SEBADOH

SEBADOH

At the Roxy

March 16

Topless girl and all, Sebadoh's Tuesday night show was a rocking good time. The Roxy was packed with an extremely eclectic mix of fans--everything from aging rockers and suited 20-somethings to clean-cut alterna-boys and their hipper chicks. Even teenage rave kids were to be found bumming cigarettes and acting cool. Nobody paid much attention to the opening acts; instead they swarmed around the six bars that service this converted ballroom. Playtopia, the second opener, got some attention by the sheer volume of their amps. Despite much heckling and hooting to the contrary, I thought these guys' blend of pure noise and screamed goofy lyrics like "Here come the worms, the worms of doubt" was actually pretty funny. By the time Sebadoh hit the stage, the crowd was rowdy and raring to go. When it was announced that the concert was being broadcast live on WBCN, some people in the front began chanting things like "WBCN sucks" and other exciting graphic phrases.

Their first few songs proved that Sebadoh can still slam it home. Amid rebel yells from the audience, "Careful" and "Dramamine" filled the hall with jagged guitar and gunshot-like drums. Jason Lowenstein and Lou Barlow were joined by Russ Pollard, the drummer and collaborator on their latest album The Sebadoh, a fine new incarnation of this long standing band. This album, out of Sub Pop, is a mixture of ballads by Lou and yelling, fuzz-guitar romps from Jason and creates a tight, impressively "together" sound. Songs such as "Flame" and "Love is Stronger" are plaintive and sensitive, filled with interesting noises and rocking beats. "Cuban" is a swinging dance number with a screamed over melody that somehow works--and the cow bell is a nice touch. In the lyrical, acoustic "Tree," Lou proves himself to be a song writer who can transcend triteness and write a really beautiful song.

The audience responded well to the new music, which displays Sebadoh's established and evolving sound, a sound which is sure to bring joy to all you indie-rock junkies who still resent their MTV cross-over.

Fist-pumping boys screamed along as the older break-up anthems came on, but the newer songs are plenty angry, never fear. Pollard's howled rendition of "Break Free," which he wrote for the new album, was particularly frightening. Lou's soulful lyrics and simple beats on "Flame" transform angst into actual anguish, however, and on many of the pieces from the latest album the guitars do most of the screaming. Due in part to Lou's sore throat, this emphasis on dexterous guitar and bass still conveys the raw emotion and intensity of Sebadoh's songs. Slouching on stage in their t-shirts and hats, Sebadoh's garage band appearance seemed out of place with their refined, full and established sound.

Obviously tired, Sebadoh was not prepared for the raucousness of the crowd the Roxy. Tired of chanting at the radio, people took the pauses between songs as opportunities to shout at Lou and Jason. Answering sometimes, Jason finally stated dryly, "Alright, people from Boston shouting." But like an irreverent monster beyond anyone's control, the crowd heaved and surged until finally it produced a young woman, who perched on the shoulders of someone near the front. Throwing both her shirt and bra at Lou, she crowd surfed until she was dropped, then clamored up onto the stage to get a little closer. As an answer to this event, Jason sang "I'm going to get so...naked" in their next song "It's All You," and Lou lifted his shirt. A crowd-pleasing concert all around, Sebadoh, in the words of an audience members, "rocked on." Don't miss Sebadoh's appropriately alternative website www.sebadoh.com, where you can fill out a fan personality profile--I think "naked" in one of the options.