Dinosaur Jr.: Tiny Desk (Home) Concert

473,548 views

Dinosaur Jr.: Tiny Desk (Home) Concert with tags npr, npr music, national public radio, live, performance, tiny desk, tiny desk concert, tony desk, tiny concert

The Tiny Desk is working from home for the foreseeable future. Introducing NPR Music's Tiny Desk (home) concerts, bringing you performances from across the country and the world. It's the same spirit — stripped-down sets, an intimate setting — just a different space.

Stephen Thompson | Aug. 3, 2021

In the year-plus that we’ve been recording Tiny Desk (home) concerts, artists have worked hard to reproduce the Tiny Desk vibe through special effects ranging from Phoebe Bridgers’ Oval Office backdrop to clipping.’s tininess-enhancing miniature set. For Dinosaur Jr., the spirit of the Tiny Desk can be found in an under-appreciated facet of the series: the ever-evolving array of tchotchkes, promo pieces and other bits of pop-cultural detritus that line the shelves behind Bob Boilen’s desk.

Dinosaur Jr.’s own home concert — “home” in this case being the stage of an empty Shea Theater in Turners Falls, Mass. — is set amid its own enviable assortment of oddities, from stuffed animals to a Mork action figure to a copy of the album A Christmas Together by John Denver & The Muppets. And you don’t stick around as a band for all or part of five decades without knowing a little something about product placement: Dinosaur Jr.’s terrific new album, Sweep It Into Space, is prominently located near the wee plastic desk that sits front and center onstage.

Naturally, that album dominates this five-song set, which finds the trio of singer-guitarist J Mascis, singer-bassist Lou Barlow and drummer Murph sounding as fluid and forceful and gnarly as ever. Mascis gets to unleash a few shredding solos, Barlow gets to take the lead in “Garden” and Murph gets to do his thing in close proximity to a pair of large dinosaur-shaped balloons. Plus, longtime fans get treated to two towering classics from earlier in Dinosaur Jr.’s excellent career: “Feel the Pain,” from 1994’s Without a Sound, and “Freak Scene,” which opens 1988’s Bug.

SET LIST

"I Ain't"

"Garden"

"Feel the Pain"

"I Ran Away"

"Freak Scene"

MUSICIANS

J Mascis: vocals, guitar, bass

Lou Barlow: vocals, bass, guitar

Murph: drums

CREDITS

Director: Joe Salinas

1st AD: John William Moloney

Camera Operators: Chris Hillen, Robert Thomas, John Moloney, Joe Salinas

Editor/Colorist: Joe Salinas

Assistant Editor: Chris Hillen, Justin Pizzoferrato

Art Director/Set Design: John William Moloney

Sound Mixer/Sound Design: Justin Pizzoferrato

Lighting Technician: Wyatt Andrews

Production Assistant: Marc Seedorf

Executive Producers: Amy Abrams, Brian Schwartz

Producer: John William Moloney

Filmed at the Shea Theater in Turner Falls, MA

TINY DESK TEAM

Producer: Bob Boilen

Video Producer: Maia Stern

Audio Mastering: Alex Drewenskus

Associate Producer: Bobby Carter

Tiny Production Team: Kara Frame, Josh Rogosin, Gabrielle Pierre

Executive Producer: Keith Jenkins

Senior VP, Programming: Anya Grundmann

#tinydesk #nprmusic #dinosaurjr