Seeing Dinosaur Jr.

I had the chance to see one of my absolute favorite bands yesterday, Dinosaur Jr. It was an excellent show, and I am very grateful for the opportunity to see the original lineup of J., Lou, and Murph. It was clear from what I saw that they weren't that happy to be there or even be around each other, but their playing was as good as ever. The majority of their set came from their recent album Beyond and while I definitely appreciate their old stuff a lot, their new album was pretty good too. I can't think of any genuine criticism I really have about the show, especially given that it was $20. Some observations:

-J., of course, was transcendent. He's exactly the kind of rock star I like and can relate to, in that he is not a good-looking person and he completely lacks charisma. He is a consummate musician's musician, though. Over the course of the 15-song set (12 songs, 3 encore songs), I would wager he played about 20 guitar solos, all of them melodically interesting and quite different from their studio incarnations. My personal favorite was "Forget the Swan" (see a clip of them playing it here!), which ended with an extended whammy-jam that was quite wonderful from my point of view.

-I was front and center the whole time, and my ears are still ringing as a result. I noticed that pretty much everyone else besides me had ear plugs, but that means they are pansies that didn't get the full frontal assault of J.'s marshall stacks. Also, I'm going to go deaf.

-In between songs, J. and Murph would often spontaneously break out into some reggae-sounding bits of music. I hope this shows up on the next album.

-After witnessing the two openers, Awesome Color and the Reaction, I came to understand why I think I like Dinosaur Jr. so much. Those two opening bands had plenty of extended guitar jams but underneath them were no songs: just riffs that they banged away for like five minutes, with no choruses or verses. Dinosaur Jr., on the other hand, has choruses, verses, and hooks aplenty, and they work well within the context of the song. Several songs, like "Freak Scene," have so many great parts to them that J. could have easily separated them into two different songs. Such is the talent of this man.

-I got a guitar pick from J. It was his birthday the day before. Earlier in the evening he was standing in front of me but I had absolutely nothing to say to him that wouldn't be incredibly annoying. Oh well. Also, I forgot to bring a camera.

-They are a hilarious looking band. J.'s head is absolutely huge, especially with that huge mop of gray hair. Murph looks like a soccer dad. Lou just looked really large. I was surprised.

-The highlight of the night? Either "Forget the Swan," or "The Wagon," or the 1-2 punch of "Kracked/Sludgefeast." Absolutely magical. No criticisms.