Dinosaur Jr. played Brooklyn Steel

The legendary Dinosaur Jr. played Brooklyn Steel in support of this year's excellent Sweep It Into Space.

There are few things in life as exhilarating as seeing J Mascis rip through an epic guitar solo full of face-melting fury and on Saturday night they were in abundance. In their usual, beyond casual attitude, the trio returned to New York to deliver a set full of hits from deep within their catalogue as well as some of their new tunes as well. Things started off with "Bulbs of Passion," a very slow build that gently came to life and oozed with noise before erupting in sound that would only elevate over the course of the night. "Tarpit" continued the blaze of the glory and when they got to new track "Garden," Lou and J switched instruments and it was great to see Lou on lead guitar with J nailing a killer bass solo in what turned out to be an unexpected highlight of the evening. "Been There All the Time" from Beyond got things going and was the first smash of the show that took the energy to a new level. The band sounded incredibly tight and locked in, J ever so breezily shredding guitar solos with the greatest of ease. "The Wagon" came next and with it, the band brought out an additional drummer and electric sitar player (you read that correctly) to raise the bar. It was a next-level rendition which got massive cheers from the crowd and plenty of stage dives to boot. "Freak Scene" kicked off more of a nostalgia trip for the night and a loud singalong moment before another skyrocketing solo from J. "These next two songs are from You're Living All Over Me" said Lou "and they're sister songs that just go together." "Kracked" and "Sludgefeast" were two of the heavier moments of the night that really brought out the grungiest parts of the band, full of crushing distortion and thundering bass. "Start Chopping" into "Feel the Pain" was also monumental with more rip roaring action from J. His playing never ceases to amaze and his sound is always so unique. Like a fighter jet, his chops took off with no hesitation and roared away with sonic fury. Murph's drum fills were also on point, each one carrying forth the rhythm with serious perfection. Lou rounded things out with some banter between tracks as well, making sure the crowd stayed safe and reminiscing about their past shows and trips down from Massachusetts in their parents' station wagons. Their plethora of hits never seemed to slow down and the entire crowd ate it up. They were as loud as ever too confirming their reputation as one of the all time bests. Playing all the way back to their first album, their punk roots were coming through in full effect and with massive results. Blending extensive jams that basked in J's brilliant rush of incendiary solos that seemed poised to blow the roof off the building with pummeling blast beats of intense and unrelenting power. Dinosaur Jr.'s reunion has now greatly outlasted their original run and their new albums are stacking up quite nicely to their originals. Sweep It Into Space is one of the best in their post-reunion journey and hearing the new songs amongst their older ones made it even more convincing that they're still at the top of their game.

Set list:

01 "Bulbs of Passion"
02 "Tarpit"

03 "I Ain't"
04 "Garden"
05 "I Expect it Always"

06 "To Be Waiting"

07 "I Met Stones"
08 "Been There All The Time"
09 "The Wagon"

10 "Freak Scene"

11 "Kracked"

12 "Sludgefeast"

13 "Mountain Man"

14 "Start Chopping"

15 "Feel the Pain"

16 "Gargoyle"

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17 "I Ran"

18 "Little Fury Things"

19 "Just Like Heaven" [The Cure cover]