Dinosaur Jr. Prove Why They're Still Relevant

I don't know what it is, but I'm always a magnet for chatty drunks.

I was hanging out by the bar in between bands on Thursday when a guy struck up a conversation with me about the evening's headliners, Dinosaur Jr. A 34-year old, out-of-work construction worker, he had seen them at least 10 times. He went on to tell me about one particular show when he was 18:

"There was this chick in the mosh pit with a huge butterfly tattoo. I took her home that night," he said with a tinge of lustful nostalgia. "J [Mascis, vocals/guitar] hooked me up."

It's the kind of reminiscing you'd expect from a drunk middle-aged dude seeing a band from his youth. But then he asked if I'd heard Beyond, their first reunion record.

"Yes, I had," I said, somewhat taken aback by how up to date he was on the band's comings and goings.

"It's really good," he said. "But this new one [Farm] is even better."

And that's the key to Dinosaur's continued relevance. After some 20 odd years, numerous line-up changes, falling-outs, break-ups, make-ups and a recorded legacy that leaves all but the smallest number of their contemporaries in the dust, what else is left to say about Dinosaur Jr. other than that they continue to be fucking amazing.

Not that you'd know it by looking at them. Mascis, the sole constant through all the group's incarnations, is quickly turning into Gandalf The White Wizard. He was fascinating to watch, flanked by a trio of Marshall stacks and his long silver hair falling in his face as he sways back and forth while delivering blistering solo, after blistering solo.

Lou Barlow, J.'s jilted foil on the other hand, looked spry and muscular as he thrashed around in front of his own massive bass rig. It was a stark contrast to the brief solo acoustic set he performed as the show's opener.

Murph, the trio's original drummer apparently had trouble at the border and wasn't allowed into the country, explained J. from the stage. In his place was a solid dude who he introduced as "Kyle."

The group played as loud as ever and spoke little in between songs, leading to long pauses in between tracks. It killed a lot of momentum, and although their replacement drummer was pretty phenomenal given the circumstances, Murph's presence was missed.

That said, by the midway point they really hit their stride, sandwiching tracks like "Over It" and "Pieces" in between older tracks like "Out There" and "Feel The Pain."

It was nice to hear songs from the years without Barlow; besides being great tunes, it gave the feeling that the hatchet had truly been buried between him and Mascis.

After knocking off "Little Fury Things" and "Freak Scene" the trio took a quick break and returned with a thunderous take on You're Living All Over Me's "Kracked", which they bled brilliantly into "Sludgefest" before Fucked Up's Damian "Pink Eyes" Abraham stepped out on stage and, along with managing to keep his shirt on longer than I've ever seen before, proceeded to tear a hole through "Budge."

Although some may have been confused as to who this giant hairy man was, his participation in the night once again hammered home Dinosaur Jr.'s continued relevance.