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wow, Watt joined J on stage in LA, now that must have been great, indeed <img>
Thanks a lot for the review & set list, David <img>live review of the gig in Milwaukee, Wisconsin (Oct., 21st)
Ex-Dinosaur Jr. frontman Mascis dons indie-rock hat
Vocalist, guitarist covers his career in solo set
By NICK CARTER
ncarter@journalsentinel.com
Last Updated: Oct. 22, 2002
"Grunge successor.""Alt-rock precursor."
"The original slacker."
Those are a few of the better-fitting hats that could be worn by former Dinosaur Jr. vocalist and guitarist J. Mascis, who performed solo at Shank Hall on Monday night before an audience of about 150.
But perhaps "indie-rock stand-up" is the tag that best describes Mascis’ style as a performer.
Whether singing emotively whiny, self-reflective lyrics, or alternating his soft electro-acoustic guitar strums with the flick of a foot-pedal switch into distorted lead-guitar lines, Mascis comes off like the Steven Wright of rockers: There’s a stark timing and contrast to his alternating from folky strummer to manic rocker that’s slightly comical and probably intended.
The set covered the range of Mascis’ career, from his years as the front for Dinosaur Jr., an obscure but influential East Coast outfit that covered the gap between grunge and alt-rock – the band’s signature tune "Feel the Pain" became, along with Beck’s "Loser," a defining anthem that epitomized the early-’90s alt-rock term "slacker" – to later songs from Mascis’ solo vessel, the Fog, which continued Dinosaur’s penchant for mixing slackerly strums with manic, hard-punk guitar bursts.
Mascis performed seated at a stool at center stage, a single spotlight beaming down on his sharply featured face, plastic-frame glasses and matted hair flowing halfway down his back.
On most songs, Mascis tied together the strums and leads with lyrics delivered in an emotional yet almost mechanically steady whine, a sort of Neil-Young-on-lithium drone.
The Dinosaur Jr. ditties "Thumb," " Wagon" and "What Else Is New" perfectly fit the solo format, their pensive and faintly solitary vibe exaggerated by Mascis’ slacker-blues wail and faintly country-folk picks and strums.
Between songs, Mascis offered a quick "thanks" in hoarse whispers, keeping his head tilted slightly downward and directly toward the audience.
After performing for about an hour and 15 minutes, Mascis mumbled a "thanks for coming" and left the stage. A few minutes later, he returned for two more numbers – one a Dinosaur Jr. tune, the other from his new album, "Free So Free."
A version of this story appeared in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel on Oct. 23, 2002.
hey thanks!
This one (aversion.com) is not that nice…****Even if you don’t recognize J. Mascis’ name after about seven seconds of Free So Free, you’ll be certain to peg him as the front man of alt-rock icons Dinosaur Jr., or at least "that dude who sang that ‘I feel the pain of everyone, now I feel nothing" from the early ’90s. In fact, even if you don’t want to compare J. Mascis and the Fog’s latest with the singer/guitarist’s previous band, you’re destined to do so – frankly, it’s just that similar.
Is that a good or bad thing for the J.? For most of his fans, it’s probably a good thing. After all, Dinosaur Jr.’s been petrifying for five years now. Anyone who’s that attached to the underground heroes probably isn’t looking for anything more than a musical security blanket. In that respect, Mascis succeeds. Along with The Fog, his third full-length is an assurance that Mascis isn’t going to fall down on the job. It’s also an assurance that he’s probably not destined to rise above his existing musical legacy. From Mascis’ weird, whining delivery and that loud-but-not-roaring guitar tone of Dino Jr. to the powerful, but still slackin’ (remember that term?) arrangements, Free So Free is everything you’d expect from Mascis.
Those heavy riffs aren’t too bad, however, stagnant. Whether he kicks out mid-paced alt-rockers that could serve to remind every budding metalhead just how powerful alt-rock was before it was corrupted by whiners, wannabes and millions of dollars ("Free So Free") or unleashes some guitar textures that were long thought extinct ("Freedom"), Mascis still knows how to rock a bad hairdo and worse clothes. Sure Free So Free doesn’t stand up to either Dinosaur Jr. or previous Mascis solo efforts, but, then again, it’s a cut better than the pretentious art-rock passed off as indie rock, the irritating whine of commercial pop punk and the mouth-breather ruckus of rap metal. Is that an endorsement?
It depends upon how far into mediocrity you’ve sunk. Mascis hasn’t reached bottom, though without a few new ideas, he’s bound to bottom out soon. Catch him on the way down before it’s unbearable.
hey rosa, thanks a lot for the report <img>
now, that was good luck for you in a bad situation, that you managed to enter the guest list <img> <img> <img>hey sophie, don’t know any details about the NY shopping scene but nevertheless, I wish you a great stay over there <img>
hey sophie & sebroll, thanks for those cool pics <img> <img> <img>
I’m still invisible, haven’t got any pic of me hosted anywhere…
but fine that this thread has been revived <img>here’s the last one (at least for today <img> ):
freenet.de album review, and like I said before, the same review can be found in many other German online magazines, too.It exaggerates at some points, but it shows some creativity, too <img>
*****One thing right at the start: For me, "Free so Free" is one of the best Dinosaur records ever. Even if the whole thing is now called "J Mascis + the Fog (since the release of "More Light"), nevertheless it still contains the far and broad beloved Dino and that is fine. Since J. Mascis found his unmistakable style regarding singing, songwriting and guitar playing with the phantasic second Dinosaur (jr.) record "You’re Living All Over Me" and the associated monster single "Little Fury Things", I pursue the development of this selfmade god of strings who was born as an American hillbilly and I can’t actually remember a bad record under the Dino seal of quality. Surely, not each of them has been continuously as convincing as "You’re.." or as the chart breaker ( <img> ) "Freakscene", but at least one hit is actually to be found on each album. The remainder was at least o.k. to very much o.k. and had this unmistakable Mascis thing. It’s a mixture out of hard and rocking but nevertheless very fragile, out of melancholic and nevertheless carrying away and well hidden good mood.
And "Free so Free" stands exactly in this tradition, a typical J.M. record with wicked guitar solos which make hobby guitarists cry, and with tunes, so crazily simple and crazily beautiful without ever slipping into boring easy listening. In addition the croaking nasal voice, which one can distinguish among thousands of singers, always a breath besides the tone, apparently. And this time again with an astonishing variety of hit songs. Where only does the guy take all those terrific songs from?
Right at the start it’s rattling beautifully with "Freedom", pop and rock and underground in a familiar and confident unity. The second track ("If That’s How It’s Gotta Be") is my personal favorite, a – well, ballad at first only with vocals and with an acoustic guitar that whines softly in the background, until suddenly there comes a break and the song grabs you powerfully. Well, then he shows his masterly skills: he shows himself and us how to rock. Woah and wow. With the title song, also an outstanding track, and "Someone Said" there are two calmer songs, the remainder is held in the usual J. Mascis pace. A longplayer which one can listen to completely without without skipping and yawning. As a worthy conclusion of the whole thing, there is "Outside", another catchy tune.
5 Points from Krausnik with love.*****visions.de a review, quite on an average, IMHO <img>
*****J Mascis is one of the very few musicians who are nowadays still permitted to produce excessive guitar solos and to make them hit the listeners’ ears.
Same thing here. J Mascis makes it easy for the listener, his name is his program. "Free so Free" it shouts from the record cover, and freedom is the pervasive topic of the new album, both lyrically and composition-wise. While his laconical style of singing persists consistently throughout the ten songs, the songwriting appers plasantly colourful and sophisticated. Fast rock songs stand besides elaboratively arranged ballads. And once again he renders homage to the high arts of the guitar solo – J Mascis is allowed to do that. And he doesn’t let people ask him twice. Thus there is a heavily distorted solo on "Bobbin", which indeed doesn’t omit any tone. Unfortunately it’s not enough to divert from the quite penetrating chorus.
Immediately thereafter the guitarman rings the second time ( <img> ; FC) and surprises with a beautiful solo, this time on the acoustic guitar. The ex-Dinosaur Jr. head gives an idea of his infinite chord cosmos, that remains naturally very strongly connected to his past. And nevertheless: What is to be heard on the new album, pleases. It’s not highly innovative, but the atmosphere created by J Mascis takes effect. You can’ find very often the condition of weightlessness and of boundless freedom, in a marvelously unlofty arranged and integrated into a rock context as on "Free so Free". Valeska Bogatzke
valuation: 8 points out of twelve<small>[ 10-21-2002, 05:27 PM: Message edited by: Flying Cloud ]</small>
</font><blockquote><font>quote:</font><hr><font>Originally posted by dB – stands for den Buck:
<strong>…will somebody please give him such a tribute in 25 years time? If there are still guitars around by then, of course….. </strong></font><hr></blockquote><font>well said <img> thanks a lot dB.Why does it seem that there are more reviews in all different languages but in English?
the vinyl 7" (Everybody lets me down) was released in the UK only.
you can order it here:
amazon UK: 4,99 Pounds
HMV UK: 2,49 pounds
Opalmusic.com: 1,75 Pounds (but: Minimum order 5 Pounds…)<small>[ 10-20-2002, 06:46 PM: Message edited by: Flying Cloud ]</small>
they offer the vinyl on amazon uk, but I suppose the shipping must be comparatively high then, when you’re the US…
hey, finally someone (besides of me!) who praises "Say the Word" <img>
</font><blockquote><font>quote:</font><hr><font> "Say the Word" … one of the coolest tracks of the record. </font><hr></blockquote><font>Album review: musikreport <img>***Let’s cut it shot: "Free so Free" is the record, that I would have expected from Bob Mould. But while he turns industriously a multitude of buttons and releases somewhat musty records, J Mascis proves once again that good songwriters do not have to be innovative.
The fact that the former head of Dinosaur Jr. makes music with devotion might have gotten about in the meantime. Suitably to the title "Free so Free", the album appears joyfully and positively and it’s old fashioned in the best sense. In the second last song, "Say The Word" he plays long sequences of guitar chords, [oh my, the word ‘gniedelt’ doesn’t even exist in German, how can I translate it? <img> it means something like playing a lot of quite oblique chords without thinking much about how they come out; FC] probably even the guitar wood might have began to sweat. Completely relaxed, J Mascis acts as "the big rock guitarist" and delivers one of the coolest tracks of the record. The fact that he recorded all ten Songs nearly alone and that the record nevertheless has got a dynamic band feeling, is only a further ‘plus’ of a really big indie record.[dmm]***J’s has entered the Gästeliste charts now <img>
To vote, it’s only necessary to click on the " -> In die Hitliste " link on the bottom of the interview, then your vote is counted immediately, just because of the click… <img>You get the message: thanks for voting, "Deine Stimme für J Mascis & The Fog – Free So Free wurde gezählt!"
If you click on the link again it says : oh, no, no, "Du hast schon für diesen Titel abgestimmt!"
But as I tried to vote again today, it worked again! <img> , seems they count one vote per browser session or the likes…
