Pop Break Live: Dinosaur Jr. with Snail Mail and Easy Action ‘Summer Tour 2025’ at The Stone Pony Summer Stage in Asbury Park, NJ on Saturday July 19, 2025
I can’t hear.
On Saturday, July 19, I caught Dinosaur Jr. at The Stone Pony Summer Stage, and I still can’t hear.
A few living names defined the ’90s, such as Thom Yorke, Stephen Malkmus, and Eddie Vedder, but none play as loudly and unceremoniously as J Mascis and the Dino gang.
Dinosaur Jr. has been a staple in rock music since their debut in 1985, and outside of a break from 1997 to 2005, the band never stopped ripping. Tearing into their guitars and leaving little room for lyrics is all they did when they took the stage last Saturday.
Any fan of Dino who hasn’t seen them since the ’90s will immediately notice an unfamiliar crowd when entering the venue. Rather than a pit of sweaty teen to twenty-somethings, Asbury was filled with all ages, all genders, and all different band tees–as if Bruce was playing.
Easy Action, a heavy rock band from Detroit led by Nick Cave’s doppelgänger, John Brannon, began the show as fans trickled in from the boardwalk. Their scream-filled guitar crunching hinted at where the crowd ventured during Dino’s set. No mosh pits yet, but plenty of careless arm-jabbing and swinging.
Snail Mail, Maryland-born indie singer, hopped on stage and mellowed things out shortly after. If Dino brought fury, Snail Mail gave way to the night’s calmest moments. Their set may have lacked the energy of Easy Action and Dino; however, their youthful spunk was a nice break from the heat.
At sundown, Dinosaur Jr strummed their way on stage, opening with 40-year-old “Severed Lips.” The barricade erupted, celebrating the band’s first Summer Stage gig in 9 years.
Standing right in front of Mascis’s mic, triangulated by six massive Marshall amps, my ears began to feel the pain. It’s not until the songs are over that you realize how much your entire body is ringing.
Through the first few songs, the crowd split into those waiting to mosh and those dreading the mosh at the sign of the first gnarly note on “Kracked,” an opening formed between Mascis and Lou Barlow (Bass, Vocals). The punk-rock aspiring kids began the party without needing to drop anything.
Nearly every song from then on featured a mosh of some sort. “Little Fury Things,” one of their heaviest songs, showcased J’s unbelievable speed on his signature Squier Jazzmaster. With every song, Mascis, Barlow, and Murph (Drums) remind the crowd that they can rip as well as they did back in ‘85.
While Dino’s studio performance evenly split the time between lyrics and guitar solos, the lyrics are often an afterthought during live shows. I often forgot to sing along on songs I knew the words to because my mind was still on the instrumentation. Their ‘90s flair comes alive in these moments; even though they’re playing harder than most touring bands today, they act as if nothing happened–Mascis will destroy a guitar solo and exit the song with a sly shrug.
The overlooked debut, Dinosaur, is turning 40 later this year, and to commemorate the LP, Dino Jr. ended the main set with Barlow-led “Gargoyle.” Barlow left the group in 1989 to pursue his career with Sebadoh and seemed thrilled to play multiple cuts off the only album he shares the mic with Mascis. The set ended with more expansive solos, leaving the crowd-surfing audience begging for more.
When the band returned for an encore, J asked, “Any requests?” A surprise to any setlist.fm users as the tour setlists had been the same every night. Someone in the front row must have yelled, “Start Choppin’,” and the guys broke into it for the first time this tour. Dinosaur never had an indie hit turned chart topper like “Smells Like Teen Spirit” or “Creep.” What they did have is the alternative rock anthems that shaped the bands of the 2000s and today. “Feel The Pain” and “Start Choppin’” share a place among the legendary ‘90s songs that never topped the charts like “Carry The Zero,” “Cut Your Hair,” and “She Don’t Use Jelly.”
The Cure and The Stooges influenced Dino’s final song choices as the band said goodnight to Asbury with their iconic rendition of “Just Like Heaven,” and a seething cover of “T.V. Eye.” The covers perfectly wrapped up the evening of solos, moshes, and ‘90s nostalgia.
Dinosaur Jr. will forever be ‘90s. Seeing them isn’t seeing a nostalgia act. They’ve been together so long that their true purpose is clear when they come on stage: play loud, have fun. I saw Dinosaur Jr last Saturday, and I’m still struggling to hear.
Dinosaur Jr. is currently touring North America with Easy Action and Snail Mail. Get Tickets here.
