Dinosaur Jr. heading to NZ for March concert
Blistering US alt-rock influencers Dinosaur Jr. are coming to New Zealand for one show at Auckland’s Powerstation on Tuesday March 5, 2013.
Plus1, UnderTheRadar and Radio Hauraki are proud to present the legendary Massachusetts trio, with tickets on public
sale through Ticketmaster.co.nz from 9am Thursday November 15.
Ticketmaster members and Hauraki Insiders get their pre-sale chance three days earlier, from 9am Monday November 12.
Fans can expect to witness J Mascis, Lou Barlow and Murph tearing through favourites from career defining albums like Dinosaur, You're Living All Over Me, Bug, Green Mind and Where You Been.
And then there is this year’s I Bet On Sky, which has been critically heralded as perhaps their very best:
“I've just called I Bet On Sky the band's best album... I really would love to see them live - especially with the
current material so strong.” Simon Sweetman, Blog On The Tracks (stuff.co.nz)
“Listening to Dinosaur Jr is like being wrapped up in a giant grunge comfy blanket. Dinosaur Jr are at their cruisy best
on I Bet on Sky…” Chris Schulz, NZ Herald.
It’s now 27 years since their indie debut on Homestead Records in 1985, and Dinosaur Jr. have come to be widely
recognised as one of the significant American rock bands of our generation.
Full concert details at http://plus1.co.nz/Plus1/Plus1_presents....html
Dinosaur Jr overview, by Bryon Coley – music critic: Spin / Wire
“Preceding Nirvana by several years, they were instrumental in bringing the crashing sounds of lead guitar back to indie
rock. It wasn't just their signature metallic haze that made an impression on listeners; their effects-laden guitars
were wrapped around some of the best songwriting of the decade.
When the original line up of Mascis, Barlow and drummer Murph re-formed in 2005 for select live dates it was apparent
that the years apart had not eroded any of their vitality. In fact, many critics claimed their shows were even better
than they used to be.
It was natural, then, that the band would begin to work on new material. Their new album, I Bet On Sky, plants them
squarely in the present landscape like majectic old growth trees among the shrubs.
The trio’s early shows were so full of sonic chaos, such a weird blend of aggression and catatonia that we all assumed
they would flame out fast. But the joke was on us.
The trio has taken everything they’ve learned from the various projects they tackled over the years, and poured it
directly into their current mix. J’s guitar approaches some of its most unhinged playing here, but there’s a sense of
instrumental control that matches the sweet murk of his vocals (not that he always remembers to exercise control on
stage, but that’s another milieu).
This is headbobbing riff-romance at the apex. Lou’s basswork shows a lot more melodicism now as well, although his two
songs on I Bet on Sky retain the jagged rhythmic edge that has so often marked his work. And Murph…well, he still pounds the drums as hard and
as strong as a pro wrestler, with deceptively simple structures that manage to interweave themselves perfectly with his
bandmates’ melodic explosions.
For a combo that began as anomalous fusion of hardcore punk and pop influences, Dinosaur Jr. have proven themselves to
be unlikely masters of the long game. If I were prone to wagering, I’d say their best days are yet ahead of them. And
yeah. I would bet the sky on it.”
Click for big version.
Click for big version.
ENDS