Dinosaur Jr, Easy Action - November 26, 2016 - Union Transfer, Philadelphia, PA

Dinosaur Jr guitarist J. Mascis (left), drummer Murph
and bassist Lou Barlow on stage at the Union Transfer.

My 13th and final show of 2016 was loud and raw as Dinosaur Jr arrived at the Union Transfer the day after Black Friday. Although it was my third time seeing Dinosaur Jr and the second time in four months, it was my first time seeing them as the headline act. Coming off from a show I wish I was at, with Buffalo Tom opening the night before at the House of Blues in Boston, the performance didn't let me down.

Easy Action, fronted by hardcore punk pioneer John Brannon, opened the show. Brannon founded Detroit's Negative Approach in 1981 and later the Laughing Hyenas in 1985. Heavily influenced by the rugged rock scene in Detroit with MC5, The Stooges, and Alice Cooper, I can infer that Easy Action was named after Cooper's 1970 album by the same name. Although he isn't a house hold name compared to Ian McKaye or Henry Rollins, his influence was just as important.

The performance transported the audience back to the height of the hardcore scene of the 1980s with Brannon's soul piercing scream. He scanned the crowd with his death stare, a look that stuck fear into anyone daring to look him in the eye. After the first break in the setlist, someone closer to the back of the room broke the silence, "Welcome to Philly!" Brannon responded politely without breaking character, "Thanks man, we've been here before." Later on, after another break in the wall of sound, Brannon called out randomly "Cool aid isn't just for breakfast anymore." I don't think anyone knew what he was talking about but we all listed and believed it. Easy Action's guitarist stood to the left of Brannon in a power stance and hand turned into a blur as he strummed, reminiscent of Johnny Ramone. He came to the stage with a cigarette in his mouth and ash try on his amp. Between breaks in the set he would take an inhale and put it back in the tray. He left the stage with the cigarette still smoking in the tray. Brannon and Easy Action put the danger back in rock in roll leaving a suspenseful hush over the crowd, some pondering whether it was appropriate to applaud. Unexpected acts like Easy Action make you fall in love with rock and roll all over again and influence you, just like the Detroit scene did to Brannon 35 years ago.

After the eye-opening Easy Action set, the lovable Dinosaur Jr hit the stage. Bassist Lou Barlow was barefoot and sported a dress shirt with his signature long wavy hair (#loubarlowshair), drummer Murph wore a solid green shirt as the lights reflected of his glasses and bald head and J. Mascis, surrounded by a wall of purple amps, had his purple eyeball t-shirt on and no glasses. They kept their college rock status as the crowd was younger than I expected. However, they can be a band for all ages.

It was interesting to see how Dinosaur Jr put together their setlist as the headliner and having played Philly for the third time in 16 months. The previous shows on July 23, 2015 and July 20, 2016 were ten and nine songs long and were directed more toward the average fan with short and sweet sets. On this night, deeper cuts were played with "Tarpit" to start the show, "Over it," "Gargoyle" off the first album Dinosaur, "Budge" and "Sludgefest." The highlight of the night was the mammoth version of "The Wagon" with an extra drummer and electric sitar player. Just when you thought Dinosaur Jr couldn't get louder, they did!

Dinosaur Jr took a page out of the Greatful Dead's playbook by continuing to play between songs as the band switched and tuned their instruments. There was little break from the continuous noise. When there was a break, Mascis and Barlow chatted it up with the crowd. Some people in the balcony above were calling out requests and Mascis asked in his monotone voice, "Who are you guys talking to?" and later Barlow turned into a professor lecturing the crowd about the physics of sound, "If you guys want to hear the lyrics, go stand in the back of the room. It's simple physics." Throughout the show, Murph's glasses kept falling off as Lou retrieved them on multiple occasions. It's these types of things that make me love Dinosaur Jr. They have a goofy vibe that makes me chuckle and want to root for them. For the most part, they have quiet personalities but make up for it with their ironic deafening sound. Plus, it doesn't hurt that they can play.

As always, Dinosaur Jr gave it their all and played the loudest show I've been to. They weren't as loud as the previous times I saw them, probably because they were the opening act. As the headliner, bands can set up the sound to their liking and Dinosaur Jr like it loud!

Setlist:

Easy Action:

Dinosaur Jr:

1.  Tarpit

2.  Get Me

3.  Goin Down

4.  I Told Everyone

5.  Love Is...

6.  The Wagon (7" version with extra drummer and electric sitar player)

7.  Watch the Corners

8.  Tiny

9.  Feel the Pain

10. Over It

11. Knocked Around

12. Start Choppin

13. I Walk for Miles

14. Freak Scene

15. Gargoyle

Encore:

16. Budge

17. Sludgefeast