J Mascis, Scala - music review

Three decades since Dinosaur Jr's discordant debut, J Mascis is now officially an alternative rock guitar god (the long white hair and beard help). An Eighties influence on Nirvana, last year he played with the surviving members to commemorate the 20th anniversary of Kurt Cobain’s death.

This gig must also have been a little daunting for Mascis: seated and performing alone in the spirit of his solo album, Tied to a Star, there was nowhere to hide.

His warm, sometimes keening voice was accompanied by a country-folk flavour on Listen to Me, but then he showed what he could really do with an acoustic guitar and fuzz distortion pedal.

Me Again was a gorgeous tune with a raw edge, Every Morning proved Mascis can still write slacker anthems and he unleashed his shredding guitar sound on Dinosaur Jr’s Get Me.

Mascis was — somehow — an even better player when he didn’t have to worry about singing during the twanging instrumental, Drifter.

He was a laconic presence between songs though his inventive distortion — and a genuine mishap towards the end — made this performance excitably precarious.

As a musician who could play acoustic guitar and still make you feel the need for earplugs, J Mascis easily lived up to his status as a rock deity.