Review: Dinosaur Jr. Bug Live at 9:30 Club, In The Hands Of The Fans [DVD]

At least as far as this DVD goes, you can judge the contents by the cover: herein legendary indie rock trio Dinosaur Jr. performs the third album recorded by its original line-up. The proceedings feel a little rote at times, but it's all there, and, damn, is it good. This performance of Bug was one of many the band executed in 2011, and this particular show was captured to video in late June (here's DCist's review). From a cinematographic standpoint, the concept of the DVD -- that six Dinosaur Jr. fans were selected to film the concert, presumably to give it some sort of stamp of fan approval -- results in probably many more cuts than necessary to holistically capture the excellent performance. Sure, some of the angles are nice, and the crowd shots are occasionally amusing. Still, we feel like director David Markey (the man behind the absolutely wonderful "The Year That Punk Broke" film) perhaps felt obligated to use more than just the best camerawork. Cutting to a shot of the backs of heads in the balcony just as the first chorus of "Post" kicks in? Really?

Or perhaps that is a bit of humor creeping into the process. After all, this is a film that starts with the exceeding loquacious and musically pedigreed Mike Watt feeling his way through some introductory lines he reads off a piece of paper out of frame as a used car salesman might in a low-budget commercial. Keith Morris, the first singer of legendary hardcore act Black Flag and now with the band Off!, similarly and comically gets through his lines, and Dinosaur's bassist Lou Barlow has to take a do-over. Stacking the three stilted intros at the beginning of the DVD underscores the econo/DIY vibe characteristic of the scene birthed by the above-referenced bands, among others. One other little hint of humor -- the DVD credits state it features Ian Mackaye at one point, and we learn at the close of the film that the extent of Mackaye's presence was him posing for a photo with fellow D.C. hometown hero Henry Rollins toward the beginning.

All that said, the cuts to the various angles we mention supra perhaps serves as some proxy for the overwhelming sensorial stimulus of Dinosaur Jr.'s ear-bleeding volume, which doesn't quite translate, although the sound on the DVD is crystalline and, to a certain extent, revelatory, as guitarist J Mascis is sometimes so loud the various sonic textures from his pedals are unclear. Overall, the performance is a series of rushes, big moments like when drummer Murph and Mr. Barlow (wearing only socks throughout, incidentally) locked in on a caffeinated groove during "Let It Ride."

After some perfunctory introductions of the fans in whose hands the cameras were placed, they just disappear for the most part. That is, until the end of the show, when one of the cameramen (and they are all predictably and somewhat disappointingly men) takes lead vocals on "Don't" to protect Barlow's voice from the throat-bleeding lyric "Why!? Why don't you like me!?" Incidentally, we recollect from Juliana Hatfield's recent bio that Ms. Hatfield (who once recorded a bracing cover of Dinosaur's "Raisans") was in a studio adjacent to Dinosaur when they were cutting the song, and apparently Barlow was spitting up blood after recording this vocal. While it would have been nice for Mr. Rollins or Mr. Mackaye or Mr. Morris to sing, the guy acquitted himself well. And so "Don't" is one of the surprise highlights of the night, as the lysergic power-downer begins with a gentle feel before the threesome conjures the hurt something fierce.

The DVD contains a number of extras, as is de rigueur, including the encore, "Sludgefeast" and the aforementioned "Raisans" from the Dinosaur Jr.'s epic sophomore set You're Living All Over Me, as well as two tracks the band warmed up with, "The Wagon" from Green Mind and "In A Jar" from ...All Over Me. MVD Video released "Dinosaur Jr. Bug Live at the 9:30 Club, In The Hands Of The Fans" February 21. View the trailer here. Purchase the DVD here.

Full album stream of Bug.

Dinosaur Jr.: Interzizzles | Facebook | YouTube | Twinkers

Today's Hotness: It Hugs Back, Revelation Records, Henry Rollins

>> Letting go is hard to do. Especially when one of your favorite bands makes a groundbreaking recording, and then follows it up with something unexpected and dramatically different. Fans of the mercurial and chameleonic Lilys know what we are talking about. And to a certain extent we felt the same way when Dustin Reske of '90s dream pop heroes Rocketship left the world of sunshiney guitars to explore a more electronic palette. Last week we found something that filled the crater of certain unmet expectations whilst minding our own business listening to WMBR's delightful Breakfast Of Champions radio program. And that something is the latest single from It Hugs Back, "Work Day," the video of which we've embedded above. The Kent, England-based quartet's new single certainly reminds us of Rocketship, although in exploring its back catalog over the weekend it is notable that there is even a touch of Mission Of Burma to be found among the band's four prior singles. It Hugs Back isn't easily pigeonholed, however; "Early Evening" opens as an acoustic ballad that gradually gains steam and transforms into a light chime-studded rocker with overtones of Sufjan Stevens and Gastr Del Sol. "Work Day" was released by 4AD Sept. 29; 4AD and Too Pure, which put out the band's first four singles, merged in June. Another single is in the works, and both it and "Work Day" will appear on a planned 2009 debut full length release on 4AD. It Hugs Back's first four singles were collected up in April on The Record Room, which was issued on CD and in a limited-edition canvas bag, but can also be downloaded right here at EMusic. Highly recommended. Here's the A-side to its first single, the sold-out "Lights In The Trees," which was initially released by Too Pure in October 2006.

It Hugs Back -- "Lights In The Trees" -- "Lights In The Trees" b/w "Soft Spot"
[right click and save as]
[buy It Hugs Back records from the band here or EMusic here]

>> Speaking of EMusic, there was a recent notable addition to the digital music storefront's offerings, the Revelation Records catalog. Revelation pretty much cornered the market on New York Hardcore and the bands that sought to continue its legacy. Among its titles are astonishingly good releases that every fan of heavy music should own, including the crucial first Texas Is The Reason single [link]; Youth Of Today's final and un-eff-withable "Disengage" single [link]; and Burn's chillingly awesome self-titled EP, featuring "Drown" [link]. Noticably absent? The first Shelter record, which featured Ray Cappo backed by members of 76% Uncertain.

>> We don't get IFC on our living room lightbox machine. But if we did, we can only think of one thing we'd watch on it, which is Henry Rollins' talk show. This month IFC is rolling out three new episodes of "Henry Rollins: Uncut," including a show looking at New Orleans in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, a show capturing Mr. Rollins doing his talking show in Northern Ireland and a show during which Rollins tours a South African Township. Clips of all three shows, as well as a heralded show filmed in Israel, is combined with clips from Rollins doing his spoken-word bit live in an amusing 20-minute video you can watch right here. If you've see Rollins on a recent talking date (we saw him in 2006) some of the stuff late in the video will be familiar to you. That said, his story of meeting his idol Ted Nugent is one of a few that is easy to watch over and over and over. And it has historical import, as Mr. Nugent's teetotaler status was a direct inspiration on the straightedge hardcore movement.