Today, Dinosaur Jr. announce a fall North American tour and rescheduled dates for their beloved Camp Fuzz, which will take place July 27 – 30 in Big Indian, NY. Camp Fuzz is an all-inclusive mountain retreat that features master classes, Q&A sessions, performances, arts and crafts, and more. Fans will get an intimate look at the workings of Dinosaur Jr. with sessions, workshops, and activities led by the trio themselves (more details on guests and scheduling to come). Presale tickets for their North American tour and Camp Fuzz are available here today, March 11th at noon EST. General onsale is Friday, March 19th at 10am local times.
This follows last month’s news of their forthcoming album, Sweep It Into Space, out April 23nd on Jagjaguwar, and lead single “I Ran Away,” (below) “a masterful mix of rhythmic acoustic guitar and electric guitar riffs” (Paste). Sweep It Into Space was recorded, as usual, at Amherst’s Biquiteen. The sessions for began in the late Autumn of 2019 and the only extra musician used this time was Kurt Vile, who co-produced the album. After recording with Kurt got disrupted, J Mascis “ended up just mimicking a few things he’d done. I was listening to a lot of Thin Lizzy, so I was trying to get some of that dueling twin lead sound. But the recording session was pretty well finished by the time things really hit the fan. When the lockdown happened in March, that meant I was on my own. But it was cool.”
As is typical, Lou Barlow writes and sings two of the album’s dozen tunes (delivering perhaps his finest Dinosaur contribution in “Garden”) and Murph‘s pure-Flinstonian drumming drives the record like a go cart from Hell. Lou’s songs here are as elegant as always. J’s tracks flow and flower in the different directions he often follows. Some are guitar howlers, with a string sound midway between Hendrix and Asheton. Some are power ballads, and there are anomalies, like “Take It Back,” which starts with a blue-beat rhythm putting one in mind of Keith Richards’ Jamaican explorations (at least for a little bit.)
But there are very few moments where you wouldn’t know you were hearing Dinosaur Jr. in blindfolded needle drop. They have a signature sound as sure as the Stooges or Sonic Youth or Discharge ever did. They continue to expand their personal universe with Sweep It Into Space, without ever losing their central core.
Dinosaur Jr. Tour Dates
Tue. July 27 – Fri. July 30 – Big Indian, NY @ Camp Fuzz
Tue. Sept. 7 – Montreal, QC @ Corona Theatre
Thu. Sept. 9 – Toronto, ON @ Danforth Music Hall
Fri. Sept. 10 – Pittsburgh, PA @ Venue TBA
Sat. Sept. 11 – Detroit, MI @ Majestic Theatre
Mon. Sept. 13 – Madison, WI @ Majestic Theatre
Tue. Sept. 14 – Minneapolis, MN @ First Avenue
Thu. Sept. 16 – St. Louis, MO @ The Pageant
Mon. Sept. 20 – Omaha, NE @ The Waiting Room
Tue. Sept. 21 – Kansas City, MO @ Truman
Thu. Sept. 23 – Austin, TX @ Moody Theater @ ACL Live
Fri. Sept. 24 – Houston, TX @ White Oak Music Hall
Sat. Sept. 25 – Dallas, TX @ Canton Hall
Mon. Sept. 27 – Birmingham, AL @ Saturn
Tue. Sept. 28 – Bloomington, IN @ The Bluebird
Thu. Sept. 30 – Columbus, OH @ Athenaeum Theatre
Fri. Oct. 1 – Cleveland, OH @ Agora
Sat. Oct. 2 – Ithaca, NY @ State Theatre
Fri. Nov. 12 – Nashville, TN @ Brooklyn Bowl
Sat. Nov. 13 – Atlanta, GA @ Masquerade
Mon. Nov. 15 – Carrboro, NC @ Cat’s Cradle
Tue. Nov. 16 – Washington, DC @ 9:30 Club
Thu. Nov. 18 – Philadelphia, PA @ Union Transfer
Fri. Nov. 19 – New Haven, CT @ College Street Music Hall
Sat. Nov. 20 – Brooklyn, NY @ Brooklyn Steel
Fri. Nov. 26 – Northampton, MA @ Academy of Music
Sat. Nov. 27 – Boston, MA @ House Of Blues
Thu. Feb. 3 – Pioneertown, CA @ Pappy’s and Harriets
Fri. Feb. 4 – Las Vegas, NV @ Brooklyn Bowl
Sat. Feb. 5 – Salt Lake City, UT @ The Depot
Mon. Feb. 7 – Spokane, WA @ Knitting Factory Music Hall
Tue. Feb. 8 – Vancouver, BC @ Commodore Ballroom
Thu. Feb. 10 – Seattle, WA @ Showbox at Market
Fri. Feb. 11 – Portland, OR @ Venue TBA
Sat. Feb. 12 – Portland, OR @ Venue TBA
Tue. Feb. 15 – Sacramento, CA @ Ace of Spades
Wed. Feb. 16 – San Francisco, CA @ The Fillmore
Thu. Feb. 17 – San Francisco, CA @ The Fillmore
Sat. Feb. 19 – Los Angeles, CA @ The Fonda
Sun. Feb. 20 – Los Angeles, CA @ The Fonda
Tue. Feb. 22 – San Diego, CA @ Observatory North Park
Wed. Feb. 23 – Phoenix, AZ @ Crescent Ballroom
Fri. Feb. 25 – Albuquerque, NM @ El Rey Theatre
Sat. Feb. 26 – Denver, CO @ Ogden Theatre
