In 1993, Dinosaur Jr. released their fifth studio album 'Where You Been’, which was heralded at the time as one of the crowning glories of slacker culture.
Lead singer and co-founder J Mascis and the band are touring the celebrated album, and overall the album is sounding great. 'Where You Been' is arguably the middle of their three great early 1990s albums: 'Green Mind' (1991), 'Where You Been' and 'Without A Sound' (1994).I last saw them in Tokyo, in 2006, where they played some of their less accessible earlier music.
Kicking off the show at The Tivoli in Brisbane (23 February) were Melbourne-based Stepmother who smashed out a frenetic mix of punk and rock overlayed with a general haze of feedback.
Stepmother - image © Bill Prendergast
The power trio played some great original material, and were so close to the front of the stage punters could almost reach out and touch them. The crowd loved them, as did I, and they had everyone onside with: "I don't wanna call this too early but Brisbane could be the best f...en crowd yet."
With a great guitar solo 'Dead And Gone' was the set highlight for me – I was stunned by the amount of noise coming out of this three-piece. Drummer Sam Rains played a great intro into a surf-sounding instrumental 'El Gusano', which was also a big crowd pleaser – this piece had some great tremolo and feedback, before winding up into a fast exit.
The bass guitar sound had impressed me throughout their 45-minute set, as the instrument had 6 strings and a tremolo arm – both highly unusual. The guys were open to having a chat as they packed up and it turns out Stepmother's lead guitarist Graham Clise crafts the guitars, under the name Biston Strings. Highly innovative and original music and equipment, all played at extremely close quarters and with great energy, these guys were great.
Dinosaur Jr. then took to the stage to play the 31-year-old album. The first song, and an obvious highlight, was 'Out There'. The audience recognised this evocative song as soon as J Mascis ground out the first couple of notes on his guitar, surrounded – almost swallowed – by an implausible bank of Marshall amplifiers.
Dinosaur Jr. - image © Bill Prendergast
The song had lost none of its appeal in the intervening years. It's an absolute classic and J's malingerer's swagger couldn't mask his incredible talent as a composer and guitarist. The crowd loved 'Start Choppin' helping J out with some of those hard-to-reach notes in the upper register – a joy to be part of!
Drummer Murph was on fire, belting out his trademark tight and deliciously complex beats. He was mesmerising and kept the energy levels high throughout the set.
Dinosaur Jr. - image © Bill Prendergast
'On The Way' kicked off with some heavy guitar phaser and wah wah effects, played through the largest, most complex-looking effects board I have seen. At this point, J was changing guitars every song.
It has to be noted that J's laconic style verges on uncommunicative (anyone who watched his ABC Breakfast News interview a couple of weeks back will understand he is a very tough interview subject). In fact, he didn't speak to the crowd until halfway through the show and then only to declare: "Alright we made it through side one."
'Get Me' is one of my other favourites on the album, and another highlight of the night. 'Get Me' is incidentally their highest ranking song in triple j's Hottest 100, coming in at #38 in 1993, but they have certainly had a long history in Australia, as this sold-out event demonstrated.
There was a certain business-like approach to getting through the remainder of the album, perhaps as the result of a very long tour. For me, the best part of the show came after the completion of the celebrated album. 'The Wagon' is a great song off the earlier 'Green Mind' album, and is a regular at their shows.
Dinosaur Jr. - image © Bill Prendergast
'Feel The Pain' followed; it is the opening song off the 1994 album, 'Without A Sound', and was played perfectly. I thought the opening chords of this piece caused the biggest crowd reaction of the evening.
During the encore, Dinosaur Jr. played two crowd favourites: 'Freak Scene' and The Cure's 'Just Like Heaven', a piece that has often been a part of their repertoire (and was played in 2006 when I watched them in Japan). The crowd loved it and we left on an absolute high.
I've already mentioned two of the band members. There was a third on the night, bassist and co-founder, Lou Barlow. I thought he was fantastic throughout the evening! His playing was great, and his playing style quite unusual, but what I loved was that he became a visual target onstage.
J doesn't move around much, playing work person-like through the pieces, and Murph was great as mentioned. However, Lou constantly drew the attention of the crowd. He didn't stop moving, his hair flowed incredibly, and he jumped around in almost-matching socks (no shoes). His bass strumming in 'Feel The Pain' added a lot to the rendition. I felt his movement and playing added a lot to the visual aspect of the show.
Dinosaur Jr. - image © Bill Prendergast
The evening was full of sweet tunes made more so with a healthy dose of nostalgia, the fans were content the songs have lost nothing in the intervening years. One thing is certain, while 'Where You Been' was released 31 years ago, it still sounded minty fresh.
More photos from the concert.
