No, that wasn’t another earthquake – Los Angeles just got that much noisier as Dinosaur Jr. rumbled onto the Bellwether stage with their trademark feedback, distortion and unforgettable hooks.

With all knobs and settings cranked to 11, the legendary Massachusetts band – featuring the original lineup of J. Mascis (lead vocals, guitar), Lou Barlow (bass) and Murph (drums) – blasted through 17 songs, highlighted by popular tracks such as “Start Choppin,’” “Out There,” “Little Furry Things,” “Feel the Pain” and a crowd pleasing encore that included their creative cover of The Cure’s “Just Like Heaven.”

The band made it looks easy – casually walking on stage, slowly tuning and tweaking their instruments and gear as if considering a big purchase at Guitar Center.  Once they were pleased with just right the amount of noise being outputted, the crowd was flattened by a wall of sound that hit hard from the stack of dusty, vintage Marshall amps that took up most of the stage.  Damaged guitars, torn up amplifiers, glittery drums being hammered – Dinosaur Jr. just makes it all seem perfect.

The energy coming from Lou Barlow (who played the whole set in socks) was near dangerous and impossible to contain.  Murph’s constant pounding had his drum it looking like it saw action in the Vietnam War.  J Mascis’s voice was as angelic as ever – off key just enough and in the right spots – a true master.

Dinosaur Jr. has been going strong for over 40 years now and it is still refreshing to see these guys still doing it at FULL VOLUME…and they still make it look fun.

WORDS AND PHOTOS BY I’M MUSIC MAGAZINE CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHER KEVIN ESTRADA / @KevinEstradaPhotography