Show review: Sebadoh at Middle East Downstairs – 8/8
Touring their first new recorded output since 1999, former Massachusetts natives Sebadoh played the Middle East Downstairs last Wednesday with support from…themselves.
Founding Sebadoh members Lou Barlow and Jason Loewenstein have been playing shows both with original drummer Eric Gaffney and current replacement Bob D’Amico on and off since the band’s official hiatus post-1999, but it was only last month that they got around to releasing some new songs. Barlow has understandably been busy with the unexpected resurgence of Dinosaur Jr., while Loewenstein and D’Amico form Circle of Buzzards as well as the Fiery Furnaces’ rhythm section. Bearing this in mind (especially with Dino Jr.’s new LP I Bet On Sky right around the corner), it seems like an odd time for a reactivated Sebadoh to drop an EP, embark on a mini-tour and begin planning a new record. That certainly isn’t stopping them though. The night was characterized by a spirit of renewed creative spark and ambition, indicated first by the unorthodox choice of Barlow and Loewenstein’s solo projects serving as opening acts.
Circle of Buzzards were up first, with a no-nonsense assault of drums and bass/guitar. Loewenstein appeared on stage wearing a bandana and sunglasses with little to say as he and D’Amico tore into some straight-ahead minimalist rock. The two-man setup worked best on songs with heavy, pummeling bass lines which locked with the drums to create a sense of propulsion and urgency. The slightly undercooked guitar tracks didn’t benefit so much from the stripped-down arrangement, but therein lies the dilemma of performing this kind of music as a duo. It can improve the right kind of song and sink the wrong one. With barely any recorded material though, it’s easy to forgive Loewenstein and D’Amico for road-testing some new tunes that aren’t quite together yet.
The Buzzards’ set was followed up by Barlow, accompanied only by his ukelele. He played a mix of new songs, very old material released under the Sebadoh/Sentridoh name, and even a Dinosaur Jr. song (the pre-noise collage section of “Poledo”). The electric guitar (or bass) thrashing Barlow is the one people probably know best, but he’s plenty compelling in singer-songwriter mode as well. Some of the new songs were clearly still in the development stages and required a few stop-starts, but his sense of humor about it all smoothed over any rough patches. All the joking and storytelling (including a phenomenal anecdote about leaping from the stage to assault a heckler at T.T. the Bear’s in the nineties) was an unexpected but certainly not unwelcome shift from Loewenstein’s barely-there stage presence. Barlow’s self-deprecation extends beyond his lyrics and into his banter, but in a much more humorous and less dramatic fashion.
A short break later, Barlow, Loewenstein and D’Amico reconvened for a freewheeling Sebadoh set which kept the casual feel of the evening in tact. A twenty four song setlist was mostly made up on the fly and ran the gamut all the way from 1990’s Weed Forestin’ through last month’s Secret EP. It was the rare show where shouted requests were mostly acknowledged and often played rather than ignored and/or scowled at. Planned sets are fair for most bands, but it’s still refreshing to see a performance that feels genuinely spontaneous. Not every song was rehearsed to perfection, but a certain lo-fi raggedness has always been a part of Sebadoh’s charm anyway.
Barlow and Loewenstein switched off throughout the set on lead vocal/guitar and bass. They can both hold it down on either instrument, and D’Amico’s drumming was on point even when he didn’t know the song (see “Vampire”). Barlow’s guitar playing was especially entertaining, replete with noisy solos and thrashing, spastic movement around the stage. Sebadoh have never exactly been renowned for their technical virtuosity, but they bring these catchy melodies and riffs to life with just the right balance of precision and slacker abandon. It was a noisy, no-frills rock show; precisely the kind you’d want to hear from this band.
Sebadoh never reached the same heights of notoriety as contemporaries in sound and aesthetic like Pavement. Watching a career-spanning set of songs though, it’s difficult to tell why. “Skull,” “Magnet’s Coil,” “Home Made” and more are all slices of classic nineties guitar rock, lyrically occupying a space between opaquely detached Malkmus-isms and full heart-on-sleeve emo. Sebadoh will probably continue to be pigeonholed as ‘that Dinosaur Jr. side-project’ for the remainder of eternity, but the band is more than capable of standing on its own merits. This show was thorough proof of that.
