The best way to sum up the performance of Dinosaur, Jr. on this night is from a few quotes I heard friends of mine say throughout the evening, so here we go:

“This is one band that definitely lives up to their name!”: For a three-piece band, Dinosaur, Jr. brings a monsterous sound that is unrivaled. From the opening song, Gargoyle, to their cover of The Cure’s Just Like Heaven, the band brought a sound that can only be described as dinosaur-esque.

J. Mascis brought a wall of amps with him and utilized each ones separate tone to create a wall of sound. No, that’s not a cute euphamism, the amps were a wall and the sound from it blew ears throughout the venue. Bassist Lou Barlow showed his mastery of the bass guitar, laying down chords and keeping the rhythm strong with Murph on drums.

“No one masturbates with a guitar like J. Mascis.”: J. Mascis is a phenomenal guitarist. Every song includes a wild intro solo, middle solo and normally outro solo. The guitar sound is just as important as the vocals in the band. It paints a mood. Sometimes the guitar playing is overdone and completely self-indulgent, but that is the charm of it. This is music made for the artist to be enjoyed by the audience, it’s not made to sell records.

“This was the best fucking show EVER!”: My best friend screamed this as he ran from the front of the stage after the show ended. I must agree with him. Sure, it may not be the best show I’ve ever witnessed, but it’s damn near the top of the list. The sound was huge, the band was ridiculously tight, the audience was enthralled in the moment. It was everything a rock show should be.

For nearly 90 minutes, Dinosaur, Jr. brought the rock n’ roll and people enjoyed every moment. Despite a day of work, band practice and standing for 3 hours at a concert, I never noticed the foot pain from standing all day until the show was over and the adrenaline died down. This was rock n’ roll at it’s finest.

Final decision on the show? If you missed this show, you missed out. To be completely honest, the only Dinosaur, Jr. albums I’ve owned are Where You Been? and Green Mind. Neither album was touched for this concert and I still had the time of my life. To me, that says everything. Be sure to check them out when they come around.