– ACADEMY 1, MANCHESTER –
Sebadoh are the band you should love…why you ask? Basically, Lou Barlow is the lecturer that you wanted to teach you English literature and philosophy whilst Jason Lowenstein is the kool guy that you wished taught you the guitar, bass, drums, keyboards etc – mainly because he plays them all!!! Barlow and Lowenstein are out to run through a few Sebadoh classics, 32 to be precise!!!! By the time the opening chords for ‘On Fire’ ring out they already have the crowds attention.
Between the dual vocal duties of Barlow and Lowenstein the songs from the recently re-mastered and reissued classic Bakesale and Harmacy LPs sound pretty much perfection, soulful yet distorted, Dreams, S.Soup, Beauty of the Ride, Too Pure and the indie dance floor (for 36 year old men) anthem Rebound. There’s no Eric Gaffney on drums but Lowenstein’s good mate from Fiery Furnaces Bob D’Amico replaces that section with precision and the timing that the two front men need to show off their talents.
Once upon a time the two up front had a crowd divided but nowadays the crowd are just happy to have Sebadoh back. The beauty and sometimes fragility of Barlows voice on Brand New Love is the tonic for Lowenstein’s sometimes Evan Dando-esque, sometimes angst ridden vocals on Not Too Amused. The facts are simple however this band deserves more respect and adoration than more or less all the bands that they influence/d no matter how good: Pavement, Beck, basically every Lo-Fi artists since early to mid 90s and onwards. The band get the respect of Manchester as always and as the final chimes of Willing to Wait fall over the crowd, lets hope the wait wont be too long.
Im a teacher by day and a music lover all the time. I have promoted over 500 shows as Interkonnect including Get Up Kids, Big Business, Hella, Jim Bob, Clorox Girls, New Amsterdams, Juffage, Vessels etc etc etc. Im the oldest emo in Bolton and love Dischord, Vagrant, Jade Tree, Deep Elm, In The Red, Touch and Go, Southern Lord type labels. High Fidelity top five - Jawbreaker, Get Up Kids, Man From Delmonte, Ween and Descendents ( thats this week!!! ) - Hope you enjoy Silent Radio and what i have to say, love ya'll Ivan
