Dinosaur Jr. live

Heidi and I saw Dinosaur Jr. play at Treefort Music Hall last night. We went downtown early and had dinner before the show so we kind of made a date night out of it.

Easy Action was the first opening band. I had never heard of them so I wasn’t sure what to expect. OMG. They were an old-school hardcore punk band with a bunch of old dudes. Lots of loud screaming and loud guitars. Heidi was dying, but was a good sport about it. hahaha Not exactly my cup of tea, either, but they were entertaining. I probably would have enjoyed them a bit more, but I was preoccupied with making sure Heidi was hanging in there. Luckily their set was pretty short.

Backing up a second…. Whenever I go to a concert that’s general admission, I usually want to be up at the front. Now days when I go to a show Heidi is usually with me so I end up dragging her to the front. She’s always game, but I think if it wasn’t for me she’d probably be hanging out in the middle somewhere. Anyway, we were like right up at the front when Easy Action came out and started ripping/screaming. I glanced over at Heidi and gave her a sheepish, “Sorry” look and we both started cracking up.

The next band was Snail Mail, whom we both really liked. I had listened to a few songs prior to the show so knew what to expect (unlike Easy Action). They played a pretty long set, which was cool. I was impressed with them and am looking forward to listening to more of their stuff.

After a short wait while the equipment was swapped out Dinosaur Jr. started playing. I was expecting a really loud show so I obsessed over getting good ear plugs for us in the weeks prior. I had never seen them live before, but everyone who has tends to say that they are extremely loud. So we had a few different ear plug options along. My ears weren’t ringing after the show so they definitely worked.

As for the band, I thought they sounded great, especially J’s guitar. The first half of the set was a lot of older songs, some of which I knew and some that I wasn’t too familiar with. But, of course, all of it was great. They played the stuff you’d expect and it was just so amazing to be up close and see them live.

When I was in high school in 1993 I was in a music store in Fargo and bought Where You Been. They let you sample CDs back then and after listening to a few songs I thought it sounded like something I’d be into. Who would’ve thought that I’d see them live over 30 years later. J Mascis is someone I really admire and he’s had a big influence on my life since I was in high school. It was a dream to see them in person – such a great night.

Easy Action

Snail Mail

J Mascis’ setup (yeah, it’s loud)

Dinosaur Jr.

J Mascis

J Mascis ripping