We met Lou Barlow post sound check at Paradise Rock Club where he and the rest of the newly reunited Sebadoh were getting ready to play later in the evening.  He settled on the black vinyl bench in the green room and grabbed his acoustic guitar.  We had no idea what to expect from him; his history as a member of Dinosaur Jr. and Folk Implosion as well as Sebadoh had us wondering what we were in store for, and we were not disappointed.  Barlow played three songs that we could not have predicted, stopping after his second song to say, “These are all covers by the way.”

Barlow sang against the arcade-like din of the bar below the green room, as we filmed in the low light.  At the end of each song, he drifted off into silence, breaking the spell and letting the jukebox below take over.

One of our favorite moments during a Sleepover Show happened right in the middle of Lou’s cover of Smog’s A Hit.  Bill Callahan’s lyrics, lamenting about never being an Eno or a Bowie give way to Barlow’s own.  Breaking into Folk Implosion’s Natural One, Barlow takes over the story, inserting his own most popular song.  It’s an effortless move, and as we walked out after the show, we couldn’t believe we got to capture it.

After his three songs, Lou quietly put his guitar away, opened up the latest copy of the Boston Phoenix, where Sebadoh graced the cover, and started silently flipping through the pages.  It was one of our quickest shows ever, and it was over before we knew it.  Thankfully, we can now just replay the videos whenever we want.  We hope you enjoy them!

In just a few weeks, Sebadoh’s Bakesale will be re-released in deluxe form.  Though you won’t hear any of these songs on the album, you should head out and pick it up at Sub Pop’s website.

A Hit/Natural One:

Riding:

The Little Black Egg:

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