Bells. I awoke last Sunday morning to the sound of bells--not an unusual occurance considering the day of the week. But the ringing was inside of my bellfry. The incessant chime, which I like to think of as a sonic hangover, was a reminder of the excessively loud music the night before. I paid for my fun.

I attended a Dinosaur Jr. concert last Saturday night at the Orpheum in Boston. It was my second time seeing the band; the first time seeing them since 1993. I don't remember Dinosaur Jr. being that loud then. I won't forget them being that loud now. I only write about them a week after the fact because the ringing would not let me write about them then.

If you haven't heard of Dinosaur Jr., they're probably best thought of as premature grunge. Along with The Pixies and Buffalo Tom, they worshipped distorted guitars and exuded the drug-dealer-next-store vibe in the Bay State several years before Nirvana, Pearl Jam, and Soundgarden did the same in Seattle. A few thoughts on the concert....

First, if J. Mascis is the craziest looking dude out there it is because he is the craziest dude out there. He isn't just an eardrum-executing sadist inflicting eardrum executions upon his audience. He is a masochist doing it to himself. Rather than rely on the house sound system, Mascis had six Marshall Stacks placed behind him as he thrashed his guitar. Isn't the noise for the audience? He likes it loud, I guess.

Forty-two-year old bassist Lou Barlow, with a bouncing mop of hair, looks like the rock gods shaved twenty years off his age. The specific rock god who obliged, methinks, is none other than Mr. Mascis, who, sporting A-cups, oversized granny glasses, and a witch's haircut, appears to have absorbed several decades uncredited on his birth certificate. Whereas a blankfaced and motionless Mascis stoically thrashed a guitar to decibel levels unheard of, Barlow jumped about the stage almost to highlight his bandmate's status as an oracular rock n' roll mystic. It was a weird scene.

Murph, the band's drummer, played drums like a human rather than a machine. This makes him Keith Moon next to the robots and computers who provide beats and fills to today's music listeners. How perfect imperfection sounds on the skins.

Have you heard Dinosaur Jr.? If you haven't, here are my highlight songs from the concert: my personal favorite, a video seemingly shot on the Matterhorn, is Out There; a video tribute to urban golf that was once in heavy rotation on MTV is Feel the Pain; a new video starring Thurston Moore and his kids is Been There All the Time; and for grunge-does-alternative see, Just Like Heaven. I gave my hearing to experience these songs live. The least you could do is give a few minutes to hear them on your computer.

I have seen The Who, Guns n Roses, Soundgarden, and I have never heard anything as loud as Dinosaur Jr. I hope to never hear anything as loud as them again. The amp that goes to eleven goes to eight as well.

I can assure you that they were that loud in 1993 as well.

Btw, they have always promoted the idea of the audience recording their concerts and distributing them as they see fit (so all live show bootlegs are basically band approved). Many can easily be downloaded from online for those so inclined.

My faves have always been Freak Scene and Quicksand. It seems a bit anachronistist to me to call them pre-grunge grunge. I guess that makes sense though and is a tribute as it were to their lack of easy classification and also their influence.

So you inspired a little Dinosaur listening binge on my part and I now am inspired to add more.

1) "Just Like Heaven" is one of the best and most infuriating covers ever. They take a great song and keep its appeal while styling it in a manner that brings out Mascis's own appeal. But I will never forgive him for cutting off a brilliant cover before it would end if it covered the entire song.

2) Several albums of Dinosaur were entirely written by Mascis and he actually played each instrument in the studio on his own and put the album together that way. This despite the fact that he always has very capable musicians backing him, the dude has always been overbearing about his music.

3) Lou Barlow was the original bassist then was kicked out of the band. It is a fun story b/c he wasn't told he was kicked out, the other guys just changed their practice space. Lou eventually called Jay to find out what was up and learned then that he was no longer part of the band. Barlow went on to moderate lo-fi fame w/ his band Sebadoh (composing music for the film "Kids" including "Spoiled").

4) One pre-Grunge connection is that Mascis was long-time close friends with Kurt Cobain. Actually, the story goes that the miserable Courtney Love was trying to get Cobain to date her and not having luck. She wanted Mascis to give her Cobain's number and speak to him on her behalf. He refused as he thought she was a mess and no good for him. So she called Mascis's father to get Cobain's number and he gave it out. Since some see her as a Yoko sort I guess that story has legs.

I also should have mentioned "Little Fury Things" as a great song of theirs.

What's that saying...

If it's too loud then your too old.

You should never go to a show (especially indoors with a band that likes to use distortion) without adaquate ear protection. I have been called the king of loud by my friends but the sound levels at most concerts is more than anyone should take on without some good plugs. The last show I went to without ear protection was Motorhead 20 years ago. I vowed to never do that to myself again!

The Who were pretty darn loud in concert. Back in the day. Dinosaur Jr.? I am seriously out of touch.

Saw them a couple of years ago at the Paradise when they reunited. Great show. Ridiculously loud.

Not only is J. Mascis insane looking, he's insanely talented. Nirvana is said to have asked him to join their band before they made it big (when Nirvana was opening for Dinosaur Jr. in England. He turned them down. He could have as a lead guitarist or drummer.

Awesome song: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=71845ZdJwy8