The Lemonheads, Sebadoh

Three of the 90's finest songwriting talents share the stage tonight. Everyone here is of course aware that one of them is Evan Dando, but some may be less familiar with Lou Barlow and Jason Loewenstein of Sebadoh. Having said that, this reviewer was pleasantly surprised at the near full capacity crowd already gathered to witness Sebadoh warm up for the Lemonheads.

Sebadoh were initially born in the late 80's as an outlet for Dinosaur Jr bassist Lou's prolific songwriting efforts as he struggled to compete with the overpowering J Mascis for much input to Dinosaur Jr records. Sebadoh soon became Lou's primary concern and along with Loewenstein ( and a string of drummers who came and went ) they were widely recognised as front runners of the lo-fi scene.

Tonight finds Sebadoh in fine mood, and form. We're happy to see an extremely hairy Lou tell his tales of angst and woe with a smile on his face. Songs like Brands New Love and Soul and Fire are absolute classics and it's great to see so many of the audience here familiar with Barlow's songs, in which he bares his soul and pain on his sleeve so open sometimes it's uncomfortable but fascinating to listen.

Newer songs from 2013's Defend Yourself album - Beat, and I Will - sit comfortably along old stalwarts, and in good old Sebadoh tradition, Lou and Jason swap instruments and lead vocals a couple of times to mix it up a bit. During a few minutes while there are some technical problems with the drums Jason gives us a solo rendition of Happily Divided, as far as he's concerned he's probably just filling in a few minutes for the techs to fix things up, but for us the audience it's a treat.

There are a number of unfamiliar songs played tonight, all of which sound very good indeed, it sounds like the guys are writing new material, so hopefully this time there won't be a 14 year wait between Sebadoh albums!

The Lemonheads walk on stage to huge applause tonight, the DJ cuts the music, only for Evan to repeatedly and incoherently mumble into the mic for him to switch it back on while they get themselves set up......DJ does as he's told, then 10 seconds later they're ready to play! Evan is clearly as Ditzy as ever, and drug problem or no drug problem (he's apparently clean now) thats always been part of his charm.

They kick off with Hospital, swiftly followed by Down About It. What's apparent immediately is the fact that Evan's voice still sounds as strong as ever, and the band sound tight. Despite the fact that the Lemonheads line up has changed extensively over the years ( Evan has remained the only constant ) you wouldn't know that none of these guys were around when these songs were written.

It doesn't matter whether it's a Dando original or a cover version, Evan takes ownership of every chord he strums and every breath he utters, he either cares very much about every gig he's played over the years, or is simply incapable of a bad performance. His songs exude a warmth that's difficult to describe but every member of the audience here feels it tonight.

It's About Time is whimsical and Style is satisfyingly heavy. "Don't wanna get stoned, but I don't wanna not get stoned" summing up the thoughts spiralling around his mind on a constant basis!

The band leave the stage for a bit now, and it's just Evan and his guitar. Being Around is always fun, The (surely autobiographical) Dando penned Why Do You Do This To Yourself sounds like an old country classic and Hard Drive taken from Evan's Solo album Baby I'm Bored is just simple and beautiful stripped down to it's bare bones. Stripped even further is Frank Mills, Evan sings A Capella, joined by pretty much everyone here, perfect.

Guitarist Chris Brokaw joins Evan on stage for a few more tracks. Ride With Me from 1990's Lovey being the highlight along with Smudge cover, The Outdoor Type.

The band return and classic after classic is pumped out. It's A Shame About Ray possibly gets the loudest cheer but the audience here seems to know every word of every song and fill in Juliana's parts on My Drug Buddy and Rudderless perfectly. The evening wouldn't be complete without Stove. Definitely the best song ever written about a kitchen appliance!

By the end of the night Music News is in the small but cosy mosh pit shoving and pogoing to Bit Part and Alison's Starting To Happen. We want them to go on all night but If I Could Talk I'd Tell You finishes off a superb set and we leave Indigo2 sweaty and smiling.

It's been almost 10 years since the last Lemonheads album. Great songwriting talents like Evan Dando are few and far between, lets hope he's got a few more albums left in him yet.....and soon please Evan!

Setlist

Full Band

Hospital
Down About It
Tenderfoot
(Smudge cover)
Dawn Can't Decide
Mexico
It's About Time
Style

Evan Solo

Being Around
Why Do You Do This to Yourself?
(Evan Dando song)
Hard Drive
(Evan Dando song)
Frank Mills
(Galt MacDermot cover)

Evan Dando and Chris Brokaw

Frying Pan
(Victoria Williams cover)
All My Life
(Evan Dando song)
My Idea
(Evan Dando song)
Ride With Me
The Outdoor Type
(Smudge cover)

Full Band

Confetti
It's a Shame About Ray
The Great Big No
My Drug Buddy
Break Me
Stove
Rudderless

Evan Solo

Into Tomorrow
(Willy Mason cover)
Hannah & Gabi

Full Band

Bit Part
Alison's Starting to Happen
If I Could Talk I'd Tell You