I’m going to be completely honest with you all. Instead of upholding a bias-free, journalistic, objective view on music, I’m going to let my Indie nerd go completely nuts for the rest of this column. I love Dinosaur Jr. To an extent that probably is not healthy. And, by extension, I border on worshipping the band’s songwriter, brilliant guitarist, and lead singer, J Mascis. Dinosaur Jr. is an alternative band that was mainly active between 1985 and1989, after which Mascis kicked out the band’s bassist Lou Barlow. From that point on, Dinosaur Jr. unofficially became “The J Mascis Band” until Mascis finally retired the band in 1997. What could possibly be more exciting to a Dinosaur Jr. geek like myself than the band’s reunion this past year and subsequent tour across the country? Maybe the persistent rumors around the Internet that the group is recording another album. Yes, both of these news items are mind blowing, and I have been living the past two months in ecstasy, or so I thought. That was, until I heard that J Mascis and Broken Social Scene, the Indie powerhouse behind You Forgot It In People and “7/4 Shoreline” were playing a show together in Toronto on June 23, 2006. Go ahead and formulate an image illustrating the cartoon-like dimensions my face assumes the moment I discovered this fact. I’ll give you a few seconds. Broken Social Scene has approximately eleven members, including five guitarists – depending on the night. Dinosaur Jr.’s brilliance has always stemmed from Mascis’ amazing guitar skills, coupled with his gift for melody. Part of the band’s allure is its talent for creating a massive wall of sound with only three members. Once I finally unearthed the bootleg from this show a few months later and felt the blast of Masics & Co. chugging out the opening riff to “Tarpit,” I felt the Indie nerd inside me whisper, “It doesn’t get any better than this.” But enough of the hype – how does the concert actually stand up? Well, the most significant detail is that the set consists entirely of classic Dinosaur Jr. material. I’ll admit, I was looking forward to hearing Mascis add his Herculean touch to Broken Social Scene’s “Almost Crimes,” but maybe that’s just me. You can really tell that everyone, on and off the stage, is on Cloud Nine. The boys from Broken Social Scene jump on the material like a giddy middle-school basketball team chosen to play with Michael Jordan. The reverence and respect they hold for Mascis is obvious, as the songs glow with pure energy and joy. I guess the only “let down” I could point out is that the encore, “Alone,” which, when stacked up next to the brain-melting heroics displayed on the live version from the Out There [Europe ‘97] bootleg, comes up kind of short. To be fair, however, Mascis was in a whole different dimension during that show, and just about anything will pale slightly in comparison. In conclusion, I guess one could say that everyone wins in this scenario. It was a benefit show, after all, so the proceeds for the show went to charity, and my fellow Indie dweebs and I can wallow in the supreme ecstasy that results when your two favorite bands unite on one stage for one night and decimate.
