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Posted on Fri, Mar. 31, 2006
Dinosaur’s return
Dinosaur Jr roars through show not saying very muchBy DAVE FERMAN
SPECIAL TO THE STAR-TELEGRAMDALLAS — For a certain generation of rock fans, Cream and the Jimi Hendrix Experience defined the power trio.
Lovers of Southern boogie have ZZ Top. Progressive-rock fans have Rush and the incarnation of King Crimson that made Red. Motorhead defined the meeting of punk and metal, and so on.
For alternative-rock fans who came of age in the mid-1980s and listened to bands such as Husker Du and Sonic Youth, the original Dinosaur Jr was every bit as important and influential: Guitarist/vocalist J Mascis, bassist/vocalist Lou Barlow and drummer Emmett Jefferson Murphy III (but always referred to simply as Murph) released three vital records between 1985 and 1988 before Barlow left the band amid much acrimony.
Although their time together was brief, the first incarnation of the band influenced everyone from the Pixies to Nirvana.
After months on the road, the original trio’s reunion tour finally came to Dallas on Wednesday with a well-attended — but far short of sold-out — show at the Gypsy Tea Room. For the most part, the evening — 17 stupendously loud songs spread over 85 minutes, including a four-song encore — was a successful roar through songs from their first three records, including Bulbs of Passion (the first song off their 1985 debut), Kracked, The Lung and Cats in a Bowl. Many featured Mascis performing one graceful, aggressive solo after another.
Mascis is still a truly great rock guitar player; his solos are defined by a clear, piercing but warm tone and a fluidity that highlights tension-and-release dynamics reminiscent of the great jazz players.
Those long moments of guitar heaven were undercut, though, by several negative aspects, such as Barlow’s insistence on growling nonsensical gibberish into the mike between songs and the band’s unwillingness to say much of anything coherent, or even introduce a song.
Matters were not helped by a tepid crowd that hardly responded to the first several songs and in fact was so listless that near the end of the set, Barlow finally, in a rare burst of between-song coherence, remarked that we didn’t seem to be having too much fun.
It was true.
But then again, neither did they, especially during the third song of the encore, a cover of the Cure’s Just Like Heaven.
Barlow bellowed nonsense into the mike one time too many, and Mascis cut the song. The two looked at each other for a long moment, and fisticuffs — it’s happened before on a Dinosaur Jr stage, after all — looked more than likely. (they always cut the song short)
In the end, though, the trio performed one more song — a fantastic version of The Wagon — and left, having once again shown both the brilliance and the tension that defined them the first time around.
GRADE: B-
"ammaringnyc " wrote:Posted on Fri, Mar. 31, 2006Dinosaur’s return
Dinosaur Jr roars through show not saying very muchBy DAVE FERMAN
SPECIAL TO THE STAR-TELEGRAMThose long moments of guitar heaven were undercut, though, by several negative aspects, such as Barlow’s insistence on growling nonsensical gibberish into the mike between songs and the band’s unwillingness to say much of anything coherent, or even introduce a song.
Barlow bellowed nonsense into the mike one time too many, and Mascis cut the song. The two looked at each other for a long moment, and fisticuffs —
In the end, though, the trio performed one more song — a fantastic version of The Wagon — and left, having once again shown both the brilliance and the tension that defined them the first time around.GRADE: B-
Seems like a flashback of the Irving Plaza show…
Soemone explained that there was a significance behind what Lou was screaming but I didn’t get it…The author is a dumbass. Every time I’ve seen Dinosaur, they never say much. And one time when I saw Sebadoh, Lou did the gibberish thing between songs. And they didn’t cut Just Like Heaven short and Lou didn’t yell nonsense during the song– that’s the way their version of the song goes and perhaps the author should know that in advance before he mouths off.
Lou did say the crowd didn’t seem to be having a good time, but that could’ve been because the folks up front had to watch their backs for fear that they would get slammed to the floor by a minor but rambunctious couple of slam dancers. The reception for the band was not tepid in the least. It wasn’t overwhelming either, but it was much more than merely polite.
fisticuffs? is this true? barlow and murph (not sure about j) have all said how much of a family atmosphere there is in the band now. fist fighting on stage does not sound like family time to me.
I think that’s just another example of somebody in the media trying to fabricate a controversy where there isn’t one. I’m well aware of the band’s history and Lou seemed to be having a good time, with J his usual reserved self.
"sebasaur " wrote:fisticuffs? is this true? barlow and murph (not sure about j) have all said how much of a family atmosphere there is in the band now. fist fighting on stage does not sound like family time to me.pleez dont confuse the past(where there WERE fisticuffs as witnessed in that SonicYouth video!! and the present reformed days where adulthood has superceded their youthful indescretions…
may the DINOSAUR rock on
staninsanfran
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