After the slightly more relaxed tones of Warpaint on night 1 of Liverpool Music Week, the stacked amps, fuzzy guitars, and no-shit attitudes of Dinosaur Jr. and Sheer Attack brought Arts Club to it's knees, clutching their ears, and begging to be released from Grunge's clasps. Everyone fucking loved it...
First out were Sheer Attack, a 4-piece, no-shit hardcore punk band from Liverpool. Pushing vibes from 'DZ Deathrays' and the more hardcore 'Sebadoh' tracks, the band was mostly led by singer Russ. While the rest of the band got down to business, playing trebly guitar leads, interesting drum rhythms, and fuzzy bass-lines, the singer held the crowd in the palm of his hand. At times, throughing orbs of energy at the crowd, jumping into the crowd when his mic inexplicably stops working and has to be replaced, and sharing his drink with the front row, he clearly knew how to work an audience. The fact the vocal mic stopped working didn't seem to stop them however, as Russ continued shouting, arms flailing, into an imaginary microphone. It was a great show of showmanship, and a 'no-shit, nothing will stop us' vibe. While some attempts from going from one song straight to the next were slightly sloppy, the band never seemed to slow down, or breathe for that matter. It was just 28 minutes of pure, hardcore energy. The only issue, as stated before was the dynamic between the band and themselves. While Russ engaged the audience, Broomo (guitar), Glaysher (bass), and Dave (drums) seemed to be playing to themselves; never really looking around, never acknowledging each other, but if you're gonna support Dinosaur Jr. then even looking happy means you've got more stage presence...
First out were Sheer Attack, a 4-piece, no-shit hardcore punk band from Liverpool. Pushing vibes from 'DZ Deathrays' and the more hardcore 'Sebadoh' tracks, the band was mostly led by singer Russ. While the rest of the band got down to business, playing trebly guitar leads, interesting drum rhythms, and fuzzy bass-lines, the singer held the crowd in the palm of his hand. At times, throughing orbs of energy at the crowd, jumping into the crowd when his mic inexplicably stops working and has to be replaced, and sharing his drink with the front row, he clearly knew how to work an audience. The fact the vocal mic stopped working didn't seem to stop them however, as Russ continued shouting, arms flailing, into an imaginary microphone. It was a great show of showmanship, and a 'no-shit, nothing will stop us' vibe. While some attempts from going from one song straight to the next were slightly sloppy, the band never seemed to slow down, or breathe for that matter. It was just 28 minutes of pure, hardcore energy. The only issue, as stated before was the dynamic between the band and themselves. While Russ engaged the audience, Broomo (guitar), Glaysher (bass), and Dave (drums) seemed to be playing to themselves; never really looking around, never acknowledging each other, but if you're gonna support Dinosaur Jr. then even looking happy means you've got more stage presence...
A little after 9pm, Dinosaur Jr. finally made it onto the stage. There were gasps from the audience of how old they all look now, but then again, J's grey hair has always been a staple of their appearance. There was the usual inter-band dynamic - J looks miserable, and slowly sways, and Lou thrashes a little. When asked to by the crowd, Lou looks up and waves, much to the audiences joy. If you were to split the stage in half, Murph in each side, they'd represent two very different styles. J's usual riffery and non-stop soloing means he has to do a little bit more concentrating, but something felt a little off. Since appearing neither J, Murph, or Lou have made any interaction with the crowd until after the 3rd song when J quickly introduces the next song. It is important though, as this is the new material from 'Give A Glimpse Of What Yr Not'. It goes hand in hand with the old material and doesn't seem different or out of place. After 25+ years though, Dinosaur Jr have evolved a formula, and why change it?! There really did seem to be some sort of problem though tonight. Murph kept looking behind in between songs, almost as if he was in fear of being crushed by J's usual MASSIVE Marshall stack. J had lyric sheets brought out for him for the new songs, and maybe it's just that. Maybe they're nervous playing the new songs and fear messing up. Maybe it's something bigger than that, but for the show, the audience doesn't seem to notice, or care. They sing along to 'Feel The Pain', 'Freak Scene', 'In A Jar' and dance to J's long solos without a care in the world.
As the set finishes and the band disappear, the crowd shout for more. It seems the band is physically dragged back on stage, but they quickly delve into a cover of The Cure's 'Just Like Heaven'. It ends as quick as it starts however, and instead they lunge into 'Sludgefest', the noisiest thing Dino have ever committed to record, and a fitting closer to such a ridiculously loud, trebly show. The strangest thing however, was the little wave and bow from J and Lou as they exit the stage for the last time. I suppose it's sort of a supply and demand thing - Dino aren't going to go out of their way to indulge in the audiences participation unless they kneel first, begging to be noticed by the almighty Dino. They gave in finally though, giving some release to those wanting to just see J's affection, even if just for a second...
Photos by Tayler Little
Photos by Tayler Little
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George is the Yeah Buddy Web Master. Designing sites and content by day, being a disastrous astronaut by night...
George is the Yeah Buddy Web Master. Designing sites and content by day, being a disastrous astronaut by night...