Unfortunately the metal monsters Mastodon had to cancel their recent tour with Dinosaur Jr. due to health reasons, so the Amherst trio shifted gears and decided to embark on a smaller club outing that would visit most of the cities that they had originally planned on playing. On Thursday night September, 20th the group blew out (literally) Garcia’s, a fantastic bar at the base of the Capitol Theater in Port Chester.
J, Murph and Lou have never been big on showmanship as they silently sauntered out after opener Easy Action’s heavy set. The tiny stage forced Murph to play drums up front as Lou was position behind and J stood in front of his huge stacks. Opening with “Pieces” off of Farm, the trio eased into their patented fuzzed out laconic thunder with aplomb.
The loudness continued with the rolling distorted groove as the cell phones were raised to capture the bands classic cover of “Just Like Heaven” but the show literally stopped during the I Bet On Sky track “Watch The Corners” because the trio blew power out mid-song; Garcia’s couldn’t handle all the electric current. When things were fixed the band seamlessly dropped back into the song’s solo as Masics riffed with authority.
Without A Sound’s “Feel The Pain” proved blissful before “Little Fury Things” which created a sonic vortex sucking the sound around the bar in a swirling fashion. The highlight of the night was the powerful “Sludgefeast” which pummeled eardrums as the trio coalesced in metal fashion before “Start Choppin’” told no lies.
The encore saw John Brannon from Easy Action return to the stage to sing a few of his Negative Approach songs to wrap up the night in hardcore fashion. While the bigger tour was scrapped, Dinosaur Jr. sure made the most of playing the intimate Garcia’s, giving the small crowd a career spanning set, exciting cover tunes and probably tinnitus.