Lou Barlow has always been one busy multi-tasker.
As a member of Dinosaur Jr, he’s also kept busy with Sebadoh, Folk Implosion, Sentridoh and his own solo career. Age has done nothing to slow the man down almost 30 years later. Barlow can be found touring with a reunited Dinosaur Jr., and currently in in the midst of a tour with the reactivated Sebadoh, who released their first album in 14 years, 2013’s Defend Yourself.
Before a surprisingly sparse crowd at Lee’s Palace last night, Barlow and his two cohorts brought impressive noise and energy to a room that really should have been packed. Maybe it was the “storm watch” broadcast from computer screens and local newscasts that frightened the non-adventurous.
Nonetheless, Barlow and Jason Lowenstein treated the gathered through almost 90 minutes of tracks from throughout their almost 30 years in the business. A minor “wandering bass drum” was the only respite from an onslaught of solid indie rock. That would be resolved quickly with a cinder block and a rapturously received sound guy.
Throughout the evening the crowd was pretty listless, but not to the point of disrespectful nonsensical chatters. There just seemed to be a disconnect between the band’s energy and the crowd. Maybe Sebadoh is best enjoyed on Friday nights?
While Lou really got into the set, it was the more punky vibe of Jason’s songs that seemed to really rev the crowd up. He was the chattier of the two over the course of his six or seven songs that ran mid-set. For both Lou and Jason, tracks from 1993’s Bubble and Scrape, 1994’s Bakesale and 1996’s Harmacy made the salt and pepper dome the happiest and loudest.
Having last seen them in Vancouver almost 20 years ago on their Harmacy tour, I was impressed by how much racket the three piece could still make, how remarkably tight they were as a unit and how much they got into their performance despite a largely apathetic crowd.
