Early Dino Memories

[NCDan]

To paraphrase the late, great Mitch Hedberg (R.I.P.) – I used to do drugs. I still do, but I used to also.

When I bought You’re Living All Over Me, it was right after I had purchased some "skunky green stuff". I walked into Second Coming records in the village in NYC and there it was on the shelf. Brand new release. I had heard that there was a new album due, because all the fanzines of the time were talking about how they had left Homestead for SST. The cover looked awesome. I quickly bought the album (those big plastic black things), and headed back to NJ. The band I was in at the time was already doing Repulsion during practice. I eagerly awaited hearing it. When I got home, I got out "Big Red" and packed him up. Suddenly the first sounds of Little Fury Things hits me. I am pinned to the couch. I listened to it over and over, every day. It is, and will always be, the greatest guitar (not to mention bass) album EVER!

to be continued….

[Boo]

A friend of mine saw Dinosaur in 1988 in Rotterdam and they were highly drunk and stoned.During the set Murph went away to throw up , so I was told

[Smallstone]

I have plenty of very fond ‘early’ Dinosaur Jr memories. I think I kinda discovered them in mid 1988, around the time of the Freak Scene single and Bug release. Maybe it was just before that, anyway….. it’s a long time ago and I was 17 so I think I was just beginning to…..you know smoke a bit, have a few drinks every now and then:) My big friend (still to this day) was a dude we called Dob (real name Robert) who had a copy of You’re Living All Over Me which we would blast at every opportunity. We would hang in his house A LOT. We weren’t cool. We didn’t have girlfriends. We had long hair. We were sorta proto-grungers (you know ripped jeans, converse boots, check shirts, beads etc – remember this is pre-Nirvana). We read comics, listened to John Peel on the radio, watched trashy movies, chugged cheap lager, went to gigs, listened to Sonic Youth, hardcore blah blah blah.
Anyway it’s spring 1989 and word was Dinosaur Jr were gonna be playing some rare UK shows so like WE WERE THERE!
We lived on the South Coast of the UK and the closest and easiest show to get to was Portsmouth at the Polytechnic. The show was on a Saturday night, so great, EASY! We would either jump on the train or cadge a lift and drive down on the night get a ticket etc etc. It was going to be a BLAST!
Anyway as it turned out a few of our friends wanted to go as well which was cool, so a lift was arranged and on a sunny May evening 5 of us (me, Dob, Stan, Kev and Chad piled into our friend Stan’s really small Fiat car and off we raced to Pompey! 45 minute drive and we were there……..however it seemed that every indie rock fan in the South of England was also there. The whole area around the venue was packed and there was a big sign saying those fateful words. SOLD OUT. We were screwed…….we were NOT getting into this show:(
We were just gonna split, find a pub, whatever, when I spotted a familiar bespectacled looking bass guitarist hanging out in the parking lot. I just thought F%*@ it I’m gonna go talk to him!! So I approach Lou who by now has Murph stood next to him.
Me:
‘Lou, hey how’s it going? Er me and my 5 buddies have driven a really long way to see you tonight and we don’t have tickets and the gig is sold out, is there anyway that you could you know either sneak us in or like put us on the guest list?’
Lou:
‘Sure no problem, what are your names? Anyone got a pen?’
So Lou, the GOD that he is, puts me and my five mates on the guest list. We thank him (I think Chad actually dropped to his knees and kissed Lou’s hand!!) and swagger past the locked out crowds and go to the box office to where Lou has just taken the list and we are IN! I quickly buy myself a ticket to the Mudhoney show that was happening the following week (another story!!) and it all goes off!! Lunachicks support. Then Dino J play and it’s an incredible gig! There’s a (really bad) recording of the show on the Video/Audio site. They play all the greats plus weird covers of Gigantic by the Pixies and some intense kinda Napalm Death noise jams!! What a night! What a band!!!!
As they say at AA meetings (so I hear:) thanks for letting me share!!

[rambleon]

great story

[NCDan]

I love that story! When I saw Dino for the first time, it was at the Ritz in NYC, around the time of Bug. The Ritz is now Webster Hall. They were in the middle of a bill with B.A.L.L. (featuring the great Don Fleming and Kramer of Shimmy Disc fame) opening and Big Dipper (college rock) headlining. There were about 200 people in a hall that held 1800 easy. We scored some acid outside and went in. B.A.L.L. was great (as are their records). Kramer playing his Beatle bass and Fleming’s ethereal guitar. The acid kicks in as Dino comes on. We stand stage right , in front of Lou. They are at the edge of the stage (drums too) because Big Dipper had the riser. J had a small Marshall stack, Lou with a single speaker amp, and they were simply the best band ever. I have never seen a show like it. Lou screaming and writhing on the stage. Kramer coming out from backstage, stage diving into a non existant crowd and breaking his arm. The sheer FORCE of the absolute VOLUME of Dino. It is stuck with me forever. It actually hurt my chest.

Has anyone been to Maxwell’s in Hoboken, NJ? It used to be my second home (my first was The Pipeline in Newark, NJ). We had great parties there. (1988 – 1998). Nirvana opening for Tad. The Jesus Lizard opening for Nirvana. And on and on and on.

[Author]

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