On February 9, 1993, Dinosaur Jr. released their fifth album, Where You Been. Following the release of their classic 1987 album You’re Living All Over Me and 1988 follow-up, Bug, with “Freak Scene,” the band opened another musical crevice with Where You Been and their alt-magnetic tracks “Out There” and hit “Start Choppin’,” which peaked at No. 3 on the Modern Rock Tracks chart.
Videos by American Songwriter
Where You Been remains one of the band’s iconic, and sound-defining, albums, and to commemorate the 30th anniversary of its release, Dinosaur Jr. will play the album in its entirety during two special residencies, one beginning at The Garage in London, Nov. 12-15, and the second at the Music Hall of Williamsburg in Brooklyn, NY, Dec. 1-8.
The select residency dates have been tacked on to the band’s current U.S. tour, which kicks off on June 3 at the Shellraiser Festival—with Clutch and Red Fang in the supporting slot on select dates—and will continue on through their New York City shows in December.
Dinosaur Jr. released their most recent 12th album, Sweep It Into Space, in 2021. The album marks the band’s fifth release since the reunion of founding members singer and guitarist J Mascis, bassist Lou Barlow, and drummer Murph in 2005.
Steadily releasing new music together since their first “reunion” album, Beyond, in 2007, Sweep It Into Space was pieced together during the onset of the pandemic.
Recorded at Mascis’ Biquiteen studio in the band’s hometown of Amherst, Massachusetts, the Sweep It Into Space sessions started in the late fall of 2019, and feature Kurt Vile, who co-produced the album with Jr. frontman J. Mascis, who initially began writing most of the songs in his attic studio.
“We go to J’s house, walk to the kitchen—J’s usually at the table—you get some water, go upstairs and sort of puzzle out these demos that J hands you,” Barlow told American Songwriter in 2021. “I sit there with Murph, and we power through, build it instrumentally. The last step is J putting his vocals and guitar overdubs on it. That’s something that happens with him alone at the end of the basic recording, [and] that was actually identical for this record.”
Barlow also wrote two tracks on the mostly Mascis-penned album: “Garden” and the closing “You Wonder.”
In 2021, the band also released their live album Emptiness at the Sinclair, and shared a grinding cover of The Zombies’ 1965 song “Whenever You’re Ready,” which was mixed using THX Spatial Audio, in 2022.
Read our 2021 interview with founding Dinosaur Jr. bassist Lou Barlow HERE.
Dinosaur Jr. 2023 Tour Dates:
6-03 McGill, NV – Shellraiser Festival
7-06 Milwaukee, WI – Summerfest
7-21 Washington, DC – The Anthem ^
7-22 Pittsburgh, PA – Stage AE ^
7-23 Philadelphia, PA – Franklin Music Hall ^
7-25 Toronto, ON – Rebel ^
7-27 Louisville, KY – Iroquois Amphitheatre ^
7-28 Sterling Heights, MI – Michigan Lottery Amphitheatre ^
7-29 Chicago, IL – Radius ^
7-30 Indianapolis, IN – Egyptian Room ^
7-31 Nashville, TN – Ryman Auditorium ^
8-02 Saint Paul, MN – Palace Theatre ^
8-03 Cedar Rapids, IA – McGrath Amphitheatre ^
8-04 Wichita, KS – Wave ^
8-05 Denver, CO – The Fillmore Auditorium ^
08-27 Tisbury, MA – Beach Road Weekend
11-09 Raleigh, NC – Hopscotch Music Festival
11-16 Wyndham, NY – Cave Mountain Catskills Music Festival
11-30 Memphis, TN – Memphis Music Festival
11-12 London, UK – The Garage
11-13 London, UK – The Garage
11-14 London, UK – The Garage
11-15 London, UK – The Garage
12-01 Brooklyn, NY – Music Hall of Williamsburg
12-02 Brooklyn, NY – Music Hall of Williamsburg
12-03 Brooklyn, NY – Music Hall of Williamsburg
12-05 Brooklyn, NY – Music Hall of Williamsburg
12-06 Brooklyn, NY – Music Hall of Williamsburg
12-07 Brooklyn, NY – Music Hall of Williamsburg
12-08 Brooklyn, NY – Music Hall of Williamsburg
^ with Clutch and Red Fang
Photo: Cara Totman / Courtest of Pitch Perfect PR
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