Tonight, legendary indie rock band and Guitar Hero veterans Dinosaur Jr. gets back to its college roots.
Dinosaur Jr., known as a defining member of the "college rock" genre, is touring secondary markets, returning to the college towns and smaller venues where it got its start.
Dinosaur Jr.'s influence has been far-reaching in the past 20 years, setting the precedent for punk, indie and alternative rock, said local promoter Ted Swanson, who organized tonight's show.
"Dinosaur changed what you could do in music. I worked with Nirvana back in the day and they were that band's No. 1 [influence]. In their very first press photo [Nirvana bassist] Krist [Novoselic] is wearing a Dinosaur Jr. T-shirt," Swanson said. "Thurston Moore, of Sonic Youth, said he was blown away the first time he saw them and their music stuck with him and grew on him."
The band, which reunited in 2005 after an eight-year hiatus, has a unique sound that is notoriously hard to pinpoint because of its wide range of influences, as bass player Lou Barlow attests.
"We're in our 40s now and grew up listening to music. We listen to both new music and '60s stuff, everything from Faces to classics like Sabbath and Zeppelin to obscure stuff like Om," Barlow said. "At the core we started as a hardcore band and our fullness of sound and energy is informed by our infatuations with hardcore punk."
The band recently finished recording its second album since reforming -- the as-yet-unreleased Farm -- but plans on sticking more to older music for this tour, Barlow said.
"We won't be playing a lot of new material. We're just trying to keep it simple," Barlow said. "We have to go back and refamiliarize ourselves with the new stuff so we are going to stick with what we know we can do."
Despite this, Barlow said the band's new material, as well as its performing abilities, has only flourished in the years since its reunion.
J Mascis, the band's singer and guitar player, "wrote parts that reflect the strengths of the band for the new record and it's much more natural than the last one," Barlow said. "We got a lot better as the reunion progressed. We're able to play looser and tighter at the same time."
Barlow, who left the band in 1989 after the release of Bug, said the old tensions in the band that forced him to leave are now nonexistent.
"Any problems we had when we were teenagers are irrelevant now," Barlow said. "J and I have families and understand what's important. There is no room for petty things."
The band has been extremely prolific since reuniting, recording two albums for two different labels and touring constantly. Barlow has also managed to make time to record a solo record.
"I just finished a solo record coming out this year," Barlow said. "Half of it is acoustic and half is very layered and features Melvins drummer Dale Crover."
Aside from the headliner, the show features strong and notable opening acts as well, Swanson said.
"Awesome Color is from Brooklyn and have been compared to Mudhoney, but I think they're better than that old Sub Pop sound," Swanson said. "They have a very strong sound; sonically, they are as thoughtful as Steve Albini breaking out every amp and busting all the tubes."
Illinois, which played the State Theatre last year, is another noteworthy band gaining momentum in indie circles. Swanson said Illinois is the "best band in Pennsylvania."
"I wasn't familiar with them at the time, but I still thought it was a great show," said Philip Levitsky (senior-business management) who saw Illinois in State College last year. "Some of their songs feature banjo being played in an interesting way, which is a nice change of pace."
Swanson said this is a special show for him and a special show for State College, too, which doesn't normally get these sorts of bands.
"This was our first opportunity to book Dinosaur, we would have booked them anytime but this tour is for secondary markets so it just made sense," Swanson said.
Barlow said the band is eager for the opportunity to play smaller venues on this tour as well.
"It's better to play the smaller places, and it definitely makes you look better when you sell out shows more often," Barlow joked, adding he likes the intimacy afforded by such venues.
