That’s the motherfunking size of our motherfunking boat. It’s enormous and so is my “I am no longer 18″ hangover. Terri can do nothing to soothe this savage beast and I am a totally miserable bitch. LIKE AN ANGEL, she goes to fetch brekkie for us and I instruct/grunt something like “French toast and bacon” at her. But there is none of the delectable French Toast to be had. So she brings other bread-like substances and I inhale. FOR TODAY IS COZUMEL AND I MUST LEAVE A BOAT AND WALK ON MEXICAN LAND.

The last time I was in Cozumel, I took a ferry over from the rad resort town of Playa Del Carmen and hung out at Chankanaab National Park, a weird man-made tourist beach thing with snorkeling by some concrete slabs.  THIS TIME, though, we have a different rock ‘n roll sorta plan.

For weeks, Lou Barlow’s childhood friend Mark and I have been planning a meet (he’s coming from Playa where he’s on vacay!) at Paradise Beach, a cheap but nice beach with waiter service, activities, a sandy beach and  ”amenities”. On the boat, I invite only the sexy people: I tell Antlers, Nervous Wreckords and Yuck where we’re gon’ be. So on docking day, Cabinmate Terri and I hightail it out of “Buy Something Now, Tourist!land” and cab it to Paradise. Where these guys also join us…

WHEEE! Andy from Wye Oak and Ashley check out the trampoline but get whistled at. ONLY FOR KEEDS! someone official yells. LOOK AT THEM! I yell back: “They’re only little!” Later, leashed, actual children will bounce on this. Then it starts to rain and we all seek cover. WTF MEXICO?  But what’s a little water? Me, Lou Barlow, the Wife (Hey Kath!) and Lou’s friend Ramona go swimming. “It’s okay, it’ll be done in 20 minutes. We may as well get wet,” I say, and run down into the water. Coming outta there I run into the Nervous Wreckords who also have taken my advice and are sunning themselves on “our” beach.

Niiice. Beach sexy has improved +100.

Soon all the cool kids show up for today’s prescribed chill out on dry-ish land. Herewith A MEETING OF INDIE ROCK DRUMMERS: Sebadoh’s Bob D’Amico and Dinosaur Jr’s Murph discuss shorts, and possibly why that guy in the background looks so goddamned miserable.

Look away, kids. The conference of shirtless, pale indie rockers continues. Here’s Lou, Andy Wye Oak and Ramona (and if I had a buck for every Dinosaur Jr story Ramona could tell – she helped fund the original Deep Wound demo back in the day – I’d have at least maybe $367. Additional fact: she used to hang out with Weezer’s Rivers Cuomo in Boston, knew Elliott Smith and is, fundamentally, MADE OF THE AWESOME. So she will now be known as Awesome Ramona. Lying down next to us? Dino’s Murph. Drummers need to be horizontal sometimes, apparently.

Oh yeah, did I mention we went parasailing BECAUSE WE ARE ALSO AWESOME? It all started with Awesome Ramona trying to convince Lou to go up in a tandem harness but he blanches at the thought and instead Ramona goes up (much to Lou’s nervousness) with the wife of his two children. Deciding that this year should mark the Year of Not Being a Chicken Shit, I enlist Cabinmate Terri (who’s scared of heights) to go with me and also do something stupid. Lou and Murph join us on the boat (did you know that Murph’s dad used to have a 30-footer and so Murph’s comfortable on the water? No? Now you do.) It’s awesome except that I want to puke into the turquoise Mexican sea. We get up there for a few minutes but it’s a windy day. I am being strangled by my lifejacket but Cabinmate Terri is throwing the rockhands LIKE A BOSS. \m/ \m/

“You were just begining your ascent at this point,” said Lou, taking the pictures. “I can tell because the line is fairly slack…you went way higher. When they pulled you back the line was taut.” Ah yes, when they pulled us back. They pulled us back because an up-draft (it was quite windy out) sent us a bit wonky sideways and Terri decided that she was still afraid of heights, and I was not going to argue. Let’s be honest: was kinda nerve-wracking. Down we came, mission accomplished, into the boat filled with 2/3rds of Dinosaur Jr, two enormously cool women, and our sense of achievement.

Back on dry land, and coming down off the high with the help of a bucket of Corona, I see the leanest, whitest man alive, my boy Daniel Blumberg of Yuck. “I MISSED YOU” he says, and comes and joins our sand party. We order lunch – veggie fajitas for the underfed rock star, chicken fajitas for the overfed me – and we huddle together to feed. Look at that pretty face.

So pensive! Weight of the world on that bonce. We natter about everything. It is not lost on me that I am suddenly in Mexico with members of five of my favourite bands. In my head, I high-five myself. Outwardly, I grin like a loon:

Mariko, Max and Jonny Yuck also wander over. Once again, I present: the most effortlessly stylish woman from Hiroshima ever to be in a band that’s based in London on a cruise from Miami to Mexico. La swoon. I then witness a truly meta moment – the SPIN magazine I’d brought with me to the beach has a double-page spread of who else? Yuck! So I hangout with Yuck, while they’re looking at pictures of Yuck. In SPIN. Wish I’d taken a pic of Yuck looking at pics of Yuck, but hey ho. Yum!

And let me introduce’s Mark. Mark has known Lou Barlow since Grade 4, when, as Lou describes it, Big Mark sort of adopted/looked out for Little Lou. We’d been online buddies for a while, and I regret not spending more time talking to him. He’s good people. And good people bring water bottles filled with tequila. Which in a roundabout way, lead to this photo:

Awww, yeah, double branding for the BackstageRider! BUT SOON! We must flee teh Mexicos! The Dinosaur Jr boys (Murph and Lou) have to be back on the ship early because they’re playing the “Sail Away Show” on the Lido Deck and need to get sorted. Something to do with having to find space on stage next to this many Marshall stacks for J Mascis:

Yeah. Undeniable: Dinosaur Jr. do rock. In fact, they rock so much that only this kid had the right idea:

He’s not misguided, this small person. Dinosaur Jr’s sound is so enormous, as per usual, that the massive cruise ship docked next to us (let’s call it the Geezer Cruise), is pissed off to have to listen to the racket from our boat. Sail Away Show? More like, “Deafen the Other Boat Next To Us While We All Stay Dry-Docked Show”. But who cares? Turn your hearing aids down, grandpas!  One of the best things I get on the boat is a fan-made pin that says “Dinosaur Jr made me deaf”. They have. Repeatedly.

Sometimes, even as Lou’s wife is yelling “SLUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUDGEFEAST!” and you’re rocking out next to Awesome Ramona, you gotta take time to stop and remember that you’re but a drop in the ocean. Sigh.

Okay, poignant moment over, phew. Would you look at this fucking awesome picture of J Mascis?

Yeah, I took that. And it’s J. Utterly lost in the music and his own shredding. And this is a beautiful pic for exactly that reason.

This man was also rockin’ out, hardcore. Lou’s in a great mood when he gets off stage, and we share drinks from the band’s rider. With only one show today (versus the 2-3 of all other days), it’s kinda his day off and he’s ready to party.  Fact: Lou ready to party is fun Lou. But first, we need food!

Lou, Kath and I go for dinner in the private dining room (because we can!) and run into Scott and Brian Weezer, each at separate tables. Brian’s eating with his mum and girlfriend, awww. And as we’re leaving, I drunkenly ensure that Scott knows when the next Sebadoh gig is so that he won’t miss it (he asked me about it on the first night). Kath rolls off to bed (too much parasailing and an adrenaline crash) and Lou, Awesome Ramona and I decide to go and cheer on Mr. Mascis in his acoustic solo endeavours.

By the time we get to the Criterion Lounge, we’re a bit happy tipsy. We enjoy J’s set, and he sounds great. “Why’s he singing about his mama?” I ask Lou. “It’s AMMA,” Lou says. “That’s his guru”. And by “guru” he doesn’t mean “guitar effects pedal supplier.” He means, like, actual guru, Amma, the Hindu Hugging Saint.  We kinda watch, mouth-opened as amazing acoustic guitar and looping pedals suddenly fade into what seems like 20-minute long AMAZING ACOUSTIC GUITAR SOLOS. Oh, J, only you could wail on an acoustic.

J’s joined by violinist Sophie Trudeau. Sophie’s played with Godspeed! You Black Emperor, Arcade Fire and is in Thee Silver Mt. Zion Memorial Orchestra. Stunning sounds grace the stage. I drool a little.

But enough of this crazy highbrow! It’s time for WEEZER! Time for PINKERTON! Lou, Awesome Ramona and I sneak off to the reserved areas of the balconies at the second Weezer Pinkerton & B-Sides show in the grand Palladium Ballroom. We’re all stoked (and whiskey’d/beer’d).  We sit next to Brian’s mum and girlfriend again, Murph joins us, the camera guy spills a whole pint of beer on me accidentally, so I look like I’ve peed myself, then we rock out enromously.

Pinkerton’s a fascinating album, written at a difficult time in Rivers’ life. Most critics/fans loathe it – even Rivers did at one point – but in later years came around to it. But it’s the kind of thing I really dig – it’s awkward, a bit raw, ugly in spots and undeniably well-written in others. I love the slack of “Tired of Sex” and the rest of the pop songs that pour from it. And at that moment, live, it sounded great.

Lo! Pat Wilson has gone back on drums! Much as we love Josh Freese, hey look! Pat has gone back on drums!

Then Rivers heads down into the audience, wearing his ironic KISS tee and synthetic fabric jacket. Oh Rivers, I kind of have a ton of like for you. Lou is singing along and almost air drumming to “Why Bother?”, Jonny Yuck, sitting a row or two behind us, is totally mouthing all the words to “El Scorchio” and we’re all singing “LEZZZZZZZZZZZZBEEEEEYUNNNNNN” in “Pink Triangle”. In fact, the whole place is erupting. Just like this guy:

This picture is not the best picture. This picture is not in focus. But this picture sums up why I do BackstageRider. It’s a  pure and amazing moment of live music, captured. It’s Rivers, in the crowd, surrounded by ecstatic fans, with one lucky mega fan, who’s having the moment of his LIFE as Rivers sings to him. This is why I have the “rockhands” for my logo. It’s about loving a moment in music so much you want to punch the sky, throw a cheesy ’80s heavy metal sign, or whatever. And this to me makes Weezer, at the moment of this photo, the best band in the universe. Why? Because they are to THIS GUY.

Between sets, the band takes a break from all the excitement, and Karl Koch – band friend, tech, webmaster et al – takes us through a visual feast of entertaining old Weezer stories. Here’s the ad for the first Weezer tour van. MARVEL AT ITS BEAUTY.

Costume change! Rivers is back and getting everyone to sing along. We do. Look at his happy little face.

Then, the end. It’s the last of the three shows Weezer has done and they bow out, happily. We do as well. This guy throws the =W=….

Suitably refreshed (ie, on the road to lightly drunk), Lou, Awesome Ramona and I wander along to check out the ’80s-themed prom and run into Wendy The Indie Professor and her mate Brian, who have picked a PRIME people-watching spot right outside the disco. We hunker down and eyeball the amazing costumes – folks have actually really put a lot of thought into their 80s prom wear, and the parade of polyester and fluorescent is brilliant.

Dude in background was dressed as PeeWee!

Mmmm…poofy!

And of course, the obligatory rockhands are thrown, Dio-style. Sitting just to my left is Lou Barlow with one Wendy and one Wendi. Thanks for the pic, Danielle Fontaine!

Something else endearing happened as we sat getting drunk by the disco. A LOT of fans approached Lou. But rather than just sorta drunkenly “yo dude”ing him (the guys) or shyly asking for photos (the girls), the myriad fans who approached did so with WONDERFUL things to say to him. Things about how many times they’d seen him play live, where and when, about which songs they loved, WHY they loved his music, and so on. Spurred on by Dutch courage, they asked questions, engaged and then BEAMED when he’d oblige the countless requests. These connections were remarkable to watch, even if our own coversations were constantly being cut short or interrupted.

And these guys above? How can you not like ADORABLE SPANIARDS?  By this time, even Lou – often self-deprecating – was (rightly) feeling pretty awesome about his place in the universe. Didn’t hurt that these countless fans were a) generally cute girls and/or b) buying him drinks.

Meanwhile, Weezer was coming to the prom!

Dashing Brian came out for a wander and posed with fans. And then this guy came along, Captain Cuomo or summat…

En route to check out the prom and disco, Rivers walked by our peanut gallery – which included a few people he knew, like Lou, Wendy the Indie Professor and Awesome Ramona  - and because we were tipsy, we all yelled at him. RIVVVVVVVEEEEEEEEEEEERRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRS! we bleated. He looked over, I snapped this. Then he disappeared into the disco. A few minutes later, I trotted in and found him overlooking the dancefloor. “Hey Rivers!” I yelled from behind him…”THANKS FOR BRINGING SEBADOH ON THIS THING”. “OH! MY PLEASURE,” he yelled back over the loud music, smiling.

And since everyone was having a good time…

…and we were drunk, annnnnd it was about 2am, a few of us dragged Lou Barlow barefoot, onto the dance floor. I mean, why not? This was already the most surreal experience of many people’s lives, so why not dance with the your best friend the rock guy, the guy you’d least expect to be on a cruise with?  AND WHY NOT DANCE TO….”Pump Up the Jam”? “Baby Got Back?” “IT TAKES TWO”???

WHAT THE FUCK????

This seems to be a good time to talk about the music. It was supposed to be an 80s prom, right? Soooo….John Hughes film soundtracks, Duran Duran, New Order’s “Blue Monday”, Cyndi Lauper, “Axel F”, “Rock Me Amadeus”, or maybe even some Gary Numan “Cars”, right? That kind of stuff? WRONG. DJ was likely born in 1990 and had a predilection for late mostly late-80/early 90s hiphop, so the choons mostly reflected his limited knowledge of “retro.” Still, Lou was 1,346 double whiskeys in, I was drinking Corona from some weird moulded plastic bottle, and our gang were gleefully letting loose.

AND THEN BACKSTREET BOYS CAME ON.

Historical sidebar: back in November, 1999 – the same month I was going to gigs with Fatboy Slim, Luna, Death in Vegas and Luke Vibert –  I also went to see the Backstreet Boys live. “Everybody (Backstreet’s Back)” is a brilliant pop song and even as a snobby indie/electro kid, I was totally out about my love for this song. So of course, at 3am, in a purple disco on a big boat, with Lou Barlow, I lost my shit. We all kind of did, really. Dancing like loons, we sang along…

Now, this isn’t our circle’s group – this is Minta Daniel from Lawrenceburg and her friends – but somewhere around 0:08 or so, behind them, you can see a guy with a checkered shirt dancing. That’s Brian. And to his right, with her hand in the air briefly, is me…oh yes.

Sadly, there are no pictures of Lou Barlow dancing barefoot to the Backstreet Boys. No PROOF, as it were. Just this sneaky pic of Minta’s (with Wendi’s shimmering blue back), of him on the dancefloor, having a tremendous time. As were we all.

But all good things must come to an over-tox’d, pre-dawn end. Around 4am, a few of us bid goodbye to the last remaining disco hardcore, I found Lou his flip-flops in a corner – “ahhhhhrrrghfucklezjustforgetaboutem,” he slurred – and put him in an elevator home to his wife.

Then I found my room, collapsed on the bed, buzzing, and content in the knowledge that I had just had one of the best and most epic days of my life.\m/

READ WEEZER CRUISE DIARY DAY 1

READ WEEZER CRUISE DIARY DAY 2

READ WEEZER CRUISE DIARY DAY 4

Anyway! Onward!

I check out the fab boutique hotel, Hotel Max, in Seattle, and find Lou in the lobby, who I am to meet because my Christmas present has come early: rather than get a stinky shuttle bus back to Canada, I have been invited to ride shotgun on the Dinosaur Jr tour bus across the border and with the lads. HONOURED doesn’t even begin to describe it especially as I think there are day-old Top Pot donuts still on the bus. Woo!

In the lobby, we discover a book on “Grunge” by Michael Lavine, whose pics also cover the doors of the fifth floor of the Hotel (I stayed in a Mudhoney room, yay!) and Lou flips through it. “I think there’s a pic of us in here somewhere,” he says and finds one of the three of ‘em looking ridiculously young and long-hairy. I should have taken a pic of Lou holding the book page up but was, I think, still asleep.

We arrive at the bus, and find Murph and Dino’s tour manager extraordinaire (and I do mean extraordinaire, the man is LOVELY and very funny) Dan Mapp in the front lounge with the rest sleeping. J arrives on board shortly after clutching a bunch of Sub Pop t-shirts and retreats to the back. Lou goes to crash out in his bunk while…

…Murph and Dan and I enter into one of 100 different and fascinating conversations about education, children, the Internet, social skills, addiction and probably the state of both our nations. We also use THE BUS WI-FI, woo! Murph tries to convince me that as I’m a social media-type that “we” (he and I) should invent the new Facebook thing so that we can become rich. Murph is only on LinkedIn – of all things, though never checks it – and after countless conversations about Twitter, declares later that he’s overwhelmed by it all.  I like Murph. Me and Lou want him to go on Twitter so we can retweet his stuff under the heading “Shit Murph Says”.

He and I go for a cigarette break when the bus gets near the border and talk about the process of recording with Dino Jr – they’ll be doing that in February – and how it’s been staying at Lou’s place the last month. “The kids call me Uncle Murph!” he says proudly.

At the border, I am treated to another amazing thing: Tour Man’ Dan collects all our  passports (all labeled, and weirdly/wonderfully Henry Rollins’ passport is BLACK not BLUE) and goes to deal with Customs/Border patrol while we lounge. Murph and crew man Larry have to go out but otherwise, we’re all in the bus CRYING WITH LAUGHTER as Rollins cracks jokes about things the border guards may find wedged in private places.  The rest of the time…

…Henry Rollins sits quietly, reading. About what, I forgot to ask. But he is very serious-looking when he reads. (And apologies for sneaking these two on-board pics of Murph & Rollins. I do realize that what goes on on the road must stay on the road, but I’m kinda geeking out.  I mean, WOULDN’T YOU? Sorry Murph and Henry.)

We arrive in Vancouver and park a block behind the Commodore Ballroom. Lou’s still asleep so I show Murph how to get into the venue, and head home for a quick shower. I come back in time to get my ears pre-blown out during soundcheck and take this camera phone pic from the rafters to prove that J Mascis’ pedals are, uh, numerous. In fact, I walk backstage to see J surfing Ebay for a new pedal. I ask him if he found the one he’d wanted, but “No………”.

Next door, Vancouver cultural icon Nardwuar The Human Serviette about to interview Henry Rollins. “Hullo BackstageRider!” Nard greets me. (The whole fact Nardwuar is interviewing Rollins again is amazing because the last time he did so, in 1988, Rollins nearly chewed him up and spat him out. I tell this story to a fascinated J and Lou in the room next door.) Check out the innervu – all the “recent” pics of Henry et al in this video are by ME!

O and here’s a pic of O, from LA-based band The Makeup Sex, whom Dinosaur Jr. really dig and who O-pened in Vancouver. And when I say O-pened, I mean, only O opened. His drummer and bassist didn’t make it over the border in their rental car on time, so O had to go it O-lone. “I’ve never cancelled a gig,” he said to me and Nard afterwards. O well, was still good.

Soon it was time for the return of the Rollins….INTERVIEW O’CLOCK

There’s more on that exchange here in The Snipe’s coverage, by Rachel Fox.

I think J spotted me taking pictures.

But soon! It was time to rock AND roll on out! Here’s the setlist.

Freak Scene….sorry, not Lou. The song.

Yep, Murph forgot his drum key backstage again. But after a mad scramble by Tour Man Dan, he was keyed up and mouth opened.

AND THE CROWD WENT WILD! No really, this guy was rockhanding it, pounding the stage, singing every mumble that came out of….

…this guy’s mouth. Man, I love shooting Mascis in good light. His hair is AMAZING.

Here is another comprehensive portrait of J Mascis, taken from sidestage where I perched for most of the night. Tinted purple for added J-ness.

And, once again, Henry Rollins and his workboots sit DIRECTLY BEHIND J MASCIS’ WALL OF AMPS either taking notes on something, diairizing or headbanging. At one point, when the crowd started to go a bit moshy, even got up and looked like he was gonna help out by protecting J’s pedals (either that or flinging some bodies back into the crowd, which I would have paid money to view). I love how much Henry loves Dino.

And once again, it was time for someone to close out the tour and sing “Don’t” so that Lou didn’t have to. Enter my friend and  musician Devon Lougheed. Devon plays in several bands in Vancouver including Beekeper, Hey Ocean! and Sidney York, and is a MASSIVE Sebadoh/Dino fan. I’d put the bug in Lou’s ear about Devon as a possibility, and on stage Lou went for it. Devon got up and NAILED IT. Mama was so proud. (That’s me.)

After the show we drank beer and hung out with Nardwuar before leaving out the back to find a good dozen or so fans had waited in the cold to get autographs and take pictures. But soon it was time to leave my new family…whom I will see in just a couple of weeks on the Weezer Cruise, whee! But before we go, Lou Barlow has some very important advice if you’re going to be attending a Dinosaur Jr. show in future….

Remember, kids, ALWAYS WEAR YOUR EARPLUGS!

Thanks again Dinosaur Jr, for letting me tag along. An epic weekend and an epic band. Extra rockhands to you! \m/ \m/ \m/

(And now READ PART ONE, SEATTLE if you haven’t)

So besides being AWESOME to hear the Bug album in full, what else was was particularly awesome about the Seattle and Vancouver shows on December 17 and 18?

I was there.

At the radio station, on the bus, at the hotel, backstage, sidestage and across the border, the BackstageRider tagged along…and Dinosaur Jr and their amazing crew put up with me. Here’s what happened in Seattle. Click on all photos to embiggen the magic.

I arrive in SEA,WA just in time for a Thai lunch with Lou at a restaurant near KEXP, where the band were to perform and be interviewed. The halls were crowded at the radio station, and filled with fan boys plus old friend/VP of SubPop Records, Megan Jasper. Megan’s known the band since almost-literally forever, and it was her mum Maureen who interviewed Joseph Jr. Mascis in this quite-remarkable video.

While the band played four tracks and Henry chatted on-air with the DJ, I stood, nose-pressed to the recording room window. The soundbooth was rammed and, possibly, shaking during that last bit of “Just Like Heaven” so I sought refuge elsewhere, to take the shots. Listen to the whole performance on KEXP’s site.

Afterwards, while Seattle photog Dave Lichterman set up for a photoshoot for the KEXP blog outside, the Three Messedkateers hung around chatting (ie, Murph did all the talking). J had just been to Whole Foods down the street. I knew this even before I saw the bag because a Twitter friend tweeted at me excitedly that his mate had just seen J in the shop. “Whole Foods people are REALLY SERIOUS about Whole Foods”, said Lou with a laugh. I introduce myself to J. His handshake is very light and if I’m not mistaken there might have been a “hi” uttered.

Set up in the parking lot, Henry and the band pose for photos…

…aaaand goof around. J starts slowly pushing imself away, rolling downhill, while the mostly-serious-but-actually-really-fucking-funny-when-he’s-with-the-band Henry Rollins tells some sort of entertaining anecdote. That’s photog Dave in shot. Here’s his set of pics on Flickr, they’re rad:)

Then Rollins and I chat about the first time I met in him in ‘92 when he was out on tour with the Rollins Band and Therapy? in Toronto. “That was ‘94,” he corrects then goes off on a ramble about how he manages to remember certain gigs and tours and festivals. (“There are some festivals where you always see and tip your hat to Paul Weller…”) Rollins likes to ramble – he’s good at it. And very entertaining.

We all head over to Showbox at the Market, a fine venue. At some point, after soundcheck I find myself sitting backstage, silently, with J Mascis, while he eats some Liberte yogurt . A glacial-paced year seems to pass, but everyone knows that J’s not *cough*, a big talker. If there’s one thing I’ve learned about being backstage, it’s that one must blend in with one’s environment. So I also sit silently. But within minutes, I can’t stand it.

Me: “You have to have one of the most healthy riders I’ve seen, ever.”

J: “Huh?”

Me: “Your backstage rider. Yogurt, Perrier, brown Rice Crispies…it’s so healthy. And coconut water is awesome! Lou told me about how it’s good for hangovers.”

J: “Oh……………………….yeah.”

CONVERSATION COMPLETE.

Anyway! Here’s the a pic of the band’s most awesome openers, Pierced Arrows,  in a haze of hair, insanity and sheer amazingness. Backstage Lou tells me their long history about how they used to be known as Dead Moon, and were really popular in Europe, and I marvel at the fact that the drummer, Kelly, sitting down is almost as tall as bassist Toody is when she’s standing up. They’re really, really great. And Toody? An insane bass player, a monster on that thing. “Almost as good as Lou Barlow,” a fan says to me.

Then it’s time for the Henry Rollins interview. On stage, you can tell Rollins takes his interviewing job seriously. (Fuck, man, he seems to take EVERYTHING seriously, bless him) and takes care to ask different questions each night to keep things well-paced. “They’re not the most loquacious” he’d said earlier in the day at KEXP to the DJ, and he’s right. It’s kinda amazing, the whole Interview-Three-Dinosaurs concept, and a cool twist to the usual. I like me some cool twists. I also like Black Flag. Double win!

During the interview, though, J is positively chatty (at least a dozen words!) and very dryly funny. There are jokes about the old days. Lou refers to having to wait for J to finish watching All My Children (which J’s watched since he was about 12 years old) so they could practice. All laugh. I admit that the image of J, wrapt in front of soap operas is a rather quite entertaining picture to rest on.

Backstage, Murph and I joke about how his non-alcoholic beers tend to disappear because folks see the Beck’s labels and grab ‘em thinking they’re “real”. A clear-eyed Murph is lovely to see. The crew recall other times when Murph played the Shoebox and was, uh, a little worse for wear. But that was then, and this is now. Perrier and N.A. beer, hell yeah!

Before go-time, I ask Henry about his acting career and if there’s any plans to return to it (I’m pointing at you, rather quite disturbingly good stint on Sons of Anarchy). Not at the moment, he says, he’s busy concentrating on his series Animal Underworld for National Geographic, which has taken him to a shopping list of cool international enclaves. But, he concedes, “I’ve been in a lot of straight-to-DVD movies, because at this stage of my career, I kind of almost say yes to anything that I get offered and I’m very fortunate. But I don’t NEED to do the acting. I have lots of other things going on.”

A few minutes after wrap with Henry, it’s time for Dino. Sir Ampsalot earns his nickname by walling himself in among a stack of six Marshall amps, which, Lou says, is entirely unnecessary… but we all know adds to the mystique and enormousness, right?  I am thankful for my heavy-duty earplugs….in fact, me, Murph and Lou all spend a lot of time going “WHAT? SORRY? WHAT??? to each other.

Pictured: White Wizard. Not pictured underfoot: Three square blocks worth of pedals, including J’s own purple (what else?) Fuzz Munchkin. Not to be confused with Fuzzy Lumpkins from the Powerpuff Girls.

Shortly after this picture was taken, Murph runs over to me during a break in a song, and asks me: “Can you get my drum key out of my jeans back pocket?” I go backstage, rifle through his jeans, delete everything in his phone, steal his credit cards and find the drum key. (Okay, the last bit was true.) SEATTLE, THE REASON MURPH COULD KEEP DRUMMING WELL WAS BECAUSE OF ME. YOU’RE WELCOME. #NoactuallyitwasbecauseofMurphwhoisagreatdrummerbutwhatevs

Fact: Lou Barlow wears his shoes on stage for only one or two songs then goes be-socked. His socks are from Marks & Spencer in England. The trousers were new from Portland (he made a resolution to not look shleppy on stage), and the glow is the radiation of his AWESOME PLAYING WITHIN DINOSAUR JR. To wit: here’s the setlist of that night.

You know what else was mind-bendingly amazing to watch? Henry Rollins (who is, it must be said, AN ENORMOUS DINO JR FAN) sitting directly behind J’s amps EVERY NIGHT and, in between jotting notes on whatever into a notebook, HEADBANGING, AIR PUNCHING, PURSING HIS LIPS, SINGING OR NODDING ALONG along to all the songs. Beautiful to see Dinosaur Jr’s own hero sitting behind them so dedicated.

And as the theme here has been focused around awesome…let me introduce you to Shannon, k?

This is Shannon. You know the last song on Bug called “Don’t”? The one song that Lou sings? That was written for Lou about Lou?  The one everyone talks about because its five words “WHYYYYYY! WHYYYYY DON”T YOU LIKE MEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE?” was screamed so strongly and repeatedly during recording that it caused Lou to hork up a few bits of blood? Well, understandably, Lou doesn’t like to bloody his vocal chords much anymore, so he invites audience members sometimes to scream in his stead. Shannon’s apparently a drummer in a heavy metal band…who also didn’t know the song at all. None of the words. None of all five of the words. “I went to tell her how the song went,” said Lou afterwards,”but she was, like, ‘yeah, whatever’ and just went for it.” Instead she just screamed great big guttural howls. BRILLIANT!

Also awesome? Her stagediving and the parts when her skirt just rode up over her leggings and she didn’t pull it down, and when she sat down on the stage just screaming, and when she was generally all I don’t give a fuck. Yeah, this pic sorta sums up how I felt about the night, too, trying not to give a fuck, having fun in the moment, ‘cos, really, there ain’t much else more awesome than hanging out with Dinosaur Jr. and Henry Rollins. Except for maybe coconut water after a hangover. \m/

NOW READ: On the Road with Dinosaur Jr and Henry Rollins: Part 2, Vancouver

What could possibly be more bonkers wonderful than the idea of a bunch of pasty indie rockers and tons of their fans aboard a cruise? Probably nothing. I have never wanted to bear witness to – and write about – anything more in my life.

Weezer and theme-cruise kings Sixthman have teamed up for THE WEEZER CRUISE – a four-day floating festival that’ll sail from Miami to Cozumel on January 19-23. More info at
www.theweezercruise.com.

But lest you think that “Hey, I’d really like to hear Weezer (“The Blue Album”) and Pinkerton in their entireties, as well as b-sides and greatest hits while drinking cocktails on the Carnvial Destiny ship sailing the Caribbean, but IS THAT ENOUGH?”, Rivers & Co. have searched land and sea and tour schedules to bring together a ton of bands including a ton of Lou Barlow: Lou will be doing TRIPLE duty on board playing sets with Sebadoh and Dinosaur Jr, as well as solo stuffs. And J. Mascis will also be going solo! That’s right, Sebadoh and Dinosaur Jr will be ON THE SAME BOAT TOGETHER FOR FOUR DAYS. *head explodes*

In fact, Lou said it the whole thing was “some signs of the apocalypse shit, right there” on Facebook, but then proceeded to tell me after that he’s actually kinda excited by the idea. SO. AM. I.
Also joining the bill is - YAYYYYYYYYYYY! (waves arms about like Kermit the Frog on the Muppets) – UK band and my faves, Yuck, Gene Ween (and Ween bassist Dave Dreiwitz), The Antlers, as well as Wavves (I mean, with a name like that?), and friends to the BackstageRider, The Nervous Wreckords (Brian Karscig from LouisXIV’s band). Boom Bip, Free Energy, Ozma, The Knocks, Sleeper Agent, Yacht Rock Revue and Keepaway will also be rockin’ the poopdeck.

Multiple stages, Weezer-themed games (“Quick, everyone, let’s play Destroy The Sweater! Hold this thread and then walk away!”), and the potential for seeing Rivers Cuomo playing Bingo, J. Masics at the buffet table, Lou Barlow lounging by the pool, and the poor, spindly, translucent Brits in Yuck hiding in shadows whilst trying not to burn? I cannot type this enough: THIS IS GOING TO BE AWESOME.

Now I just have to find a way to get there. UPDATE, JULY 21: I AM GOING TO BE ON THE BOAT. I will also be bankrupt. But I WILL BE ON THE BOAT. BOOKED!

If YOU want to go, tickets start at $799/per person for a double cabin or $599 for four friends travelling together. Sign up for pre-sale info at www.theweezercruise.com. Pre-sale will begin on July 21 and cabins will go on sale to the general public on August 3.

And in the meantime….Hi! I’m Mikala! I’ll be your Cruise Director on this (I) Love (Indie) Boat! I’m here to present:

The BackstageRider Imaginary Soundtrack EP to the Weezer Cruise:

• Weezer – Islands in the Sun (I couldn’t find a playable link for “The Cruise” but, duh, that’s obvious)
• Dinosaur Jr – Does It Float?
• Sebadoh – Drama Mine (or Ride the Darker Wave or yeah, Ocean, o’course)
• Yuck – Cousin Corona (‘cos the boat’s going to Mexico, geddit?)
• The Nervous Wreckords – Doin’ it to Do It
• Wavvves – King of the Beach
• Ween – Ocean Man

Dinosaur Jr pic by Chris Gersbeck and Gene Ween pic by Kris Krug.

On the first night of Dinosaur Jr.’s short, East-Coast Bug tour in Portland, Maine on June 20, Lou Barlow stepped up to the mic for the final song of the run-through of their classic 1988 album, “Don’t”. And then he screamed. It’s a scream that was made famous in Michael Azerrad’s book Our Band Could Be Your Life, and it’s this repeated scream -only five words- of “WHY DON’T YOU LIKE ME?” that caused Barlow to spit up blood when he recorded it. Or so the story goes. This time, in Maine, on the first night of the band’s tour, the song caused Barlow to lose his voice entirely.

“It’s really cathartic”, he joked the next day, croaking. “But if I keep doing it, I may lose my voice permanently.” Then he set about trying to find someone, via his Facebook page and via folks like me over Twitter,who would take over the wails at the Northampton show that night. “I think we’ve got a guy who works at Home Depot,” Barlow told me.”We should get him to wear his apron.”

Four shows in finds us (well, rather, photog and friend to the BackstageRider, Chris Gersbeck) at New York City’s Terminal 5, with Henry Rollins interviewing the band, and Fucked Up and OFF! opening. Chris, who runs the fab NYC music blog FuckingNostalgic.com, offered to shoot the show that Barlow would later call “ferocious.”  With Barlow’s voice still hoarse and it seeming to work with having fans screech through “Don’t”, the set ended with random hairy guy belting out those five painful words.

Check out the grand Marshall stacks action of the deafeningly amazing Dinosaur Jr:  J. Mascis, Lou Barlow and Murph, live in the Big Apple on June 23. All photos with thanks and gratitude to Chris Gersbeck.

And don’t forget to click here for Part 1…even MORE pics of Dinosaur Jr, Fucked Up!, OFF! and Henry Rollins from this show.

Plus, as an added bonus, for entirely different pics and a full review and the lowdown, surf on over to Fucking Nostalgic. \m/

Back in April, Dinosaur Jr announced that they’d be hitting (part of) the road out east and would play their classic ‘88 album Bug in its entirety. They’d be joined along the way by Keith Morris’ new punk gig OFF! (whom I shot and raved about a few months ago), Toronto punks Fucked Up! and you know that guy from Black Flag? Henry Rollins? Yeah, him. He’d be interviewing J. Mascis, Lou Barlow and Murph on stage.

Around that point in time I gave the east coast a mighty green-with-envy-tinted jealous raised middle finger. “Sod you, you lucky, lucky bastards!” I yelled across the North American expanse. And then I wrote to Damian Abraham, lead singer and mighty beast from Fucked Up!  and asked him – he’s a MASSIVE Dino Jr fan – how he was feeling about being appointed and anointed for some dates on this tour. His response: “Pretty fucking stoked. I feel spoilt because I have seen Dinosaur Jr three times last year but this will be so sick!”. Yeah. Siiiiiick!

But good things come to those who plot. So I planned a tag-team event with Chris Gersbeck, a fab photog out in New York City who runs one of my fave new blogs, FuckingNostalgic.com and who contacted me during Sebadoh’s North American tour. Chris and I made a deal: I’d get him into the gig in Terminal 5 in NYC on June 23rd for the Bug show, and he’d shoot the show for both of us. And so he did. And he said it killed. (Bastard.)

Once you’ve had a peep through this AMAZING gallery, be sure to check out FuckingNostalgic.com’s entirely different set of pics and full story!

And in Part 2, check out a mega set of Dinosaur Jr live shots from the same night. ROCK. \m/

But Deep Wound is important, man. ‘Cos it’s the band that birthed Dinosaur Jr. It’s the band that Lou Barlow, J Mascis, Charlie Nakajima and Scott Helland formed in 1982 in Massachusetts.

In 2011 sometime (ie, this week), I got an email from Scott Helland. Helland’s an amazing artist based in New York now, and plays with a “Frenchie” called Samantha (he’s “The Punk”) in an alt-cabaret-gypsy band called The Gypsy Nomads. He said he dug the Backstage Rider Rockhands Gallery and had a concept for a piece of art….and would I like it?

Taking a picture of yourself or your friends throwin’ the horns for the BackstageRider is awesome. Taking a picture of a band throwin’ the horns for the BackstageRider is also awesome. But sitting down and drawing or sketching or painting out original rockhands art for yours truly, is truly rocktacular. And Scott’s piece (which joins Welsh artist Pete Fowler and Vancouver artist Mark Atomos Pilon on the gallery) is, quite frankly, stunning.

So while I had Scott, I prodded him about what it was like to know Lou and J. in highschool. Here’s what he said:

“Lou and I went to high school together in Westfield, MA and J went to high school in Amherst, MA a few towns over. We pretty much just rehearsed and played shows. Along with Charlie the singer, we were just four weird, quiet kids into punk rock! Lou and I sat in the lunchroom together and talked about Black Flag records and punk singles and were completely unconnected to the other kids. Lou talked so little to anyone else in school I think they thought there was something wrong with him. We rehearsed in Lou’s attic which was like an oven sometimes and in J’s basement, both places had tons of records tossed about everywhere. We were all so obsessed with music. Everything I remember is more music related than high school related, I think we all hated high school so much – I certainly did!

I remember for the first Deep Wound record Lou and I went out behind a hospital in Westfield looking for slugs. They ended up in an ice cream cone, I held it up and Lou snapped the picture and that was the cover!

Also, J had the coolest way of cutting his hair, he would put a razor blade in a comb and drag it through his hair and voila, instant punk rock hair. I remember another time while rehearsing J was playing the drums so fast he whacked himself right near his eye and went flying back off his drum seat and ended up with a huge welt around his eye.”

Ah, *sigh*, the follies of youth. I remember when I used to cut my hair with a homemade razorcomb! Not.

Anyway, it’s nice to have been introduced to Scott through the magical power of the Rockhands, and now I’d like to introduce you to the magical power of his Gypsy Nomad-ery. Check ‘em out and rock on! \m/

Barlow’s currently wrapping up an NorfUhMerican tour for his latest bit of musical goodness, Goodnight Unknown. He’s out on tour with his buddies The Missingmen (Tom Watson and Raul Morales of Mike Watt fame) and The Backstage Rider went along for the ride – well, at least to Seattle and the most excellent Tractor Tavern. Best way to spend the first day of summer, really.

Here’s what we got up to…

Afternoon soundcheck at the Tractor Tavern. “I’m sounding muddy,” Lou said from the stage. “I really wished I’d thought of this eight years ago when I recorded the songs. You know, sing higher.”

What do you mean “this picture requires some explanation?” It’s pretty self-explanatory, isn’t it?  On the left is Liz, a friend of Jason Loewenstein of Sebadoh. Liz and her husband Carlos graciously invited Lou (and I) over for dinner at their place in Ballard. Carlos is doing a book project on lo-fi cassettes, which Lou used to record all the time. The little dude in front is the product of what happens when a two-year old superhero makes his own chocolate milk out of edamame and a half-bottle of Hershey’s chocolate syrup, then runs to the sofa, puts on “Thomas the Tank Engine” on the TV…and well, sorta passes out. We took the opp to commemorate the moment.

Hanging backstage, Lou was enormously pleased to return from dinner to find this merch poster that his bandmates had created for him. “Look at the fucking cat,” he said. “He looks terrified.” WOULDN’T YOU BE?

Live, Lou Barlow and the Missingmen are acoustic, then loud, then acoustic, then loud, then ukelele. Included in this package was “Natural One” by Folk Implosion, Sebadoh’s “The Freed Pig” “Soul and Fire” and “On Fire” plus all the newer solo stuff, including the legendary “Legendary”, a driving “Goodnight Unknown” and quite a bit more. Also on the bill: Lou singing about why you should buy his t-shirts to the tune of “Too Much Freedom”.

Lou got the wristband thingie in Texas. He liked it so he kept it on. The turquoise guitar was equally kinda wonderful. At this point I was tucking into Pint #47 I think. I believe several were Fat Tire and Mac & Jack’s African Amber. This is also around the point where local blogger Mike Johnston tweeted: “Lou is laying down some straight up badass right now.”

Guess which one’s Lou and which one’s me? I smile a lot when I am IN THE ROCK…

…apparently so does Lou and Raul (left). I would give my least-useful finger to remember what was said to bring forth this life-affirming laughter. But I am so ridiculously witty that it hardly matters. #joke

And finally, to end the night. The gift of rockhands. From Lou to the BackstageRider to you. Straight up and direct. Delivered by The King of Lo-fi. It came wrapped in some dubious brown wrapping paper. \m/

For more information on the one, the only, the most prolific lo-fi-indie-bass-rock-god, visit www.loobiecore.com

I remember seeing the super Scots on Sept 8, 1999 in Toronto. Here’s what I wrote about that gig in my book: “Holy F*ck! Sorry….WHAT? I can’t HEAR YOU! Now I’m deaf. Totally spacey good.” Ten years later, almost to the day, I was pretty much saying the same thing in this review of Mogwai’s Vancouver show. Niiice.

So what’s a girl to do? Track the Mighty Mogwaiian Stuart Braithwaite down over the interwires and asked a few cheeky questions. Such is the modus operandi of the BackstageRider. And as I’ve learned of the entire Mogwai camp, the modus operandi of Mogwai is to be a collective of thoroughly decent chaps. So here’s what @plastmatron from @mogwaiband had to say to a collection of questions.

How’d the release of your live show documentary Burning go down when it debuted at the Glasgow Film Festival? Was there more pressure to get the gig right that night or are you always perfection?

Well, it hasn’t been released as yet, so time will tell how well it goes down. Well, I hope! There was a little more pressure at the shows because we were recording and filming, though as we did it over three nights, we had a bit of a safety net.

If you were only allowed to use ONE guitar pedal for a live gig, what would that effect pedal be?

I think it would be my Fuzz Face Distortion. It’s the same as Jimi Hendrix used and sounds amazing.

You seem to be the social meejah chap in the band. How’re you finding Twitter/the interweb and those conversations with fans?

I think it’s quite useful and fun. Twitter is great because you can see what everyone is saying and doing. Very good for nosey people.

I don’t trust the media. They’re scoundrels. Which cool, new bands should I be listening to?

Mmm, I like a few bands up here a lot. Golden Grrrls, Ultimate Thrush and Divorce are all great. [Editors' note: Stuart's also been raving about Errors recently on Twitter]

Do you guys ever fight over the music? If so, who’s the most typical instigator, who’s the fence-sitter, who’s the peacekeeper, who’s the guy who leaves the room and who makes the tea?

We don’t fight, but sometimes we’ll disagree. It’s easy to sort out as we just vote on any differences.

How the hell do you choose your song titles? And what the hell is a “Glasgow Mega-Snake?

They just come from things we see or hear or we just make them up. Glasgow Megasnake is mythical creature that we invented that lives in the Clyde and attracts tourists, like a shit Loch Ness Monster.

Are you louder than Dinosaur Jr when you play live, do you think?

No, I don’t think we are. J Mascis has more amps than us. We are louder than a lot of other bands, though.

What is the most beautiful sound in the world?

I don’t know. Harps are nice.

Out of your enormo-discog, which Mogwai tracks are your most favouritest and why?

I really like “Thank You Space Expert”. No reason, really, it’s just a nice song.

Does it get ever tiring when fans in ironic rock t-shirts or beards want to dissect every chord or b-side or foreign release you’ve ever put out? What would you rather be talking about after a show?

To be honest, we don’t meet too many people like that any more. I think those folk have moved on to other bands. I don’t mind what subject people talk about as long as they’re nice.

Any chance you’re working on new music? What strange and delightful secrets can you reveal about it to us?

We’ve started sharing our demos and are going to record later in the year. No secrets yet, though.

If a visitor to Scotland asked you to be his/her tourguide for a day, what would the itinerary be like?

I’d reccomend the highlands and islands of Scotland. There are some beautiful places here. I’d just hire a car and drive north.

Can I buy you a drink for being awesome? And what are you having?

I’ll have a coffee please. It’s early

Coincidentally, backstagerider.com is ALSO about Rock Action. What is the most rock thing you’ve ever done on tour?

Smashed up my guitar, which I instantly regretted.

What’s on your rider?

Lots of food and lots of drinks. And a piece of art by a talented child or gifted amateur. \m/

The Town Pump (I miss you) gig was sold out. I did not have a ticket. PANIC STATIONS!

Letter from Lou Barlow, Sebadoh/Dinosaur Jr, 1993

I was starting to commence Warp Factor Fretting when I overheard a voice: “You’re on at midnight”, it said to a bespectacled dude. Holy crap! Four eyes was Lou Barlow! So I sidled up, explained I was from Toronto but visiting, had got my very first tattoo that day, didn’t have a ticket. Lou, being awesome, walked me in. We all hung out in the basement of the Town Pump, got a bit squiffy and have been friends ever since. Through solo, band, Sebadoh and Dino shows in Vancouver, Toronto, London, England and now Vancouver again.

Dinosaur Jr
Dinosaur Jr were back in Vancouver on November 10 and Lou was on astoundingly good form. He was doing double duty in the musical sense. Playing solo – just him and a very quiet acoustic guitar – opening for the eardrum-shattering Dino, the band he’d rejoined a few years back. But the solo pretty stuff didn’t exactly fly over the din of the crowd. It’s not his favourite thing to do – playing solo softly-softly – and he carped about it on Twitter afterwards (@LouBarlow). He woulda had his band with him, but apparently Dino’s J. Mascis and Murph were just a wee bit concerned that his new band, the Missingmen, would maybe steal their (12 Marshall amp stack) headlining thunder. Still, the devoted craned to listen as he made it through a few tracks from his latest, Goodnight Unknown and half of one of my fave songs (and requests) “Legendary” from last album Emoh.

On Elliott Smith
Afterwards, he chatted with a fan about Elliott Smith, a mate of his who died a few years ago under mysterious circumstances and was a known heavy drug user. “He could be really nice when he was…you know, okay…”, said Lou. “But sometimes he was also an asshole.” The kid had an Elliott Smith swooshy tattoo, the same colours from the Figure 8 album. He was rapt with Lou and wanted to know what Lou would recommend he get as an homage tattoo to him. “Umm, I don’t ever recommend people to get tattoos,” he said “but maybe that animal thing on the Dare to be Surprised EP,” he suggested. Lou was cheerful.

After the Dino show, and after I bought Dino’s drum-basher Murph a whiskey shot, I taught Barlow how to reply to people on Twitter. And showed him where Kelowna was on Google Maps. (A colleague had come in from Kelowna to see the show.) I scolded Barlow for not conversing with his fans on Twitter. “Nobody taught me this shit,” he said laughing. He’s since replied to a few people, bless.

Letter from Mikala’s Mailbag
Such a great night got me thinking about an old letter I recently dug up that Lou sent me in 1993 after that first gig. I had this silly habit of sending notes to bands back in the day (now it’s emails). Lou replied. Sent me a cassette of some solo demos he’d done with a photocopied sleeve. There was a Bryan Adams cover on it. (Not as good as his latest cover, of La Roux’s Bulletproof but still lo-fi amazingness). I’d apparently asked him about why some of my favourite songs on the Sebadoh albums (circa Bubble & Scrape) sounded so lonely. Here’s what he said:

“the ‘loneliness’ you hear on Seba-records, at least my contributions, is based on my break-up with my long-time love Kathleen about, lesser, 2 years (2 years!!) ago…she almost married someone else but somehow we hooked up again and now live happily here in Boston…the whole lag-time of conception to reception of an albums content can give a skewed time frame on my life…alot of people seem to think I’ve been through the relationship wringer many times based on lyrics but in fact other than our big breakup Kath & I have been steady for most of my adult life (I’m 27)…I’m actually very into my little home and a sort of stable life…I guests I jsut think alot and that’s what comes out in the lyrics.”

He ended the 2-page letter:

“there’s a waitress at our favourite restaurant who reminds me a bit of you, so don’t think you were forgotten”.

So if you like things quiet-ish, check out Barlow’s solo stuff. Want your ears to bleed? Go Dinosaur Jr. Want to be a totally superior indie record store clerk? Go Sebadoh. If you’re like me, and like all three, get the entire discography. Like, stat. There’s some great guitar – both loud and soft – and tremendous songwriting on all three.

Want to be nice? Congratulate Lou and Kath on the birth of their second child, a son, Hendrix Wexford Barlow, who was born in late November. Go to www.twitter.com/loubarlow and tell them the Backstage Rider sent you. To long-time loves, long letters and longevity. \m/

Check out: www.loobiecore.com for more information.