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anyone else get this issue ? it’s a pretty good one … apart from the sebadoh thing, there’s stuff on the flaming lips, jim jarmusch, ian mackaye, jay farrar, MC5 + a few more interesting bits here + there …
well, lou wrote the tour diary + among other things he talks about j + the smith college autism benefit concert … i’m going to copy it out here anyhow (well, at least that bit) … but i’m just giving everyone a heads up just in case they wanted to run out to the shops + buy it — before it’s too late
oh yeah, if visuals are your thing there’s some good sebadoh tour pix too …
well, here’s the excerpt … enjoy ! :aliensmile:
northampton, mass., april 30
this show -with sonic youth and j mascis at smith college – was conceived + promoted by louise barlow, my mother, and lynn ford, her co-worker from the Community Resources for People with Autism. My mom has never done anything like this and has been fretting and talking of nothing else for months. she’s more nervous than i’ve ever seen her. i’ve never been to a high school reunion, so this is as close as i’ll get to one. my connection to this area – smith, in particular – can’t be overstated. i met my wife kathleen at the radio station, WOZQ, and eric gaffney, jake + i lived and recorded in our girlfriends’ dorm rooms here. we were freeloading townies, every smith parent’s nightmare.
My first tour ever was with dinosaur (pre-jr) opening for sonic youth. along with j, sonic youth was my biggest musical influence back in the day. the guys i played neighborhood wiffle ball with circa ‘79 are doing security. a friend who introduced me to captain beefheart’s music – this is a big deal – came up from new york. people i walked thru graveyards eating cookie dough with, spent months in tour vans with, huddled in crash-pad kitchens at countless parties with – they’re all here, backstage, in the crowd or at the doors. my sister abby is selling t-shirts (abbar ?
). my dad is walking around in a semi-official manner, though i can’t determine what his job is exactly.we play an abbreviated, one-hour set to a full house of 2000 people. there’s even talk of the fire marshall shutting down the show – drama ! – when there’s a mild rush to the stage – not a stampede, just a slow gathering – as we begin playing. my mom comes onstage a few times to ask that aisles be cleared. it works; crisis averted. i’m as happy as i’ve ever been playing a show this size. it feels good not to humiliate my parents – oh, i’ve got stories – and be grown up with my grown up friends.
j follows us, playing acoustic guitar with a flautist. this is the first time i’ve seen him play his own songs since i got booted from dinosaur jr. i was a very bitter, petty little boy. though j has come to several sebadoh shows since, i’ve boycotted him until this day. though he’s playing acoustic. he still pedal hops the leads, which doubles the volume and has the moms grabbing their ears, just like olden times. “it was really, really nice, but why does he have to make that noise?� the quiet/loud innovator still ruffles feathers.
as j finishes, i find myself backstage running thru a song with screamer charlie nakajima and bassist scott helland of deep wound, the pre-dinosaur hardcore band j and i were in. thus the only, and most unlikely, reunion of the night occurs. j isn’t fully aware of the plan – it was hatched during his set – but gamely jumps behind steve shelley’s drum kit and hits the floor-tom/snare opening of “video prick,â€? our most playable mid-tempo song. “if you’re intertested in being a video stud/soon your penis will be covered in blood.â€? it’s awesome. most of the audience has no idea what’s happening or why it’s awesome, but our friends are leaping over seats, ear-to-ear smiles. we haven’t played since 1984.
the rest of the night is an ecstatic blur. the jim o’rourke-fortified sonic youth is the best i’ve seen in 15 years, but i’m too busy mingling. more familiars drift in and out, and mom is happy, happy, happy. queen of the night.
so great to read Lou’s spin on things concerning the Northampton show on April 30 this year!
….great to read about how his mom shouldered the responsibility for the event admirably, queen of the night, indeed 
🙂
also cool to read the details about the Deep Wound reunion-in-a-rush.
…and when J’s considered to be loud when playing acoustic… well they should hear him playing electric… :aliensmile:sooo many thanks for typing out the excerpt for us, rambleon!!!
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