The Fillmore, San Francisco
Aug. 18, 2005
Dinosaur stage @ The Fillmore (Courtesy of the FreakScene Forum)
The Gang Of Four tour back in May was cool, but when this tour was announced I thought I heard the girly screams of Music Geeks erupting from sea to shining sea. This was THE Music Geek event of the year IMO: The original lineup of Dinosaur Jr. [click for link] doing the 'ol reunion thing after 15 years...
FUCK the current bullshit Motley Crue "Reunion" Tour (which is actually their 2nd "Reunion Tour").. J., Lou, and Murph proved they could implode a band with the best of 'em.. BUT now they're back together and, appropriately, tonight's show was sold out in advance (ka-ching!).
Umlaut had been looking forward to this week for months.. Two of his all-time favorite bands (Iron Maiden and Dinosaur Jr.) playing within 5 days of each other. Fucking EPIC. I was as giddy as a little school girl.
Back in February, Umlaut saw Paul Westerberg and it dredged up alot of memories (mostly good) from my days living in a Music Geek bachelor pad in downtown San Jose in the 80's. After my "Metal Days" I really got into the whole 80's Underground / College Radio Rock thing... Good times.
Dinosaur Jr. are the quintessential Umlaut band.. A band that says in their official bio that they were spawned from a "wildly messed-up mix of influences (from Venom to New Order to Neil Young)".. Just like Umlaut.
Last weekend Umlaut was in the middle of an Iron Maiden crowd and a voice in my head told me "These are your people..." In hindsight, that thought was misleading.. A Maiden crowd reminds me of who I was in my teens, which is not a bad thing. However, tonight I was in the middle of a Dinosaur Jr. crowd and a voice in my head told me "This is who you are.." As Dylan once sang "We always did feel the same, we just saw it from a different point of view..."
My inner Teenage Metalhead just called me a Poser for quoting Dylan.
I ran into Captain Fireball & Co. and had a conversation about, of all things, how completely godhead Iron Maiden and Tony Iommi had been at OzzFest. I TOLD YOU it was THE Music Geek event of the year! Later Timo, The Sheriff, and I all made comments about J.'s vintage Marshalls onstage.
The Geeks shall inherit the Earth.
Watching J. attack his guitar and wrestle decibel magic from it is still a sight and sound to behold... Yeah, the Guitar God sash still fits him.. and Lou and Murph were locked and loaded as well. By the time they encored with the obligatory double shot of "Just Like Heaven" > "Freak Scene" I literally thought I was going to explode. Literally.
If you had bought one of everyone Dino Jr. merch item you would have paid $85. On the way back to the car, some pimply-faced teenagers called us fags. Now, if Spacemen 3 [click for link] ever returned from the dead I might start believing in that thing called Easter.
"Just don't let me fuck up, will you... 'Cause when I need a friend it's still you.."
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Compare and Contrast:
The Rolling Stones' 2005 stage @ Fenway Park, Boston (Courtesy of Pollstar):
