The free show attracted a diverse crowd of devoted fans and curious locals who overheard the wailing guitar solos from J. Mascis' guitar, or maybe it was the crunchy wall of noise produced by Lou Barlow's bass - either way, true to form, the trio played their music loud; with heavy feedback and distortion.
Dinosaur Jr. produced a wall of noise familiar previous Dinosaur Jr. concert attendees. Earplugs adorned, fans waited in anticipation for the boys from Massachusetts to play their favorite tracks from their extensive and catalogue.
Dinosaur Jr. Set List
- Tarpit
- I Want You to Know
- Been There
- In a Jar
- Lou
- The Wagon
- Pieces
- Plans
- Out There
- Over It
- Feel the Pain
- Freak Scene
- I Don't Wanna Go There
- Just Like Heaven
- Sludgefeast
Dinosaur Jr's Performance
The band opened their gig with a performance of "Tarpit," one of many memorable tracks from their most critically acclaimed album, You're Living All Over Me. The band played 5 tracks from their most recent release, Farm.
Throughout the performance, fans shouted out the names of their favorite songs in hopes that the band might play their songs. Fans went crazy when the band went into their lauded cover version of The Cure's "Just Like Heaven." Opposed from the clean and smooth sound of the original version, the band ripped into the song pummeling whammy bars and playing with their guitar pedals. This gave the song a vivid clarity when performed live.
The highlights of the bands performance included "Feel the Pain," one of the bands more popular tracks after it was included in the lineup for the popular video game, Rock Band 2. The sheer length and instrumental prowess featured in their nine-minute gem from Farm, "I Don't Wanna Go There," had fans drenched in sweat from the 90-degree sun, closing their eyes in apparent ecstasy, and grooving to the tune. The climax of the bands set was the heavy grunge-induced "Sludgefeast." Announcing that this would be their last song, J Mascis riffed through this heavy song.
Central Park Summer Stage
Aside from the scorching hot weather, Central Park Summer Stage provided a great forum for the band's live free show. However, part of the bands appeal of playing their music extremely loud may have been lost on some fans due to the inevitable dispersion of sound taking place at an outdoor venue. Also, J Mascis already modest vocal style was even more difficult to discern the way the the music was mixed. Otherwise, this show provided a perfect cross-section of the much loved, yet never widely popular, bands career.
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