Seen It>> Dinosaur Jr at Electric Ballroom, 4 February 2013

Nearly thirty years since their formation in Amherst, Massachusetts, Dinosaur Jr have more than enough material to fill over three shows, but their NME Awards show at the Electric Ballroom, is a trip through their career, which has seen them influence countless bands of both past and present.

Opener “Lung” is a distorted mess of noise, which gives guitar wizard J Mascis, his first chance to show off his impressive skills. But it wasn’t solely dedicated to their impressive back catalogue, last years’ I Bet On Sky, is on show with “Don’t Pretend You Didn’t Know”, “Rude” and “Watch the Corners”, showing the trio can still write tracks as good as in their late 80s heyday.

Other classics appear, such as “Feel the Pain”, complete the quiet-loud dynamic that has long been recognizable in alternative American rock, and Mascis and bassist Lou Barlow’s previous band, Deep Wound, gets an outing with “Training Ground”. They return from the encore with their take on The Cure’s classic “Just Like Heaven” and the 6 minute ear bleeder “Sludgefeast”.

The may now be longer in the tooth, but Dinosaur Jr showed that on their day, they can still compete with the youngest of mammals.