A Photo Communication Of Dinosaur Jr
Some bands seem inseparable from the places where you first heard them: small rooms, low ceilings, amps pushed too loud, and an audience close enough to feel their sweat drips mingling with yours.
Dinosaur Jr. brought that feeling to Baby’s All Right in Brooklyn, sharing the bill with American Football and Snail Mail for a night that placed three generations of American indie rock within the same crowded room. A night of nights, we can hardly remember it. Thank God we sent photographer Tyler Andrew to shoot some film and text us a couple of scattered notes along the way.
Apparently the real reason they cancelled the Maria Hernandez park show was because 10,000 people RSVP'd. My friend Jalen knew I was about to go check the show out for MC and asked to tag along, maybe we could sneak him in, or maybe he could be my +1 even though I didn't have a +1. I'm down to try anything at anytime, and Jalen was eager to see Dinosaur Jr. I was eager to go to a show at specifically Baby’s and try to to fight the urge to leave NYC after living here for 7 years. Maybe if I went somewhere I used to go often before I lived here - back when shows there started at 2AM - maybe I could feel like I wanted to stay here longer.
We do the half hour bike ride while the sun is setting from Prospect Park to Willy B, singing ‘Blowing It’ and ‘Forget The Swan’ to each other. We even sang some Snail Mail songs to each other since she's opening. I hope she plays songs off of Lush (she did). We make it to the block that Baby's is on and it's fucked. It's around 7PM and the line isn't down the block. It's wrapped twice around the block. Fully around the block. I get stressed for Jalen - it seems unlikely we will be able to sneak him into the show. They running this shit like the Navy.
I can't afford to wait in line with all these people. We lock our bikes up next to our good homie Peter Luger and cut straight to the front. ‘Do I have to wait in line if I'm on the list for photo?’ ‘Nah, you don't. Just let the girl over there know your name and you can go in.’
What I should have done was go up alone and scan the list for a name while the girl was looking my name up and tell Jalen to do use that one. Rookie mistake. ‘Tyler Andrew +1. ‘I'm sorry you don't have a +1.’ ‘Oh okay! No worries. I'll text my contact to try to fix it.’
Jalen stayed outside and I went inside. It's already fucking packed and the door still isn't open yet. How does any of this make sense? I looked for familiar faces to do the wristband trick to get Jalen in, but again I gotta cover this show so I'm rushing to find a good spot. No homies in sight and the floor is already half packed.
Snail Mail is about to play. I find a good spot but then a video nerd with a camera the size of carry on luggage pulls up and blocks my view. Tried to frame Linds with another guy’s head blocking the ugly video camera. Nobody wanna see that shit. J. Mascis comes out from the a side door to watch Snail Mail. Last time I saw this guy in person we were sharing a sunset together in Honolulu at Silver Stairs in 2022. I decided to fall back and get some photos of the ambiance - which is overly fucking packed with no room to stand. I head to the back of room where I can breathe again. Btw this was Lindsey's 2nd time playing solo, first time playing Baby's!
I check in on Jalen, he asks what color is the wristband. Blue. I advise him to try to enter from the back or from the side. I also say try saying you just want to drink at the bar and see what they say. I run into a friend and his partner that I don't know well enough to ask to borrow his wristband to sneak Jalen in. We talk about how Dinsaur Jr played yesterday as the opening band at Tompkins Square Park not the headlining band because the cops were apparently pulling up.
This weekend is full of Dinosaur Jr lore. People who don't even know who the band is want to be able to see them this weekend. I know this because some normal fool asked me if I was going, shocked, I said, ‘you listen to Dinosaur Jr?’ They said ‘no never but seems like I should be.’ Maybe it's too late for you to start brotha!
Mike Kinsella is about to play. I try to make my way to the front. A random woman sees what I'm doing and asks if she can come with me to the front. ‘Sure!’ Mike Kinsella starts and again it's almost impossible to get to the front to get a good shot of him. I gotta work with what I got. Try my best to frame him and take an interesting photo. Photographer hogging the front finally decides he needs to change the lens on awesome big DSLR so while he's kneeling down I see my window of opportunity and smash the shutter like I'm playing an arcade fighting game.
I'm unfamiliar with Mike's solo stuff but I'm more familiar with American Football - the track Never Meant. Ten years ago when I had a Twitter, I used to follow this beautiful girl whose user name was neverxmeant. She loved American Football and Del Taco. I haven't thought of her in years and Mike did NOT play Never Meant. I hope you're doing well neverxmeant if you're reading this Holler at me on Instagram I am very single!
Mike brings out his homie to do a duet with him. He talked about how much Dinosaur Jr means to him and how grateful he is to be on the stage tonight as he exits the stage. Dinosaur Jr begins setting up - I check in on Jalen. He still hasn't found a way in yet but told me to let him know when Dinosaur is about to play. Maybe he's planning a bust thru the door and running into crowd. I have no idea he's kinda crazy he could be up to anything. There are so many people here nobody would be able to stop him.
Dinosaur Jr starts playing it's EXTREMELY LOUD. They sound amazing though.. nobody is moving around. Low key very boring behavior from the crowd. Continuing with the theme of the night - I am stressed again. Once again working with what is basically, the worst angle of all time I decide I'm tired of being stressed and playing by the rules I mean I couldn't even sneak Jalen in. I turn to the hardcore punk side of my brain. ‘What can I climb on?’ I look to my left and I see a wooden platform that's five or six feet tall. It's being used to hold up amps, garbages, beer cans and now me. I make my way towards it and start to climb. The old heads are pissed and the young people are hyped as they watch me scale this structure. Even the weird annoying video man is hyped and starts filming me for some reason! I get situated and start shooting photos, finally from a decent angle. Unfortunately I am directly below the AC unit and become freezing cold. I can now see Baby's is insanely PACKED from this view point. Dinosaur Jr is probably mid way thru their set. Mike Kinsella gets on the stage and starts to crowd surf. The kids are hyped and start a push pit and crowd surfing. It's getting out of control now. Old heads are signaling me to get down. I laugh at them and continue to hold this shit down, it's so packed nobody can tell me anything.
I feel like Ive been stressed this whole time and not really enjoying the show so after I'm sure I've gotten enough coverage for MC my hardcore punk mindset activates again and I decide I'm gonna hide my tote and camera up here and catch a dive into the crowd. Dinosaur Jr starts to play ‘Feel The Pain’ and it's on. Too tight to flip off the platform forwards I hit a sideways kinda flip and land on top of a bunch of iPhones and expensive DSLRs. I get a smooth land and stay afloat for a bit ontop of these sweaty ass fools. Finally I touch ground then make my ways back to grab my tote.
Dinosaur Jr is sick NYC is sick and Baby's All Right is sick. I hear someone calling my name hoping it was Jalen but it wasn't. I leave to find him waiting outside for me - a true friend. Luckily Dinosaur Jr plays so loud he was able to hear the entire set from outside. We unlock our bikes and decide to get Wei's. I can't hear anything but ringing at this point.
It's Monday now my ears are still ringing and I feel a bit better about living here in the city a little longer.
