Sebadoh at Jack Rabbits: Show Review

Perhaps Jack Rabbits was the perfect venue for the show. It’s smaller size and lo-fi feel (and no sign outside the venue) seemed like exactly the kind of place that Sebadoh could have played twenty years ago.

The wave of late-eighties to early-nineties indie nostalgia has been breaking across all the major music blogs, and the shores of Jacksonville on Sunday. Sebadoh is the notable band of Dinosaur Jr. bassist Lou Barlow.

Opening acts included Rickulous and Octagrape. The latter really energized the crowd with their hazy jams. Their last track, “As Long As I Forget” featured lots of distortion and experimental riffs.

As mentioned in the interview with Sebadoh’s front man last week, Lou Barlow is very humble. Sebadoh worked their merch table during the opening acts, signing autographs and even taking fan requests.

Their opening track was “Magnet’s Coil” off of 1994’s Bakesale. After playing several old favorites, the band switched to a few tracks off of their latest release Defend Yourself.

Throughout the night, Barlow and Jason Loewenstein swapped between bass and guitar. Loewenstein’s tracks were notably noisier, complemented later by some of Barlow’s more mellow songs.

About halfway through their set Sebadoh played “I Will”, one of the poppier tracks from Defend Yourself. As their bandcamp notes, new Sebadoh records tend to coincide with major events in Barlow’s life. The track, “I Will” explores Barlow’s recent divorce and current relationship.

Serving their audience, there were several moments over the course of their set when Sebadoh asked what type of songs the audience wanted to hear. By fan request the band played “Beauty of the Ride” from 1996’s Harmacy, a track off of Barlow’s favorite Sebadoh record.

The band blasted through several more tracks, covering a great deal of their lengthy discography. True to form, Sebadoh did not make a flashy encore, just house lights and great music. What a great way to experience my first show in Jacksonville.