Dinosaur Jr. Photos by Erik Hess from First Avenue

HowWasTheShow sent Erik Hess to First Avenue Wednesday night to capture images from the Dinosaur Jr. show.

Erik submitted the following report:

Dinosaur Jr. roared through First Avenue on a chilly November night, bringing new and old songs to an almost sold-out crowd. Fans at the show covered a pretty wide range; from hip 30- and 40-somethings to a younger crowd that weren't even born before J Mascis started his 25-plus year musical career.

Psych-folkers MV & EE opened up the night with a sleepy blend of acid-tinged folk. It was an odd match for Dinosaur Jr's sound and the crowd appeared to be a bit restless during their performance. Dinosaur Jr. took the stage with the down-tempo "Thumb", continuing from the lethargic tone set by the openers. While the set started with slower tunes like "Plans" it ramped up heavily mid-set when they brought out the classic, "Feel the Pain". By the time "Little Furry Things" came on the crowd, young and old, were well into their groove. While some crowd favorites were left off the set list (which is difficult to avoid with such a prolific career) the newer material from "Farm" stood up quite nicely to the older, often more energetic material from earlier works.

See higher resolution versions of these photos and more of Erik's music photography on his Flickr page.

Dinosaur Jr. Set: http://www.flickr.com/photos/560/sets/72157622714595021/

MV & EE: http://www.flickr.com/photos/560/sets/72157622838958162/

The Mad Ripple - "Death Bed Bride" video now available

Directed by Jennifer Prill and filmed on location at Kings Wine Bar (yes, I mention that wonderful place yet again), Jim Walsh's video for "Death Bed Bride" is now streaming exclusively on the HowWasTheShow YouTube Channel.

How many Kings regulars and employees can you identify? Featured prominently, of course, are Hootenanny staples Shawn Gibbons, Brianna Lane and Eliza Blue. And there is the requisite cameo by Martin Devaney (dressed up like Santa Claus.)

And I'm in it too. (I'm the guy at the end of the bar drinking wine and fiddling with my iPhone. And no, I was not acting. I really was checking my Twitter feed.)

"Death Bed Bride" is from the Mad Ripple's forthcoming album.

What's cooking at Kings in November

Technically I don't work at Kings Wine Bar, but November has some really exciting stuff on the schedule that I feel compelled to spout off at the mouth about.

Trivia Mafia starting a residency at Kings on Monday, November 16th is just the start of the fun. On Thursday, November 19th, Mayda does her official EP Release listening party for her new EP Eyes on the Water. (I'm honored to have had a hand in setting that up.) I'm also a founding member of the Kings Wine Bar Book Club (Facebook group link) which will meet on November 29th to discuss our second book selection, Jim Walsh's The Replacements: All Over But The Shouting.

Kings is at 4555 Grand Avenue South in South Minneapolis's Kingfield neighborhood. HowWasTheShow records its monthly CD review podcast there and provides local music for the all-Minnesota-music-all-the-time playlist that Kings features on its sound system from brunch through closing time at midnight.