Dinosaur Jr. @ The Venue @ 18 May

Still a big, fierce attack of distortion

Article by Dave Kerr | 15 Jun 2006

A few years ago it was pretty inconceivable that J. Mascis would bury the hatchet and reunite with former highschool wingman Lou Barlow to provide us with the wall of paint-stripper witnessed at this, sadly one of The Venue's last gigs tonight. Yet here they are, playing a set mostly comprised of their SST released oldies that oozed experimental shards of vitriolic punk, or proto-grunge as it would become known as when the Gen-X dust settled. The enigmatic Mascis appears as something of a dazed Gandalf while he sheds the latter day Neil Young tendencies but allows that croaky laconic whisper to stick to his throat while intently picking up where the original incarnation of the Massachusetts trio left off with 1988's 'Bug'. Barlow and Murph assist to whip up a frenzy and the complete picture makes it plain to see why the fuzzed out vibe of their live shows came to pre-empt those much fabled generator parties of the early 90s. Still a big, fierce attack of distortion. [Dave Kerr]

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