Live music review: Dinosaur Jr at ACL Live rocked it loud

Dinosaur Jr played Austin’s ACL Live at the Moody theater this past Sunday, a rescheduled appearance originally booked for late 2021. The show was rescheduled as a result of the live music thorn in the flesh, COVID. A relatively unknown, Ryley Walker opened the show with a somewhat offsetting style to Dinosaur Jr’s wall of sonic sludge. 

Watching Dinosaur Jr’s J. Mascis work his way through a blistering set of both new and old Dinosaur Jr material this past Sunday night at Austin’s ACL Live Moody Tdheater, one would take away that Mascis never really appears to be in any hurry. And why should he be? Dinosaur Jr have made a solid career out of producing heavy, alternative rock, drenched in a mix of influences ranging from classic rock, punk, and noise rock. Commonly lumped into the grunge scene that exploded in the ‘90’s Dinosaur Jr’s beginnings date back to the mid ‘80’s, and they have managed to shed any true effort to pigeonhole their sound. 

Mascis is a man of few words, making room for his guitar to manage the conversation. The conversation on Sunday began with two tracks from the band’s 1986 release You’re Living All Over Me. “The Lung” and “In A Jar” quickly transitioned into the general concept behind most tours…support the new record. In this case, “Sweep It Into Space” had been released for well over a year, and by the crowd in attendance, new record or not, the audience was there to witness Dinosaur Jr do what they do best. A balance of gray-haired die hard rockers blended with late teens, both brimming with anticipation and appreciation of the 30+ years of output by the trio.

Covering the span of the band’s recorded material, the more recognizable tracks found their way into the set fairly quickly with familiarity and popularity of the songs growing as the set went on. The new material, lesser known by some, allowed Mascis to explore his penchant for lengthy, sonically ferocious guitar solos, each one more audacious than the previous.

              

Mascis took a fair amount of time between each song to set up his guitar and effects for what was to come next. Lou Barlow filled the downtime with idle conversation including band history and misc tidbits, while offering earplugs to listeners up front as well as taking time to autograph an album handed onstage by an attendee.  Long guitar solos have fallen to the wayside in many forms of heavy rock but Mascis doesn’t play by the rules. He, quite honestly, makes the rules. The sheer volume of the show was only amplified during each solo, with original members Barlow (bass) and Murph (drums) holding down the rhythm, building a solid foundation for the massive sound, moving air and clothing at various times during the performance. 

After punching the “hits” ticket, Dinosaur Jr spiraled into the later half of the set, dipping deep into their catalog from various releases dating to the ‘80’s. Dinosaur, You’re Living All Over Me, and Bug All getting a fair amount of attention as the band embraced the history that established them as the noise rock titans that they have become known for. 

That’s right. Dinosaur Jr are an ‘80s band. And as a reminder, the trio closed out the night with their interpretation of The Cure hit “Just Like Heaven”. A track that Dinosaur recorded and released as a single just 2 years after the original. Time flies and just as history has proven for years, Dinosaurs remain forever strong in our memories.

Setlist: 

The lung 

In a jar 

I Ain’t 

Garden 

Little fury things 

Out there 

I expect it always 

To be waiting I met the stones 

The Wagon 

Been there all the time 

Start choppin’ 

Feel the pain 

Mountain man 

Freakscene 

Gargoyle 

Kracked 

Sludgefeast 

Just Like Heaven (Cure cover)

All photos by Michael Maly