Solo with the soloist.

J. Mascis, Lou Barlow and Murph make up one of my favorite bands of all time, Dinosaur jr. J's guitar playing is loud, noisy, sometimes sloppy, fast & furious, sublime and sweetly beautiful. His solos truly touch my soul. That's right. Dinosaur jr. is soul music.

So they played last night on Cleveland's east side at the Grog shop. I had the date marked on my calender for months. I really wanted to go but never did buy tickets early because I wasn't sure if circumstances would allow and I never thought it would sell out. I'm a family man with responsibilities that sometimes preclude me from my own trivial endeavours such as attending concerts. I hadn't been out in a long while. I really wanted to go.

So the day before the show I had decided that I just didn't think it was gonna work. Then the morning of the show I changed my mind again and decided that I did want to go. So I went to the Grog shop website & found out that the show was sold out. I was a bit disappointed. Now I couldn't go. Or could I?

After moping around the house for most of the day I decided to jump in the car & drive to Cleveland. It was 8:30 at night, doors opened at 8, I had no ticket and I headed out on the road. My drive included a 5 mile stretch down Superior Ave. If you've never experienced Superior Ave. in Cleveland on a Friday night, do yourself a favor and don't.

I found a place to park and walked on up to the front doors where all the people were hanging around outside smoking. I figured some of these people probably didn't have tickets either. After a second of hanging out there I walked on in the door. I hit the first corner with a table and guy taking tickets. I passed the guy a glance and kept walking. I nodded to the security at the next corner and quickly got myself lost in the crowd. I was in! I saved myself $25. My drive had not been in vain. Woohoo!

It was 10pm. Now what to drink? This always used to be a no-brainer for me but has become much more complicated for me in the last 4.5 years. I did the responsible thing and ordered a diet Coke. Truly a milestone for me. Normally just the atmosphere of a bar with clanking bottles, loud music & the smell of beer is enough to make my salivaries drool. Add to that the loud rock music that I love and it is normally a recipe for mayhem and eventual disaster. Not tonite. Not anymore. This would be the first time that I can ever remember going to a bar alone and not drinking. I knew I had that drive back home and those responsibilities so I had my motivation.

Dinosaur jr. didn't go on for another hour. You can't smoke inside anywhere in Ohio anymore so I spent my time nursing my diet Coke and gradually making my way towards the front of the stage. The show was great. They played a bunch of old favorites and some new songs. They were extremely loud as well. J had 3 stacks behind him and Lou had 2 of his own. I nearly lost my voice hooting, hollering and singing along.

There was a mosh pit which is pretty funny considering. Dinosaur jr. is loud rock but hardly what I would consider mosh pit music. There was even a pit during Just like Heaven, the cover of the classic Cure tune. I had a good time watching the kids and feeling like a responsible old man. After the show I bought a beer to reward myself and a shirt with the money I saved. I hit the road feeling very proud of my sobriety and new found freedom. I wasn't sure I could go out alone to a bar with my favorite band playing without drinking. I did it. I feel like such a big boy now.

Thanks for the awesome performance guys! Now that I know I can, I will be back....I promise to buy a ticket next time.

Check out their video for Over It off the new album, Farm.
Here they are on the Rollins show performing Forget the Swan.
Check them out live performing Gargoyle/Kracked with a Steve Albini interview intro.
Here's the video for Rebound by of one of Lou's fantastic other bands, Sebadoh.