Dinosaur Jr. cranked the volume up to 11 for their second Massachusetts show of the week, first in Deerfield and again on Friday, July 18th at Roadrunner in Boston. The co-headlining tour also features Maryland’s finest, Snail Mail, with Detroit rockers Easy Action opening.

Natively from Amherst, Dinosaur Jr. has claimed all of Massachusetts as their home turf since the ‘80s. With the announcement of their summer co-headliner, fans were pleasantly surprised (or maybe not) to see the tour was hitting both coasts of MA in the first couple shows. Despite the fact that neither headlining band has released new music since 2021 (excluding a couple covers from Snail Mail), fans still showed up and were greeted to some nice surprises of new music from Snail Mail and guest appearances during Dinosaur Jr.

Known for their egregiously loud sets, it was somewhat surprising when J Mascis started the show as if they were at a band practice and people were not quite sure if they were starting or not. Slowly, bassist Lou Barlow and drummer Murph joined in to the beginning of “Severed Lips” from their debut record Dinosaur, from before they added the Jr.. Each member seemed to be off in their world until suddenly everything clicked when Mascis stepped away from the microphone and kicked on the overdrive. Everything preceding that moment was mere setup for the main act: Dinosaur Jr. absolutely ripping at insane volumes. “Feel the Pain” and “Freak Scene” were highlights of the set, with a special encore of two covers: “Just Like Heaven” by the Cure (Dinosaur Jr. regularly covers this song) and “T.V. Eye” by the Stooges featuring a guest appearance from John Brannon of Easy Action (and Negative Approach fame).

Dinosaur Jr. and Snail Mail continue their tour through early August, and stay tuned for a new record from Snail Mail soon.

Check out some photos from the show below!