Dinosaur Jr

I walked in from the cold 2007 winter back through time to the summer of ‘85 within the classy bosom of the classic Forum Theatre in Melbourne, and I walk straight in to the first ear assaulting sounds of one of the most influential garage rock bands on the planet. And when it comes to guitarists, Joe Mascis is in a world of his own. Where does the time go?

This is a three piece that blows the roof off but somehow in this grinding grunge rock maelstrom and guitar gymnastics, some priceless melodies are woven and with pure grace Dinosaur Jr makes music out of madness. The band kept their stage set-up small so despite the vastness of the venue it still felt like we were huddled in a crusty pub. As a fair sign of a big night, three of the five Marshall guitar amps blew up and were replaced before the band got through their 4th song. It took a while before the levels out front started to feel good on the ears and then the whole thing just took off.

It’s been almost 25 years since the first murmurings of the grunge era emerged in the form of bands like Dinosaur Jr. Before we knew it everything smelled like teen spirit and washing your hair was no longer a prerequisite to social acceptance. There’s not much I can say about these guys because basically, I’m not worthy, but seriously, as far as I’m concerned they can do whatever they damn well feel like doing…geez.

For those who haven’t caught up, Dinosaur Jr have a hard-core thrash background with a healthy dose of Neil Young’s Crazy Horse carved in steel with some sugar on the side, if you know what I mean. While some memorable pop melodies sneak in here and there most of the time the songs are laid down like a carpet for Mascis to weave his guitar magic. The punters were mesmerised and soaking it in and no doubt enjoying the flashbacks to another time and place but I couldn’t help but notice the huge difference in the reaction of the crowd this time around from when grunge was at its peak. This was the time when mosh pits were invented wasn’t it?

I’m not a huge fan, don’t get me wrong, but all things considered you got to admire the art. This is the original. It was a nostalgia gig I guess and I think there was more curiosity and interest than the excitement that one might expect but there were a few new ears that couldn’t resist the pit. The encore call at the end was barely resounding but there was an intense feel in the room from the band and the audience. At one surreal moment even, from the back of the room, I looked up at the stage as Joe Mascis carved out some impossible guitar master strokes and just then under the stage lighting he was gleaming, golden locks glistening he blazed through another impossible riff and looked every bit the rock god in a moment of blazing glory. I had to laugh. The normally silver grey long hair and borderline nerd stylings made way for the true alter ego to take his place on stage. Thanks for the magic.
Super fine garage rock. Timeless. Speechless.

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