Dinosaur Jr.

Rough Trade / Brooklyn, NY

Dinosaur Jr. by Levi Walton
Dinosaur Jr. by Levi Walton

 
Dinosaur Jr. celebrated the release of Give a Glimpse of What Yer Not, their 11th studio record (and fourth since reuniting with their original lineup in 2005), with an intimate gig at the awesome record store, Rough Trade NYC. Since they’ve been spending their summer touring amphitheaters with another ’90s alt-rock mainstay, Jane’s Addiction, this tiny spot was an amazing place to see them.

Before launching into his new song “Love Is…,” bassist Lou Barlow (also of indie rock titans Sebaboh) warned that the band had only completed the song once in rehearsal, but it sounded fantastic. Even stoic guitar hero and singer J Mascis consistently apologized for playing new songs, although the four they ripped through were certified bangers. Each member of the trio is at least 50, but they still thoroughly shredded, and Barlow in particular jumped around with the energy of someone half his age. Although the 13-song set felt short, they closed with two of the closest things they have to hits: “The Wagon” and “Out There,” and the crowd just about lost it. In fact, at the encore two drunks did lose it: they started throwing cups and candles at people in the audience and almost got in a massive fight, but, as drunks tend to do, they sort of just forgot about it.

I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention the opening act, Those Pretty Wrongs. Led by Big Star’s Jody Stephens, they played gentle acoustic tunes that owed a lot to Jody’s old band before closing with the Big Star classic, “Thirteen.” A bit of an odd pairing, but I (and most of the crowd) ate it up.

-Layne Montgomery

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