Alt rock legends Dinosaur Jr. gave a bone shaking performance at The Palace Theatre on Thursday night. Guitar God J. Mascis and band are out supporting their current release Give A Glimpse Of What Yer Not.
Supporting Dinosaur Jr. were Detroit hard rockers Easy Action. Band members John Brannon, Harold Richardson, Ron Sakowsi and John Lehl came out with a chip on their shoulder. Their music was hardcore, in your face punk. Vocalist John Brannon, also the front man for Negative Approach, looked like he wanted to rip out the trachea of everyone on the rail at the Palace. This guy was serious AF. Screaming at no one in particular, he prowled the stage like a hungry great white shark. Guitarist Harold Richardson had no flashy leads, just grindcore power chords that could shake out fillings. These guys went non stop for 45 minutes, pumping out tune after tune with attitude and swagger for days.
Dinosaur Jr. came on right around 9:15 and the trio immediately lit the place on fire. The crowd of former punks in dad jeans and current punks in Misfits concert tees were united and ready to rock. And they got it, with the early 90’s distortion fest “Thumb “opening the set. With a backdrop of old school Marshall stacks instead of video screens, the band played with a crazed intensity. The amps were at 11, so loud it caused Mascis’s hair to move. Sandwiched between their new stuff were glorious nuggets of old school Dino Jr. They blew the dust off such tunes as “The Wagon” and went way back to the 80’s with “Freak Scene” and “Gargoyle” With bewildering volume, the audience was assaulted with a cacophony of punk rock at it’s finest. Drummer Murph hit the skins at such a furious pace his hands were a blur.
For 90 minutes, the band bludgeoned the exuberant audience with an aural assault. Bassist Lou Barlow played the entire set at a deranged pace. He was just a blur of hair and guitar. Song after song came in a barrage of auditory shrapnel, exploding from the wall of sound behind the band like an IED. There was no witty stage banter, just an occasional thank you. These guys meant business, there goal was to shred the eardrums of the overjoyed masses.
Dinosaur Jr. brought the noise to the Palace Thursday night, and the thankful audience will have ringing ears for days as a souvenir of a monster performance.
Setlist: Thumb – Goin’ Down – Start – Left/Right – Watch The Corners – Pieces – Out There – Feel The Pain – Get Me – Wagon – Start Choppin’ – Knocked Around – Freak Scene – Gargoyle
