So I went to see Band of Horses and Dinosaur Jr. a week ago at The Wiltern, mostly to see the former because they have become one of my all time favorite bands, Everything All The Time certainly one of my desert island albums. But I was also excited to see Dinosaur Jr., because, although I have to admit I never heard much of their music, "Feel The Pain" is actually one of my all time favorite songs. It's one of those songs (one of the better ones) that call to mind all the times I spent sitting in the back of the car on the way to and from high school, amid the endless repetition of songs deemed acceptable by KROQ. I saw Band of Horses the first time at The Echo last year, and it was such an amazing show that I was totally hyped up for this one. All week, just as psyched as I could possibly be. But I have to say, although The Wiltern show was certainly not bad, it nowhere near lived up to that first show. Maybe it was the recent story about Ben Bridwell going off at a fan for filming during one of their shows for her YouTube account, or the explanation in his defense on Pitchfork which gave me the suspicion that all is not quite right in Bridwell-land at the moment.

At The Echo, he was enthusiastic and funny, calling us "dudes" and making fun of himself for forgetting the lyrics. The band was intense and the crowd was totally into it; I was squished somewhere in the middle but I still had a decent view and the sound was great. But at The Wiltern, not only was the band a lot more low-key, but Bridwell himself was somber and hidden behind his new child-molester beard (why do good-looking guys do that?). He looked thinner and a little worn-down; the whole band seemed a bit stiff. Now I certainly understand that everyone has good nights and bad nights, but I wonder how much of it had to do with the YouTube incident. Bridwell's beef about fans only wanting to hear "Funeral" is a little silly, considering it is not only the single, but also one of the best songs on the album. As a musician, he really should accept the fact that at every show they ever play, until the end of the band's existence, there will always be at least one person in the crowd who has only heard the single. I don't think I've ever been to a show where people didn't cheer the loudest for the song that made it to radio, regardless of the genre. So just forget about it! Come on, smile, we love you, neck tattoos and all.

And in the case of the offending fan who filmed them during said song, I have only this to say: Musicians certainly don't have to like "new media", or even participate in it themselves, but they do have to understand and appreciate the ways in which it can help them. There is no point in making yourself miserable about it, insisting that it's annoying and cheesy. Ben, you may not ever want to watch yourself play on a tiny little YouTube window, (and you don't have to), but you have fans everywhere that honestly, honestly do. And they're not going to judge you for the bad sound.

I will say however that the show at The Wiltern was good, and the new songs were very good, so I'm still excited about Cease To Begin (Oct. 9th). Bridwell's voice was in top shape, earnest and sincere and slightly nasal as ever. There were new members in the band, including Bill Reynolds on bass who looks a tiny bit like Joe Dirt without the mullet, and makes extraordinary faces while he plays and an organ player who sang low backup vocals. Bridwell's one joke was that they were going to play "an exciting one, then a boring one, and then another exciting one", and when he started up the second, he said "Told you" to the ground, which made me laugh.

When it was all over, I was kindly handed earplugs by a friend for the notoriously loud Dinosaur Jr. (thank god), and once they started up, quickly got the impression I had stepped into a time machine, tuned straight for the mid 90s. Jay Mascis had the perfect long grunge hair, albeit gray, and Lou Barlow had the perfect 90s short hair (you know, parted in the middle and a bit poofy), and they sounded like they were wailing in the garage, Mascis taking every opportunity to wing it impressively on the guitar. My friends were irritated and called it excessive, but I thoroughly enjoyed it. I never even expected them to launch into "Feel The Pain", so when they actually did, it was treat.

And suddenly, there I was, that person in the crowd who (mostly) only knew the single. The crowd certainly did cheer the loudest when they started playing it. I only hope Ben was listening and took heart.

Photo of a previous Band of Horses show by mediaeater via Flickr