Last night, the Rubber City was treated to three 100-watt amplified stacks of pure sonic gold courtesy of a reunited Dinosaur Jr. A couple years ago, the original trio coat-checked their sensitivity (bassist Lou Barlow) and skate films (guitarist Jay Mascis) and got back together after a nearly two-decade split.
Road-testing new material from their upcoming album Farm (which comes out in June), Mascis, Barlow and drummer Murph are on a 28-date tour of small clubs. They played a sold-out show at Akron’s Musica last night.
Needless to say, there was a buzz about this show ever since it was announced in late February. So what does anyone in my situation do when he has the opportunity to see Dinosaur Jr. in a cozy, intimate 300-person venue? Get stoned, show up late and pull an oblique maneuvering through the crowd toward the back porch of the venue to get some much-needed elbow room.
With help from Steve Clements, who plays keys and drums for Akron rockers Houseguest, I was able to somewhat accurately put together songs I thought I was hearing (Dino are one of the loudest bands on the planet; in a club this size, the volume was deafening): “Little Fury Things,” “Freak Scene,” “Feel the Pain,” “Out There,” “In a Jar” and a few off the new album that nobody knew.
Oh, and they might have covered Devo. Lesson learned: If you’re reviewing a show, don’t get too high to do your job. Still, the show was loud and rocking. It’s not often a venue like this hires a second sound man to simply watch the first sound man — just to make sure the PA doesn’t blow. —Colt Sanders
This article appears in Apr 8-14, 2009.
Colt,
I can understand your wanting to “smoke a little” when checking out a show, but I suggest that you put the joint down before you pick up a pen, because your review sucked! A lot of us would have loved to see this sold out show. You were lucky enough to get tix and even fortunate enough to cover the event. However, you were obviously more interested in getting stoned than watching Dinosaur Jr., and your writing shows! Michael Gallucci, who is this joker?
Colt,
You need to seriously evaluate your career path!
Was this a review of a concert or your night of smoking pot?