J Mascis played an in-store at the Newbury Street Doc Martens shop – 12/6

J Mascis has had a busy couple of weeks. Dinosaur Jr. have been out on a tour in support of their new record I Bet On Sky, during which they played a sold-out hometown show at the Paradise on 11/30. A day later the band hosted an almost outlandishly star-studded 25th anniversary celebration of their landmark LP You’re Living All Over Me at New York’s Terminal 5 (more on that in a future post). Mascis was back in town a few days later to perform a solo acoustic set at the grand opening of Newbury Street’s new Dr. Martens store.

In the hour-long performance, Mascis drew both from his recent solo record Several Shades of Why and his sizable catalog of Dinosaur Jr. classics, including “Little Fury Things” and “The Wagon.” He even trotted out a cover of The Smiths’ “The Boy With the Thorn in His Side,” which Dino also covered with former Smiths guitarist Johnny Marr at the Terminal 5 show. Consistent with his usual deadpan stage presence, Mascis addressed the tightly-packed shoe store crowd with roughly the same level of enthusiasm he granted the thousands-strong crowd in NYC. His head-spinning guitar histrionics have always been Mascis’ calling card though, and it was impressive to see him tear into his solos just as ferociously on an acoustic as he does on his trademark Jazzmasters.