Dinosaur Jr: Live in Concert

Indie Rockers Riff with Bob Mould at Theatre of Living Arts

Oct 18, 2009

Since the release of Farm, Dinosaur Jr. has been touring North America extensively attracting fans from all corners of the continent to hear the legendary indie rockers.

It was a momentous night for the indie rock scene. Before Indie was Indie, Husker Du were writing songs that would help to shape an entire genre of what would be classified as indie rock.

Imagine what it meant for fans and for members of Dinosaur Jr. to have Bob Mould, the frontman of Husker Du (one of Dinosaur Jr's acknowledged influences) share the stage with them. The night felt like an homage to the history of alternative rock; featuring some its most significant players.

Lou Barlow and the Missingmen

Lou Barlow and the Missingmen opened the night with a set of melodic indie rock. Combining aspects of Lou Barlow's solo project with the musicality of Mike Watt's Missingmen, the trio played through a short set. The project sounded very similar to Barlow's solo work and less like that erratic and instrumental-driven work of Mike Watt and the Missingmen.

Bob Mould

Bob Mould took the stage in a whirlwind. Opening with "Something I learned Today," first track from Husker Du's lauded Zen Arcade, Mould whipped devoted fans into a frenzy. Mould played a combination of solo work, songs recorded with his band Sugar, and a handful of Husker Du songs. Mould demonstrated signature guitar work, his fast chord progressions and carefully planned hectic guitar solos brought fans back three decades.

Dinosaur Jr.

Dinosaur Jr. took the stage with a cool lethargy that seems nearly impossible given the intensity of their material. Frontman J. Mascis hardly broke a sweat as he tore through heavy riffs and prolonged guitar solos. Drummer Murph kept time while bassist Lou Barlow played bass chords through heavy distortion and feedback for the second time of the night.

Setlist

Encore

The band sounded great as usual; however, perhaps they played too many songs from their latest album, Farm. Nearly half of the setlist came from new material and it became exhaustive at times. The standout performances of the night were "Feel the Pain" and "Sludgefeast."

The duality of melodic and heavy, slow and fast in these songs compelled fans to jump around pumping their fists in time with Mascis' fast and catchy riffs. During "Sludgefeast" the standing area of the Theatre of Living Arts opened wide as a swirling mass of sweaty fans paid one final homage to the bands that provided inspiration for so many.

The copyright of the article Dinosaur Jr: Live in Concert in Indie Music is owned by Todd Christopher Petty. Permission to republish Dinosaur Jr: Live in Concert in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.