Except when they do. Especially for the encore.
Wednesday night was my first time at an over-21 show; before I had always been on the wrong side of that limit, which was unfortunate, especially in the case of one specific Tenacious D show. The differences were small, and barely noticeable--beer was no longer regulated to the beergarden, so the alcohol flowed like wine; and there was the welcome exclusion of "punk" kids (not in the musical genre sense, but in the "I'm a goddamn grampa and get off my lawn" sense). Not that I would have expected the under-18 crowd would have been clamoring to see the Dinosaur Jr. It seems that these guys have been somewhat passed over as kids rediscover alternative roots--the Pixies and to an extent Sonic Youth earn much of the glory these days, but the genius of J. Mascis, Lou Barlow, and Murph have sadly gone unappreciated by the next generation.
But that didn't really matter to the crowd there that night at the Crystal Ballroom. They had come to hear some fucking rawk, and that's what they got. Mascis and crew were all business, launching immediately into "Been There All the Time" with full force. Once J. launched into one of his trademark solos, the crowd let loose with hollers and head-bobbing all around. We all enjoy the contributions of Lou and Murph holding down the low end, but the show is J.'s guitar heroics, and he rarely disappointed as he tossed off effortless brilliant solos that provided a nice dichotomy to the slacker whine and ethos of the (rarely heard) lyrics.
The band didn't waste time, eschewing dialogue with the crowd and instead doodling on their instruments as tuning adjustments were made between songs. The mood was that of relief, since Lou remarked on several occasions that this was "the last show after 5 months of touring". Besides random exasperations, there was the curse of "Fucking Electronics!" after the amps were not performing as well as they had hoped. Of course, they had been pumped to 11 from the first song and then increased with each song, but fuck it, this was a rock show. The band raced through their catalog, dipping back to the golden years of Bug and You're Living All Over Me, including ripping versions of "Sludgefeast" and "Freak Scene", which tore the roof off the place. "Feel the Pain" also elicited its fair share of cheers, probably because it is one of the most distinctive songs in the catalog--"hey, I actually remember the title of that one!".
It was a quick set, but the fans were satisfied. Contrasting to the seriousness of the main set, the encore had its share of goofy moments, from the crazy metal song they ended things with to the change in guitar by J. to the limited-edition reverse-flying V, which sure elicited its fair share of "what the holy fuck" reactions. At the end, Elliott Smith's "Speed Trials" drifted over the loudspeakers as the crowd exited, providing a strangely fitting conclusion to the show. After that experience, some sweet pretty music would be quite the rehabilitation for my damaged (but pleased) ears.
Strangely enough, my choice before I headed up to Portland for the show was Elliott Smith's From A Basement On The Hill for the ride back. I just felt this was worth mentioning.
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