SPILL LIVE REVIEW: DINOSAUR JR @ THE DANFORTH MUSIC HALL, TORONTO

Dinosaur Jr

@ The Danforth Music Hall, Toronto

March 10, 2017

When J Mascis and Dinosaur Jr. roll into town, the mandate is simply to be the there without question. When the show was announced in December, social media was buzzing hard and the consensus on Facebook and Twitter was unanimous, “I’m SO there…”

The sold out Danforth Music hall (balcony included) were hanging on the band’s every note and showing serious respect and appreciation for every song. The band’s live chemistry had great balance with the very introverted Mascis who barely said a word between songs, being highly contrasted by the hyper energetic Lou Barlow who bounced all over the stage, whipping his mop hair all around. The two frontmen were evened out by the (serious as a heart attack) drummer “Muph” who never missed a beat, and held it all together with military precision. On a technical level the band was perfect and Jay Mascis’ six stack Marshall tones were epic.

Song wise, the crowd got more then their money’s worth as the band took their setlist deep into the 80’s and all the way up to some choice cuts off their latest album “Give a Glimpse of What Yer Not”. When the band cut into the “Going Down” it really got the party started as the front 4 rows of general admission busted into a moshpit. The big tunes kept rolling, and the timeless “Feel The Pain” seriously got the crowd’s attention, with hardcore fans singing every word with the volume at a ear shattering level. The show’s Pinnacle frenzy came when “Freak Scene” blared through the PA, the crowd roared and the pit went crazy triggering some rad crowd surfing. Rivaling Freak Scene’s big crowd reaction was “Out There”, when the band busted into the medium tempo 4/4 groove, the entire place starting moving and everyone was singing along.

It’s best suited for those reading this to experience Dinosaur Jr. at least once because it’s rather tough to cram the life changing experience into a few hundred words.

–  Andre Skinner

(Photography by Andre Skinner)

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