Live Review: Dinosaur Jr, Jon Spencer Blues Explosion & Moon Duo

On a fresh Tuesday night, The Astor Theatre's lush interiors set the scene for one of the most impressive line-ups to grace Perth stages in years. For three bands more used to the sweat stained confines of bars and hotels, The Astor's partly seated and balcony topped aesthetics provided a nice alternative for the night's eardrum destroying output. Opening the evening with minimum fuss, drone rock San Franciscans Moon Duo quickly brought the crowd under their spell, wordlessly enticing the audience from their support band lethargy. Singer/guitarist Erik 'Ripley' Johnson and keyboardist Sanae Yamada have little in the way of showmanship, but make up for it through a hypnotic blend of Suicide-esque beats and effects laden noise.

The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion are an entirely different proposition altogether. A force of nature akin to being slapped in the face by Elvis Presley, the three-piece put on a show like no other. As Spencer rides his guitar around the stage, flinging instructions to the crowd and bellowing his band name at every opportunity, his cohorts support him with a blistering racket. Guitarist Judah Bauer is the epitome of cool, with a bagful of riffs and an awesomely casual stage presence, while Russell Simins is a masterclass in rock'n'roll drumming, all thundering forearms and splashes of sweat. The three veterans feed off each other in the live setting, creating a non-stop barrage of garage rock jams. Latest album Meat & Bone seems to have revitalised the band in every way, with their new material sitting comfortably alongside fan favourites such as Sweat from 1994's breakout album Orange. Another reputation enhancing showing from The Blues Explosion.

For a band who released their debut in 1985, Dinosaur Jr. do well to avoid the nostalgia based success of many of their contemporaries. The three albums released since the original line-up's reunion in 2007 build on the group's legacy and sound as good live as any of their earlier material. After a slow start dodging various sound problems the set picked up speed with bassist Lou Barlow's track Rude from last year's I Bet On Sky album. The lo-fi legend bounced around the stage all night, providing a neat counterpoint to the strained pacing of drummer Murph and enigmatic frontman J. Mascis' reactionless centrepiece. With his vocals constantly drowned out by the group's deafening wall of sound, Mascis more often than not put his phenomenal guitar skills to the fore, tearing through a couple of favourites in Out There and Start Choppin from 1993's Where You Been. The trio have never had a genuine hit single, but their catalogue is littered with classics. Feel The Pain was a mid-set highlight, while the legendary Freak Scene had the audience in a frenzy. For non-fans, the band's brutal noise and total lack of pretense could be confounding, but tonight's crowd lapped it up, becoming more excitable with ever track. An epic one song encore wrapped it all up, finishing the show in suitably emphatic fashion.