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Dinosaur Jr. delivers "Sludgfeast" to Solana Beach

The big question when seeing Dinosaur Jr. is always "To earplug, or not to earplug?" On this night at the Belly Up, I decided to strike a happy medium. I set up camp at the back bar and remained within easy viewing distance of the band but a far cry from the maximum volume levels present closer to the stage. I could bask in that perfect Belly Up sound without having it muffled via earmuffs.

Even though the new Dinosaur Jr. album, I Bet On the Sky, was set to be released just weeks after the date of this show, this night was primarily a march through the band's greatest hits. They opened with the SST-era track "The Lung" and proceeded to plow through songs from every phase of the band. Early '90s tracks such as "Out There" and "Feel the Pain" got a huge response, as did their now standard cover of the Cure's "Just Like Heaven."

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About a third of the way through the show, I decided to brave the ear-bleeding country and descended into the killing fields to snap some pictures. I approached the band from the left of the stage — the location guitarist and band mastermind J. Mascis had selected to house his monstrous rig, consisting primarily of three full-stack Marshall amps. The true sonic power of this set-up was pretty mind-blowing up front. A full-on wall of sound. After snapping a couple of pics, the band launched into "Kracked," followed immediately by "Sludgefeast." Two songs that appear in that same order on the band's 1987 album "You're Living All Over Me." A combo of songs that had no business being released in the 1980s because they are simply too heavy and psychedelic to have been appreciated by a general public obsessed with Poison at the time. The opening chords of "Sludgefeast" were epic. The swaying of the crowd up front was a far cry from a mosh pit — it was straight-up hypnotism.

With his long gray locks and beard, Mascis lead the charge like some alternative rock version of Gandolph that currently records for the Jagjaguwar label. As waves of distortion, phasers, and fuzz immersed the masses, the elder-statesman of the underground guitar gods once again proved his worth. He may be a man of few words, but when Mascis wields his axe people listen.

  • Concert: Dinosaur Jr.
  • Date: September 6
  • Venue: Belly Up
  • Seats: General, floor
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Croome Brothers Trio, Jack Tempchin, Ricky, Swami & the Bed Of Nails, Kahlil Nash

Acoustic and electric in Del Mar, La Jolla, Little Italy, and City Heights

The big question when seeing Dinosaur Jr. is always "To earplug, or not to earplug?" On this night at the Belly Up, I decided to strike a happy medium. I set up camp at the back bar and remained within easy viewing distance of the band but a far cry from the maximum volume levels present closer to the stage. I could bask in that perfect Belly Up sound without having it muffled via earmuffs.

Even though the new Dinosaur Jr. album, I Bet On the Sky, was set to be released just weeks after the date of this show, this night was primarily a march through the band's greatest hits. They opened with the SST-era track "The Lung" and proceeded to plow through songs from every phase of the band. Early '90s tracks such as "Out There" and "Feel the Pain" got a huge response, as did their now standard cover of the Cure's "Just Like Heaven."

Sponsored
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About a third of the way through the show, I decided to brave the ear-bleeding country and descended into the killing fields to snap some pictures. I approached the band from the left of the stage — the location guitarist and band mastermind J. Mascis had selected to house his monstrous rig, consisting primarily of three full-stack Marshall amps. The true sonic power of this set-up was pretty mind-blowing up front. A full-on wall of sound. After snapping a couple of pics, the band launched into "Kracked," followed immediately by "Sludgefeast." Two songs that appear in that same order on the band's 1987 album "You're Living All Over Me." A combo of songs that had no business being released in the 1980s because they are simply too heavy and psychedelic to have been appreciated by a general public obsessed with Poison at the time. The opening chords of "Sludgefeast" were epic. The swaying of the crowd up front was a far cry from a mosh pit — it was straight-up hypnotism.

With his long gray locks and beard, Mascis lead the charge like some alternative rock version of Gandolph that currently records for the Jagjaguwar label. As waves of distortion, phasers, and fuzz immersed the masses, the elder-statesman of the underground guitar gods once again proved his worth. He may be a man of few words, but when Mascis wields his axe people listen.

  • Concert: Dinosaur Jr.
  • Date: September 6
  • Venue: Belly Up
  • Seats: General, floor
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San Diego Reader 2024 Music & Arts Issue

Favorite fakers: Baby Bushka, Fleetwood Max, Electric Waste Band, Oceans, Geezer – plus upcoming tribute schedule
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Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
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