Dinosaur Jr: Live Review

 

All my friends love Dinosaur Jr. I like what I’ve heard; Sitting watching Alien Workshop skate DVDs with my spotty weeded up mates, moshing my little nut of a head to their sizzling riffs and chillaxed vocals while 40 year old men McKick flipped in a fisheye frame – good times that I don’t miss. So with that in mind I squeezed myself into the overflowing womb of the HMV Ritz ready to get down and dirty with the grungey veterans of manchester and bare witness to the fuzz rock sultans from Massachusetts Dinosaur Jr.

At 8:30pm on the dot leading man J. Mascis takes the stage -original members Lou Barlow and Murph have already arrived to a third of the reception- and saddles up his well worn Fender and with a brief “hey there” we begin our fuzzy adventure.

Tracks from latest album I Bet On Sky like “See It On Your Side” predictably dominate the play list although welcome appearances from Bug’s ”Budge” and Without a Sound’s “Feel The Pain” bring the adoring population to a bubbling head bang and sets the tone for the rest of the blistering performance.

Gritty, screamingly melodic riffs blast through Mascis’ wall of amps and make apparent his ability to say as much with his guitar as he can with his voice. However it’s the groups lengthy wig-out sections that really touch upon the genius of their ability to build tension and melody into something amazing, with Barlow and Murph’s rhythm section creating swirling drones that hypnotise and delight in equal measure.

The night ends with an encore of their much loved cover of The Cure’s “Feels Like Heaven” and a track Barlow tells us was came from one of his and Mascis’ first jams, and as they leave the stage for the final time the glistening, delirious faces of the fans making their way to the heaving merch table should let them know those jams were a pretty good idea.

 

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