At The Fleece
Two commonly used phrases fit Tuesdays gig perfectly. “Good things come to those who wait” and “Life is full of surprises”
Indeed good things do come to those who wait. As Sebadoh proved when they returned to the Fleece for the first time in more than a decade, bringing with them their first new material in six years.
And their support in the shape of Dearly Beloved gave one of the best surprise performances I have seen in 2019.
Dearly Beloved were a unknown quantity to me as they took to the stage in front of a near capacity crowd at The Fleece. That is definitely, no longer the case as I now own three of their six studio albums off the back of this single performance alone.
Heavier than expected, more vocally cutting than expected and more in your face than expected.
Chemistry oozing from each member of the band, who’s stage presence was second to none. Reading up on the six following the gig that shouldn’t have been a surprise from a band than spend more time on the road than a stranded Ice Road Trucker. They have already ticked off 26+ countries.
This is a band that likes to play often, play fast and play hard. The intensity of their performance not dropping below 9.9 on the Richter scale the whole time they were on stage.
At times vocalist/bassist Rob Higgins and vocalist/percussionist Niva Chow seemed more at home in the throng of the crowd than up on the stage.
Whatever the IT people look for is, this band have it in spades and I for one can’t wait for them to return to the city….. once they have ticked off even more countries than a German blitzkrieg advance.
What can you say about our headliner?
Whether it’s with Sebadoh, Dinosaur Jr or The Fiery Furnaces the trio of Lou Barlow, Jason Loewenstein and Bob D/Amico have been there, done it and got the T-Shirt.
Masters of their trade so much that a 5, 10 even 15 year break from playing together as Sebadoh means nothing is lost to the passing of time.
The band took to the stage with a seemingly zestful, happy disposition. And a reinvigorated energy from playing new material and a thankfulness of being back where they belong, doing what they were born to do.
The packed venue was noticeable for it’s huge range of ages. From old rockers of a similar age to the trio themselves. Too kids there were likely not even born during Sebadoh’s heyday of the 90s.
The set had a very laid back feel, with the band playing crowd pleasing favourites, mixed with heavy doses of new album “Act of surprise”.
Lou and Jason stopping often to playfully spare with the crowd and switch up vocal duties.
Its a pleasure to watch these three masters at work. I would pay admission alone to simply watch Lou Barlow play guitar.
It could be potentially a long wait to see Sebadoh back in Bristol so the band made sure everyone who’d taken the trouble to head out on a Tuesday night was rewarded for a 90 minute set that included a superb encore.
Two very different acts, but one very impressive evening.
The Bristol Gig Guide is please to award only our second ever PLATINUM GIG AWARD.
Catch our exclusive interview with Lou Barlow below
