Amico replaced original (on these recordings) drummer Bob Fay for this tour, and while it was called “Remembering Bakesale and Harmacy,” it wasn’t a slavish devotion to playing those records track by track. Instead, on a set list populated with handwriting familiar to anyone who’s ever pored over a Sebadoh or Sentridoh album sleeve, Barlow penned down a couple dozen-plus selections from both records, and tossed in a few of their oft-maligned, self-titled swan song as well. During the original era, seeing the band live was a crap shoot…you could get a tightly-wound, expressive rock show, or you could a few heaping tablespoons of petulance, sour moods, and truncated set lists. Barlow’s matured greatly since those days, and spent a lot of the time between songs, re-tuning guitars and reminiscing about his time in Boston, from the video shoot of “Ocean” at TT the Bears, to killing a pristine Mosrite guitar on stage, to jumping down and biting someone’s ear during a show.
As the reissue of Bakesale ran into production delays and isn’t done yet, Barlow jokingly referred to this tour as supporting their new t-shirt, the sole item for sale at the merch table (which, in the econo vein of Minutemen, was manned after the show by Barlow while the stage was broken down by Lowenstein and D’Amico, a total DIY effort). The two records, though, are really a centerpiece to Barlow and Lowenstein’s songwriting, and form the crucial core to the Sebadoh song book (apologists for III be damned!). As the third song was Bubble And Scrape‘s raucous “Sister,” the plan was clearly not to just tick off the tracks in order. Once the meat of the Bakesale/Harmacy material was reached, it was pure bliss. How can one argue against the fuzzed-out bass intro of “Magnet’s Coil,” a neurotic reading of obsessive behavior? Or “Careful,” a scintillating emotional roller coaster ride punctuated with Lowenstein’s piercing guitar tone? And since Barlow cut his teeth playing bass with Dinosaur Jr, it was no surprise that he’d later create one of the most massively driving bass lines I’ve ever heard in “Crystal Gypsy,” his fingers slamming against the Rickenbacker with reckless abandon and little care for skin or cuticle. Another tour de force was “Beauty Of The Ride,” and this great careening rush of a song perfectly encapsulates the pinnacle of the Sebadoh sound – crystal clear vocals, over a crashing storm of distorted guitar and forceful bass and drums. The brooding “Dreams” was another highlight, a minor key cloud with a detached vocal floating over it, perfectly capturing and conveying the somnambulistic sense of the song. Word on the street is that there’s new Sebadoh material brewing, and given their track record, that’s a nice anticipatory treat awaiting us.
The opening acts were much quieter, and more in line with Barlow’s work as Sentridoh, basically stripped to the essentials of voice and acoustic guitar. Richard Buckner would tweak this formula a bit by bringing along Anders Parker to lend a rotating hand on drums, guitar, and vocals. Buckner’s spare sound reminded me of a swinging door, just passed through…there was a very fleeting, ethereal quality to his songs, like a rare and wild beast, not easily cornered.
Stephen Brodsky, on the other hand, had no problems filling his songs (and others) with a frank manner of sound and delivery. His work as a founding member of Cave In showed through here; he wouldn’t dance around the songs, but lay them out clearly on the table, and flicking on all the light switches he could,in order to show every detail. He took the opportunity to play some covers as well, with Willie Nelson and Neil Young (a great version of “Pardon My Heart”) getting the Brodsky treatment. Unfortunately, time constraints chopped off Guided By Voices‘ “I Am A Scientist,” the last song written on the set list (written as “GBV,” so I asked him what we missed).
