DINOSAUR JR + THE COMPUTERS
Solus, Cardiff University Students Union
Mon 2 Sept
The publicity spiel for this gig makes stark reference, as well it might, to the 20-year itch: the last time Dinosaur Jr played in Cardiff was in February 1993, also at this university, and promoting their Where You Been LP. Since then they’ve released two more albums, broke up for a decade, done various solo things, reformed and released another three albums. Fashions and vagaries have wandered all over the shop, but the media buzzwords that trail this Massachusetts trio – ‘grunge’, ‘slacker’ – are fairly in vogue right now, and a busy Solus awaits them, even though they don’t have any new material to showcase.
The Computers, in support, could hardly offer greater contrast while still being a ‘rock band’. A besuited mixture of Rocket From The Crypt, Dexy’s and Shakin’ Stevens, they come from Exeter but have a vocalist, Alex Kershaw, who affects an American accent during songs. He’s also committed to interaction, more or less physically forcing audience members to engage in the jollity. Unless a band are a truly compelling live spectacle, which The Computers are not, this tends to be quite embarrassing to watch.
For their first few songs at least, it’s hard to tell if Dinosaur Jr are enjoying themselves. Thumb, a moody and slowly-winding classic rocker, is an incongruous opener; The Lung and In A Jar, from the band’s initial incarnation, probably carry mixed memories. The current lineup (J Mascis, guitar; Lou Barlow, bass; Emmett ‘Murph’ Murphy, drums) is the one which recorded their first three, independent label-era, albums in the 1980s, before Barlow was ousted. Conjecture suggests that the now middle-aged members tolerate each other rather than pal around. In time, and despite being in a venue whose crapness I will never tire of noting, an energy takes hold: inappropriate pogoing, then crowdsurfing, accompanies a clutch of cuts from their two most recent albums. Lou Barlow, who plays bass with the jittery fervour of the hardcore punk he was 30 years ago, beams “Murph is back in the band!” (he flounced out of a few gigs earlier this year) to cheers.
Out There, Where You Been’s opening track – which I suspect makes it the first Dinosaur song many of the hundreds of late-30s audience members heard – ushers in the set’s second half, and it’s crowdpleasers pretty much all the way down. Freak Scene, the 1988 single which remains their definitive four minutes, is the expected lightning rod; a cover of a song by Deep Wound, Mascis and Barlow’s pre-Dinosaur hardcore band, throws a bone to those looking to score obscurity points. It’s as short and blunt as Forget The Swan is meandering and, regarding Mascis’ guitar pyrotechnics, borderline showboating. (As anyone who’s seen them before will know, they’re a fearsomely loud band – their considerable onstage amp collection isn’t just for show.)
The trio are gracious enough to return for a two-song encore: Bulbs Of Passion and their cover of The Cure’s Just Like Heaven, both of an 80s vintage. Given that Dinosaur Jr never exactly had the demeanour of kids’ party entertainers, this set was probably about as good as could reasonably be expected. It was clearly a trip down memory lane for a hefty chunk of the crowd, but this was understood from the start.
words NOEL GARDNER
photos SIMON AYRE