Today's blurry cell phone picture is the three members of Dinosaur Jr. delivering the rock in front of their five Marshall stacks. My ears are still ringing.
The show was at Brooklyn Bowl, which can simply be described as a medium size performance space glued to the back of a standard sized bowling alley. Less simply, it's a big crazy mind screw of a cacophonous circus.
Dinosaur Jr. is an alternative 3-piece that formed in the 80's and laid out a decent bit of the sound track of my college years until they broke up in 1997. When they reunited in 2005, Lou Barlow of Sebadoh fame, rejoined the original line up of guitarist/vocalist J Mascis and drummer Murph.
Their music is loud. Really loud. Long guitar solos with heavy, heavy distortion. During the solos, I found myself pleasantly zoning out watching Heavy Metal on the screens above the bowling lanes. I thought about the movie Kung Fu Panda. It's a bit goofy and juvenile, but the scene where the bad guy escapes from prison is cool. I thought a bit about college. Then I stuffed tissues in my ears. Then I thought about my nice, large bed.
J Mascis can deliver some very excellent guitar god rock. The sound was good. The band was tight. Dinosaur Jr's songs are mostly similar, and the visual appeal of the show is non-existent, still I give the whole thing a thumbs up.
