[Live MP3s] seBADoh in Boston 2007
Posted on July 1, 2007 at 11:01 pm | No Comments
Well, here’s the set I edited down and planned to share last Monday, just before I started my new role as a “dad”. Best excuse for a late post ever (and major thanks to everyone for the congratulatory comments).
Sebadoh‘s reunion tour seemed to exist slightly in the media shadow of Lou Barlow‘s other reunited band, squeezed as it was between Dinosaur Jr. tours, and without the benefit of a new album or any other future plans, really. But for me personally, it meant a little more, thanks to a deeper and long-lasting connection to their records. I jumped in with the release of “Sebadoh III” (re-issued last year on Domino) in 1991, consider Bakesale to be a classic, and still count opening for them (as part of Eef in ’94) as one of the best experiences I’ve ever had playing in a band. That show was the first time I ever got to see them, so I missed the early Eric Gaffney years, and as much as I would have liked to see former drummer Bob Fay again, I was pretty psyched to have a chance to see Sebadoh’s original incarnation. Even though I’d caught Barlow and Jason Loewenstein as a Seba-duo in recent years, it’s as a trio that their songs really shine.
If some Beatles fans are compelled to pick the side of a particular songwriter (I’m a Lennon-ite), I do the same with Sebadoh, and I find myself falling squarely in the Loewenstein camp. As much as I dig so many of Barlow’s songs and Gaffney’s sonic weirdness, it’s Jake’s stuff that has always really clicked with me, songs like “S. Soup“, “Sixteen“, and especially “Drama Mine“. Regular ‘Nac readers know that I often call his criminally-underheard solo album, 2002’s “At Sixes and Sevens”, one of the best of that year (seriously, go buy it). So when the band played the Paradise a few months back, it’s no surprise that I wanted him in front of the mic as much as possible, and for the first half of the set I was pretty worried… very little Jake to be found. It evened a bit eventually, with “Junk Bonds“, “Drag Down“, “Mind Reader” and “Flood” coming in quick succession before the first encore, and “Got It” coming later on. Still, not enough. Gaffney, for his part, was easily the most talkative of the three, throwing out random Boston-area references, and at one point calling up some guy he thought looked like the Decemberists‘ Colin Meloy, to, well, pretend that he was Colin Meloy.
Overall, great set, nice and long, and not super-tight… but if it was, it wouldn’t have been Sebadoh. Nice to see a few post-Eric songs make it into the setlist (just as Dino Jr. has been doing with a few after-Lou songs). Won’t surprise you to hear my only complaint is: Needed more Loewenstein. Sure hope he’s working on another solo record.
Here’s the Sebadoh set as MP3s. You can find more of my photos here.
Live at the Paradise
in Boston, Massachusetts
on Friday, March 30th, 2007
[grab the whole set in one zip file]
01. level check
02. Level Anything
03. Violet Execution
04. Scars, Four Eyes
05. scripted banter
06. Ride the Darker Wave
07. Whitey Peach
08. Sacred Attention
09. Brand New Love
10. Cheap Shot
11. recreating the banter
12. Broke Up
13. Moldy Bread
14. Attention
15. God Told Me
16. Cry Sis
17. meloy banter
18. Homemade
19. Forced Love
20. Sixteen
21. Mystery Man
22. Give Up
23. Junk Bonds
24. Drag Down
25. Mind Reader
26. Flood
encore one…
27. Too Pure
28. Beauty of the Ride
29. Rebound
30. Got It
encore two…
31. impossible dream banter
32. Bouquet For A Siren
33. Elixer Is Zog
34. Emma Get Wild
encore three…
35. happy birthday banter
36. Gimme Indie Rock
Some Sebadoh links…
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