Dinosaur Jr. Cranks It Up to Eleven In Chicago
July 29th, 2025 - Chicago, Illinois
Amherst, Massachusetts Indie-rock pioneers Dinosaur Jr. took the stage at Chicago’s Salt Shed Tuesday night for their co-headlining tour with Baltimore’s Snail Mail and Easy Action for a hair-raising, high octane night of deafening indie rock bliss. The trio, formed in 1984, brought an all-killer-no-filler set of 17 songs for their audience, ranging with songs from most of their 12 album long discography.
Notorious for their deafening live performance, I immediately knew what I was getting myself into as soon as I saw singer and lead guitar player J. Mascis’ triple Marshall amplifier stack, foolishly forgetting my earplugs for the night, I had hoped that the sentiment had been exaggerated, but was quickly proven wrong as the band opened their set with the ballad-like track “Severed Lips” as Mascis softly strums his way through the song before activating his fuzz pedal for the latter half of the song, shaking the Salt Shed to its core with the sheer volume and pure distortion screaming out of his amplifiers, being that close to the noise felt as if I were being struck by lighting.
Accompanied by the ever-so talented and skillful bassist Lou Barlow and drummer Murph, Mascis’ and company seemed delighted to be welcomed by such a passionate fan-base of all ages, generations of Dinosaur Jr. fans all in one room, sharing their excitement collectively as the band soared through their ear-piercing set.
The band sounded tight, exhibiting their expertise with their decades worth of experience, as Barlow pranced around stage shoeless, and Mascis’ shredding guitar solo after guitar solo, with each one being a solo even the most refined guitar players wish they could pull off. I was surprised to see younger fans starting mosh pits to some of the more high-intensity cuts off the setlist, like “Feel The Pain” and “The Wagon” going further to show how Dinosaur Jr.’s music is still able to resonate with generations years younger than them.
As the set came to a close, Dinosaur Jr. ended their hair-raising set with two cover songs, their cult classic take on “Just Like Heaven” by The Cure, and “T.V Eye” by The Stooges, as they were accompanied by Easy Action frontman John Brannon on guest vocals for the latter.
Dinosaur Jr. has proven that they have always been a name that you cannot forget, whether they mean to or not, their influence extends far beyond one song or album. It’s clear that they will be remembered for generations to come.
