Dinosaur Jr.
Corner Hotel
March 4, 2010
Tinnitus.
Before you go Googling this affliction, I can tell you it is not a foot fungus commonly found in backpacker showers or footy club change rooms. It is actually a condition in which the ears experience a constant ringing even though there is no such physical sound present. It is commonly caused by an exposure to excessive noise and is thus logically associated with live music.
If Dinosaur Jr front-man J Mascis doesn’t have it then I’ll eat my hat.
Mascis, along with Murph and Lou Barlow (of equal Sebadoh fame) make up one of the loudest bands going around – a title they have held for the best part of 20 years. The original line-up had, up until a few years ago, avoided playing with each other due to what seemed like irreconcilable differences. However, for reasons beyond my sphere of interest, they decided to reform and release a new album, Beyond, in 2007 and followed up with Farm in 2009. Not only did these new releases show there is still life left in the old dog, they also included some of the finest work of the band’s career.
Mascis strolled out onto the Corner stage the complete opposite of any modern-day guitar hero. He couldn’t be more than 5’7″ with a sizable beer gut, jeans and a seemingly moth-eaten t-shirt with runners and long silvery grey hair down to the middle of his back.
You wouldn’t pick it from the description above (for those of us who need visual description, think Station from Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure), but this is a man who has not only defined, but been the benchmark of modern day guitarists. Dinosaur Jr have been a stalwart in the american music scene since Jesus was a boy and with the recent release of their 9th studio album, the band showed they still have something to say and will not be relegated to the status of ageing rockers.
The band lead with ‘Thumb’, from the Green Mind album. Mascis’ raw and shredding style quickly made apparent to any long-time-listener, first-time-watcher that this gig would sonically assault their ears like nothing else they have ever experienced.
The much-underrated Lou Barlow steered the ship on a newer track from Farm, ‘Imagination Blind’, and through the driving bass-line and impassioned voice shone a man who is a genuine talent in his own right. While Mascis’ is undeniably deemed the brains and voice of Dinosaur Jr, the band was always better with Barlow in it. Mascis and co. then launched ‘Get Me’, providing glimpses of one of the truly amazing guitar solo’s of the past 20 years. I say glimpses as you will be massively disappointed if you attend a Dinosaur Jr gig and expect to hear note-perfect solos as they appear on the albums. Mascis’ on-the-fly arrangements are legendary and it is safe to say that no two guitar solos are the same. This might have disappointmented some, but it was a highlight for me; you genuinely never knew what you would hear next.
‘Out There’, the lead track from the Where You Been album, is vintage Mascis, with the distressed vocals and squealing guitar on show for all to hear. In all honesty, his voice has deteriorated on some of the older tracks to the point where the high-notes aren’t even attempted – a minor disappointment that was quickly forgotten when the band delivered ‘Pieces’, from Farm.
‘Feel The Pain’, from the Without a Sound album, and ‘The Wagon’, from Green Mind, were as close to the originals as you can get from Dinosaur Jr and displayed the craftsmanship that goes into the band’s sound. Murph deserves a special mention for his drumming during ‘Feel The Pain’ – I swear half the crowd were air-drumming the chorus. ’The Wagon’, my personal highlight of the evening, combined the vocal talents of both Masics (lead) and Barlow (harmonies) and provided a short, punchy solo that was as clean as they come. The audience’s vocal participation during ‘Freak Scene’ made even the sometimes sombre Mascis smile, despite the mention of significant jet-lag experienced by all band members. Returning for an encore, the band slipped in a cover of The Cure’s ‘Just Like Heaven’ which interestingly enough appeared to go unrecognized by most of the audience.
Partially deaf, I staggered out of the Corner Hotel and into the car constantly checking my rear view mirror for any sign of an ambulance/fire truck/police car so I could get out of its way, as I sure as hell wouldn’t have heard it.