The first band I ever fell in love with was a little trio called The Police, whom you may have heard have reunited and are currently on tour. The last trio I fell In love with was a little band called Sebadoh, and their original lineup (pictured, back in the day, from left: Lou Barlow, Eric Gaffney, and Jason Loewenstein) is also back together. In my opinion, theirs is the real reunion tour to check out this year because Sebadoh is touring with its early-’90s lo-fi instincts still intact. Thankfully, I got to witness that marvel in all of its glory at the intimate L.A. venue Spaceland on Saturday night.
The show started out with co-founder Gaffney at the helm to sing songs from earlier albums such as Bubble and Scrape and the newly re-issued III.As the night went on, Gaffney, Barlow, andLoewenstein did their usual trading spaces and taking turns up front.During Barlow’s turn as frontman he quipped "This next one is called’More than a Feeling’" — a shout-out to the lead singer of Boston, BradDelp, a fellow Massachusetts rocker (Sebadoh originated in Amherst),who was found dead in his home last Friday.
Although the set concentrated on the original lineup’s material, itdid allow for non-Gaffney associated songs to show up here and there,such as show-enders "Rebound" and "Got It" from 1994’s Bakesale. Barlow joked that it has always beenmore important to the band that they, rather that the audience, havefun. Fortunately, a fun time was had by all.
I’d like to give major bonus lo-fi points to Loewenstein for manningthe merch table until the band took stage and patiently allowing me todebate over whether I wanted a green t-shirt or black tote (the blacktote won). You won’t find Sting doing that at Madison Square Garden,now, will you? You can catch Sebadoh on tour across the U.S. and Canada through mid-April.
I can’t wait. I’m going to see them next Wednesday in Chicago. I’ve seen them a handful of times, but never the original line-up. Bakesale (and Bee Thousand by GBV) were the soundtrack to my Junior year in college. Good times….
“willing to wait” is one of my favorite songs of all time. this is good news!
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Boy, between the Dinosaur Jr. reunion and the Sebadoh reunion, Lou Barlow is a busy man. Count me among the excited; maybe some new music will materialize out of this reunion.
“Ocean” from the Harmacy album – I love it.