Every now and then, a show is announced that warrants a double take. One could be forgiven for blinking and refreshing the browser upon seeing that Lou Barlow (Dinosaur Jr., Sebadoh, Folk Implosion) is playing a show at — of all places — the Burlington Record Plant.  The news is real, people: On Monday, August 2, Barlow will indeed perform at the BRP.

"Nick Mavodones from Waking Windows, Bobby Hackney and I were trying to get someone a little bigger, from out of town, to come in and play an acoustic set," says BRP owner Justin Crowther. "Then we heard that Lou Barlow was looking to play some more off-the-beat kind of places on his tour. So Nick reached out, and it came together pretty quickly."

Barlow helped pioneer the early 90's low-fi indie-rock sound and has rightfully earned his place among the legends of that generation of rockers. He's even in the midst of a late-career resurgence with Dinosaur Jr., who have returned to releasing albums and touring regularly.

Barlow is on a mini tour, playing acoustic solo sets in backyards and more intimate venues. According to Crowther, Barlow didn't even want to play at a record store, where the show was initially planned. The famously DIY-centric Barlow also listed only one item on his tour rider: water.



"I've got a bit more time before I head out on endless tour with Dinosaur Jr.," writes Barlow in his show notes. "If you haven't seen me before, it's always pretty fun and loose. I take requests and ramble on about things here and there."

Crowther was as shocked as anyone after the show came together. To say it was a coup to book Barlow at the record plant would be an understatement.

"I'm trying not to think about it too much," Crowther admits with a laugh. "It's just so cool."

This show is the latest scheduled at BRP, which began booking them only recently. The vinyl-factory-turned-sometime-venue previously hosted a Vermont metal showcase featuring Savage Hen, Sachem, Neck Knife and Brattleboro thrash masters Barishi.
Crowther, who played in multiple bands throughout his career, including the hard-touring Waylon Speed, has a deep love for the metal community.

"We've been talking about trying some shows here at the plant," Crowther says, "and I didn't see a lot of metal shows happening. The metal and hardcore scene has helped keep the factory going at times. So it just made sense on a lot of levels."

Relatively new to hosting shows, Crowther was a little anxious about how the Vermont metal showcase would go down. The two-hour event went off without a hitch, however, drawing a nice crowd of local metalheads.

Crowther isn't sure exactly how many shows they'll decide to hold at BRP but is excited by the prospect.

"We're just going to take it show by show for now," he says, "but I think it can be a fun spot."

Tickets to see Lou Barlow on Monday, August 2, are available here.