Lou Barlow is indie-folk-pop at its finest.

He has played with Cake, The Flaming Lips and The Foo Fighters to name a few – but most people have never heard of him. Despite nearly two decades of making music which critics have called the most prolific of his generation, the closest he ever came to mainstream fame was with Folk Implosion’s 1995 Kids soundtrack.

In addition to fronting Folk Implosion, Barlow used to play bass with old-school indie rockers Dinosaur Jr., and still serves as 50 percent of Sebadoh and 100 percent of his solo project, Sentridoh.

Armed only with two old, beat-up guitars (one of which was missing two strings), Barlow wooed a small crowd at Capitol Garage last Saturday as part of a cross-country tour to promote his new CD, “Free Sentridoh, songs from Loobiecore.” (see review, placement)

Fresno 4-piece Earlimart opened the show with a sound that feels like Radiohead meets Portishead meets Sonic Youth. Listening to their gritty, heartfelt rock, the crowd couldn’t help but get into it. Next up was Alaska, featuring Sebadoh drummer Russell Pollard and Folk Implosion guitarist Imaad Wasif. What Alaska delivers cannot be described as anything other than straight rock with a twist of pop.

Both bands are touring with Barlow through Nov., when they will return to California for dates in San Diego (18th at the Casbah) and Los Angeles (19th at the Troubadour).

Lou Barlow’s arrival was obviously the most anticipated of the night. When he hit the stage at 11 p.m. the small Sacramento crowd gave their full attention to Lou, who served up an hour and a half of beautifully orchestrated pop-rock.

As the night wore on, and Lou continued to consume the booze, the show got very unpredictable. Folk Implosion’s Imaad Wasif and Sebadoh’s Russell Pollard hit the stage, and the three gave an impromptu “New Folk Implosion” performance.

It’s a shame more people didn’t show up for the Saturday night Lou Barlow performance. The Capital Garage has seen fuller days when local bands have taken the stage. Maybe Lou needs a Sacramento street team of some sort, but he shouldn’t need one.