Something Like Sound

One of the most influential alternative rock bands of the last 2 decades, Dinosaur Jr., made a two-show visit to Colorado last week. One of those shows at a moderately-filled Aggie Theatre in Fort Collins proved to be a night to remember.

First up was a grunge band from Brisbane, Australia, named “Violent SoHo.” The four men drew extensively from their Nirvana influences, from the mix of instruments to their greasy long hair. Violent SoHo was able to go from song to song with great energy and stage presence, combining grunge melodies with the broader sound of two guitars to give the crowd a chance to rock out. Their 40-minute set was solid from start to finish, technically flawless in performance.

Next was Lou Barlow, the bassist for Dinosaur Jr., backed up by the Missing Men. His pop punk set was simple, yet by no means cliché. The fast-paced songs meshed together to form another 40-minute set of driving music. The band had very little interaction with the crowd, preferring to just play music. Their love for their songs was easily seen as they enjoyed their simple, yet creative riffs.

After a 45-minute gap between sets, Dinosaur Jr. finally came on stage to the relief of the restless crowd. Quickly getting into it, they launched into their first song, setting the pace for the rest of the set. Contrary to some complaints from the crowd, guitarist/signer J Mascis simply said, “Less vocals. More guitar.” That attitude carried through the night. Even the stage set up testified to this. Two stacks of Marshal amps numbering near a dozen each framed both sides of the stage. Understandably then, Dinosaur Jr. put on a phenomenally loud show.

The guitar solos far exceeded the prevalence of any singing. What singing there was end up being completely incomprehensible as it was weakly tossed into the lake of guitar. However, this does not count against the quality of Dinosaur Jr. The guitar solos were brain-meltingly skilled and perfectly executed for minutes on end. Between songs, Mascis would show off for a minute while the bassist Lou Barlow re-tuned. Random riffs came together for short, fleeting songs that would quickly be buried by the overwhelming volume of the real set.

The second half of the set turned the pace up a notch from wandering epics to simple rock and roll. This half of the set proved to be more exciting than the former since the songs known by the crowd all fell within this half. After an hour and a half of fast-paced alternative rock, they quietly ended, bringing the night to a close.

Words by Spencer Nelson, Photos by Tim Weilert

It’s been a while since I did one of these, but there are too many good shows coming up to not do one.

October 30 – Dinosaur Jr. at the Aggie Theatre (Fort Collins): As a primer listen to their recent performance recording from NPR’s Live Concerts from All Songs Considered podcast.

November 6&7 – Hearts of Palm / Nathan&Stephen at Hi-Dive: Most people think you can only say goodbye once. Heart of Palm are doing it twice! The Hi-Dive is sure to be packed both nights.

November 16 – Terra Naomi at the Walnut Room: For fans of solid female musicians (i.e. Regina Spektor, Joan Baez, etc.) check out this L.A.-based singer-songwriter.

November 17 – Pixies at the Fillmore: Where is my mind? More importantly, where are my 50 dollars? oh that’s right, it’s a Fillmore show.

December 31 – Paper Bird & These United States at Hi-Dive: What better way to ring in the New Year than with some kick-ass bluegrass and top-notch indie rock?

After over 20 years as a band (including a brief breakup during the late 90’s), Dinosaur Jr. is at it again with their newest record Farm. Even from the album art, it becomes increasingly evident that this record is an interesting listen. Dinosaur Jr. has always been marked by a few key features: mind-blowing, ear drum shattering loudness, tempered with J Mascis’s laid-back vocal style.

To achieve the full Dinosaur Jr. experience, this album was reviewed while on a short hour-long road trip to Fort Collins. Even during the parts of the trip where I became stuck in rush-hour traffic, the feel-good rock sounds blasting out of the speakers transported me to a place of musical bliss.

The upbeat “I Want You to Know,” is a good example of the current Dinosaur Jr. sound, complete with driving, brightly over-distorted guitars, and a slight bit of pop-sensibility on the lyrics. Another up-front punk song is “Over It,” the first track from Farm to receive a video (which is rather classic, featuring the band skateboarding and bmx’ing while on tour).

However, not every song is in-your-face loudness and punk rock. “Plans” scales back on the beats and guitars and brings a more mellow vibe to the record. “Said the People” also brings a similar sound and offers a nice change-up from the rest of the generally noisy record.

Overall, Farm does a nice job of bringing Dinosaur Jr. to an entirely new generation of fans. It is accessible while still remaining true to the sound that the group took years to develop. Dinosaur Jr. is currently on tour and will be making two stops in Colorado on October 29 (at the Boulder Theater), and October 30 (at the Aggie Theater in Fort Collins).

Watch the video for “Over It”

I have often expressed my appreciation for music-session-blog Daytrotter. They’ve done what I could only imagine doing: recording the best up-and-coming artists from a wide swath of the modern independent music using old-fashioned full-band recording techniques.

Yesterday’s session features 6 songs (available for free download, just click on the photo above) from former Hot Water Music singer Chuck Ragan. Earlier this summer we had the chance to see Chuck open for Lucero at the Bluebird, and as I remember Chuck gave one of the most intense folk performances I’ve ever seen.

I thought I’d also take the time to share some of my other favorite Daytrotter sessions here too. Click on the images to go the respective sessions.

Andy Hull

Andrew Bird

Annuals

Bon Iver

Cryptacize

Death Cab For Cutie

Dinosaur Jr.

John Ralston

Kevin Devine

Langhorne Slim

Michael Zapruder

Minus The Bear

Limbeck

The Mountain Goats

The New Frontiers

The National

Pepi Ginsberg

Ra Ra Riot

The Silent Years

The Snake The Cross The Crown

Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin

These United States

Vampire Weekend

Young Coyotes

Friday October 30th, 2009 may be 4 months and 4 days away, but it’s not too early to get excited about some world-class music. On that day indie-rock legends Dinosaur Jr. will be playing the Aggie Theatre, one of my favorite venues (and the best place to see a show in Fort Collins, my old hometown).  Having just released a new album, Farm, Dinosaur Jr. is sure to play a memorable (and loud) set that will likely go down as one of the best the Aggie has seen (I also remember seeing Thursday, Against Me!, and Saosin play there, truly epic shows).

Tickets are only $20 (a steal by any means) and are available online and at The Finest record store in Campus West in FoCo. We will be there, you should be there.

In the mean time, enjoy the newest Dinosaur Jr. video for their song “Over It”

This just in from Secretly Canadian / Jag Jaguwar: there’s a new Dinosaur Jr. track available now for free download!

http://www.scjag.com/mp3/jag/iwantyoutoknow.mp3

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

The song is called “I Want You To Know,” and it’s pretty good. Their upcoming album, Farm, is definitely one we’re looking forward to hearing (just look at the cover art, it’s pretty epic)

For more information on Dinosaur Jr. check out www.dinosaurjr.com and www.jagjaguwar.com