Sebadoh is my personal equivalent of that well known Brian Eno quote about The Velvet Underground; that is, not many people I know bought their records or listened to them, but pretty much everyone who did started a band. Speaking for myself, I was already playing in bands by the time their songs found my ears but once they did, I was inspired to think about creating music in all kinds of different ways. From acoustic rock to semi-hardcore to lo-fi four track stuff to noise/tape experimentation - the band nearly singlehandedly changed my perception of what I could do, of what interested me, with music. All of this is to say that Sebadoh has played quite an important part in my musical evolution and they're, without question, one of my favorite bands. Last Sunday night I got a chance to see them (for, I think, the fifth time) at Europa Night Club in Brooklyn.
Being honest about shows past compared to this show - this was the best Sebadoh show I've seen. No doubt. First of all, the presence of Eric Gaffney (above) meant that this was my very first time seeing the original lineup of Sebadoh (I missed the first reunion show here at Webster Hall because I was on tour, much better to have seen them at Europa anyway). Original lineup! Bonus excitement. As expected, each member took front and center when it was time in the set for the songs they penned, and Eric rocked the shit out of "Elixir is Zog".
Jason Lowenstein (above) shredded through his songs (including some favorites from Harmacy) just as I hoped he would. The sound at Europa was surprisingly nice and the intimacy of the venue helped make the show feel like a special one-off fanclub show. Which, I guess it kind of was. 
The most noticeable difference between this show and other Sebadoh shows I've seen (mostly at Cat's Cradle) was the fact that both the audience and the band seemed to be in wonderful moods. Everyone was there to hear their favorite Sebadoh songs and the guys were happy to indulge. It might sound funny, but seriously - the show was a blast. Even Lou Barlow (above), who has been a bit surly at other shows I've seen, was in a good mood and cracking jokes and having fun. A wonderful night overall, and because of my love for the band and their music, one of my top shows so far this year.
Check out some live audio and video from this show below.
Listen:
"Soul And Fire"
"Beauty Of The Ride"
"Just Gimme Indie Rock"
Watch:
"Soul And Fire" live on YouTube | download QT
"Beauty Of The Ride" live on YouTube | download QT
"Just Gimme Indie Rock" live on YouTube | download QT
See more pictures of Sebadoh (from this show) HERE.
Visit Sebadoh on MySpace.
Previous EAR FARM posts relating to Sebadoh:
05 September 2007
Sebadoh @ Club Europa - 2 September 2007
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1 comment:
that strikes a chord - i started playing in a band after seeing sebadoh. am still a bit suspicious of that gaffney fellow though - preferred bob fay era 'doh.
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