Live Review: Dinosaur Jr

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Dinosaur Jr (USA)

08/25/05
AB, Brussels

Almost earbleeding country

Set list: Quest / Raisans / Yeah We Know / In a Jar / Bulbs of Passion / Gargoyle / Kracked / Little Fury Things / Forget the Swan / Budge / The Lung / Sludgefeast // Just Like Heaven / Freak Scene // Tarpit / Chunks

When hardcore band Deep Wound morphed into Dinosaur and released their self-titled album to almost no acclaim whatsoever in 1985 (about 1,500 copies were sold in its first year), not many people would've believed that two decades later, the three band members would be playing on the most prestigious stage for a rock 'n' roll band in Belgium. Maybe rightly so, as Dinosaur was - a few songs excepted - only a mediocre album mainly that served as a playground for leader J Mascis. However, a mere two years later, Dinosaur Jr recorded and released You're Living All Over Me, not only one of the best records an alternative band with hardcore roots had done yet, but simply put one of the era-defining and most influential albums as well. Like some other legendary trios - Mission of Burma, Hüsker Dü, The Meat Puppets - Dinosaur Jr distinguished themselves by creating an unholy racket, but because of their indebtedness to '70's rock, Mascis' resurrection of the extended, messy guitar solo and a legacy that would shape the course of indie rock, Dinosaur Jr always maintained their own identity. The original line-up of Mascis, Barlow and Murph only lasted for one more acclaimed album (Bug), after which the dominant Mascis kicked Barlow out of the band. From that point onwards, the band basically became a solo project and when Murph exited some five years later, hardly anyone noticed. Barlow became a sort of indie rock icon (or at least "lo-fi") on his own terms, while Murph ultimately wound up in space-rock band Architectural Metaphor (of which he's still a member, as far as I know), but Dinosaur Jr had always been about Joseph Mascis anyway, the anti-social slacker who - despite appearances telling you otherwise - has always been a teetotaller (although I'm not really convinced myself). While he definitely lacked star quality, his unmistakeable guitar sound and whiny vocals - which recalled Neil Young so much that they started calling the Canadian Dinosaur Sr - ensured he became an icon as unlikely as anyone you'll find.

I entered the venue when support act The Suicide Birds were about to finish their set, but the decibel level and stack of Marshall amplifiers already suggested that the reunited band still tried to live up to the Motörhead-part of its legacy. When they stepped on stage twenty minutes later, it felt as if they took us back fifteen years in time. Even though Barlow and Murph still look like they did fifteen years ago (from a distance, that is) Mascis turned completely grey and added a few pounds, which makes him quite something to behold when he's playing guitar with the subtle moves of a bricklayer. Even though none of these guys has reached the age of 40 yet, they only played songs that were written before 1990, as the band only picked songs from their first three albums and didn't include any of the semi-popular songs Mascis released after that. Even though the set started off rather unremarkable with the debut's "Quest," the pace, quality and playing soon picked up as the band roared through its pretty amazing early catalogue. No less than seven songs from You're Living All Over Me were played, and while they were pretty faithful, the band obviously tried to have fun as well, not by setting up a kind of Soundmix Show, but by making the best of it and playing their asses off. Murph played as if the devil was setting behind his drum kit, Barlow plucked his string as if there was no tomorrow and added vocals and Mascis, well… he did his thing, playing demented solos, slapping you around the face with distortion, feedback, fuzz and other assorted pedals, picking up more and more volume as the show progresses until they finally lived up to what they originally wanted to play: earbleeding country. "Raisans," "Kracked" and "Sludgefeast" in particular sounded excellent, but one of the best moment of the entire concert came when Barlow introduced the band (after nine songs!) and led them through a monster version of Dinosaur's "Forget the Swan" - a feast of melancholy that reunites nervy wave, folk sobbing and rambling rock 'n' roll into one of the band's best songs. Surprisingly the band only played a mere three songs from Bug and the audience had to wait until the encores for fan favorite "Freak Scene" to be unleashed on the heels of a swell version of The Cure's "Just Like Heaven." The band almost succeeded in ruining the ending of the song, with Mascis messing up the pedal-work, but these 'irregularities' somehow fitted them and proved they weren't just putting on an act. A second encore consisted of guitar-fest "Tarpit" and hardcore cover "Chunks," which Barlow howled at the top of his lungs. To be considered the reunion act of the year, the band would have to work a bit harder and maybe record some overwhelmingly fantastic stuff, but as far as reunion concerts go, they rarely come any better than this one.

Way back on the mid-80s