After months of waiting, Sebadoh are finally back on our shores for the first time in years. The nineties legends are back in support of the reissues of two of their biggest albums Bakesale and Harmacy both of which are scattered over the t-shirts of the attendees tonight in what can only be described as the nineties alternative rock equivalent of Comincon.
A notable distraction sees a large number make a pit stop at Tym Guitars retail shop in the Valley before heading to the HIfi. Sebadoh frontman Lou Barlow too to the guitar shop with his acoustic guitar and played a set of his own solo material and rarities and B-sides from Sebadoh and Dinosaur Jr. The gracious frontman has everyone within the shop charmed as he takes requests and banters throughout the night. Delving into songs he hasn't played in years he occasionally forgets his lyrics as he gently strums his guitar. Playing well over his scheduled time slot noone is upset as the race to get from the valley to the hifi begins.
With most arriving just in time, Australian icons Smudge have crawled out of a hiatus and in a rare run of shows have taken up support duties for Sebadoh for their entire tour. Those unfamiliar with the nineties Australian icons, The branch doesn't fall to far from the tree when making comparisons between Smudge and tonights headliner with frontman Tom Morgan being moody/reclusive as a J Mascis or Lou Barlow. Title track off their '98 album Real McCoy, Wrong Sinatra comes off as an early highlight despite struggling to make it past the minute mark. Despite … seeming as he didn't want to be on stage, the band are tight throughout the night and their sound being clean and crisp even through the parts that sees the fuzz take over. With their own re-issue project in the works heres hoping for a headline Smudge tour soon.
Following Smudge, The curtain is closed as Sebadoh set up their gear. The sounds of Barlow's guitar through the curtain is almost to tempting and anticipation is through the roof. As the curtain is drawn a widespread cheer is let up as Barlow takes to the microphone for semi tender Skull and follows it up with Harmacy's On Fire. While Lou's more tender role as the vocalist seeming as a nearly odd choice for an opener, Rebound picks up the pace as the crowd lap up every chord and long awaited moment.
Taking frontman duties in sections, Barlow ends his turn at the mic on the sludge pop of Magnets Coil and Jason Loewenstein swaps his bass in for guitar as he takes to the microphone. Some playful cynicism from Loewenstein about professionalism is directed at Barlow he tunes his bass. Bakesale continues to be the flavour of the night as the albums opener License to Confuse's short sharp riffage sends the venue into a frenzy.
Shit Soup sees Loewenstein's monotone voice appear harsher than on record and in comparison to Barlow he is slightly off when it comes to his vocals. The ever impressive Not Too Amused plays on it's loud/quiet dynamics and utilises the almost amphitheatre shape of The Hifi to it's advantage and proves to be one of the more notable highlights of the night as Loewenstein shows enjoyment thrashing through the strings on his guitar.
Drummer Bob D'Amico may take a bit of a backseat in the band to Barlow and Loewensteins prolific roles in the band. He makes his presence known on the stage as he goes from brutalising the drum kit to then giving it tender loving care throughout the night. With Barlow back at the microphone and behind guitar, he pulls off an impressive version of Harmacy's Beauty of the Ride with the tracks pace intensified and the songs lyrical content being bought into a more prominent light.
The band finish with Brand New Love off the bands '92 album Smash Your Head on the Punk Rock and as the band leave the stage following the anthem like track they unfortunately do not return for an encore due to time restrictions but in a way the audience seemed content with what they were given.
With Lou remarking earlier in the night at his solo show, 'I have to sell our t-shirts myself, it's cheaper that way' and like his solo show it feels as if tonights show was a more personal and intimate affair. With everyone in the venue lapping up everything that Sebadoh did it was a positive and happy atmosphere universally throughout the building. Unfortunately this was a rare performance/tour and the only sad news is that we may never see the amazing Sebadoh on our shores again.
No comments:
Post a Comment