Sebadoh (Live at The Bowery Ballroom 4/9/11)

                      I took a trip down memory lane last night when I went to see 'Sebadoh' play at the Bowery Ballroom.Oh how they were one of my very favorite--most influential--bands from my high school days. I hadn't seen them in over ten years. It was nostalgic--I got drunk--and truly had a fun time. And by fun time I mean I had a fucking blast. Before they went on I saw Lou Barlow and gave him a big bear hug and babbled for a moment and thanked him for making my formative years so much better. Though in my Vodka fueled state I don't think I used the word, formative-- yet, I was sincere and it felt good to spontaneously express my gratitude to him in this way. As for the music, I was totally into it; singing along to what are now veritable indie-rock classics (though  I was prolly screwing up the lyrics,) bouncing and moving; at times hopping around much to the dismay of other stick in the mud cruds around me. A few of us actually had the gall to lift this eager younger kid up to try crowd surfing! I think he landed hard. So what! I got the feeling that a bunch of the audience weren't as emotionally invested as I was. Whatever. Let them grow old in any way that they choose.
 In my opinion Sebadoh's songs hold up very well over time. My favorite album, 'Bakesale' is now 17 years old! The thing with them is that their songs are so interwoven into a time and place in my life when I was teenager and still living at home that they can never loose value in my world. Even if I don't care for every single song as much as I used to, and even as my musical horizons expanded the older I became, it's refreshing to still enjoy Sebadoh in a live setting and rock out and be silly and have fun while I'm still genuinely moved by music and compelled to express myself without caring what others will think. However, to the majority of the crowd last night I humbly ask, "Have you no passion left?" I mean no one is expecting you to freak out or have some cathartic body and soul release but c'mon. It's a rock concert. It's ok to move.