Dinosaur Jr at the Wiltern

Just got home from the Dinosaur Jr. show tonight at the Wiltern. Unbelievable show. Really incredible. Their new album from earlier this year, "Beyond," was impressive considering how long it has been since these guys played together, but the show tonight still blew me away. Seriously, you'd think this band hadn't taken a break since the glory days - they're still incredibly tight.

The opening act was Band of Horses, a well-regarded indie outfit best known for the single, "Funeral," a really solid song.



Unfortunately, the band's just intensely dull live. They didn't seem very into their own music. Very distant, even during the up-tempo songs and solos. At one point, I remarked to my friend Dave that they sounded like a not-at-all-fired-up My Morning Jacket, and the guy in front of my turned around and agreed. I think that's all that needs be said on the matter.

But Dinosaur Jr. was just non-stop, in-your-face intensity from minute one. They played a bunch of cool songs from "Beyond" as well as some of the old-school classics, and everything souned great - blazingly-loud noise-rock at its best, and the guys were clearly taking joy in performing. When the band's having a good time, it's just infectious.

I was actually a fan of Lou Barlow before I got into Dinosaur Jr. (I got very into Sebadoh my freshman year at college), so it was great to see him play some of his own songs, but the real treat was J. Mascis on guitar. His voice has completely held up, don't get me wrong. I guess it helps that his singing was almost more quirky and idiosyncratic than pretty, even on the classic albums. But the guy just fucking shreds.

Did I mention this concert was incredibly loud? My ears are still ringing. Seriously. But it was all worth it. Here's just a sample of the great Dino Jr. songs I heard tonight: