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Listen to Dinosaur Jr.’s new live album, Emptiness At The Sinclair

Dinosaur Jr. have released a new 16-song live album, Emptiness At The Sinclair, recorded in Boston earlier this year.

Listen to Dinosaur Jr.’s new live album, Emptiness At The Sinclair
Words:
Emily Carter

As they prepare to make a proper return to gigs next year, Dinosaur Jr. have just shared new live album, Emptiness At The Sinclair, recorded as part of a livestream in Boston to a crowd of no-one (as the title suggests).

"It was odd going back to Harvard Square for the Sinclair show, lots of closed shops, less car and foot traffic, my first time back in a big-city since it all went down," explains Lou Barlow. "I had lived in Boston for about 10 years from the late ’80s-’90s and the bustling square was a common destination to look for records and meet with friends. The empty pandemic feel spooked me.

"Playing for a livestream is like pushing a rock up a hill trying to recreate the vibe of a real show. The isolation of the last year had made me nervous about performing again, especially in the context of Dinosaur Jr. where I typically rely on the energy of our crowd. Playing to an invisible audience and a real-time sparsely populated room of people doing their jobs – running lights, sound and staring at – was something different and, again, weird.

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"Despite all my lockdown doubts once we started playing things clicked. My mind didn’t highjack me and it quickly began to feel like a real show. Having a few decent gigs on the Sinclair stage before, it began to feel familiar and, for lack of a better word, friendly. It will be much more of a relief to get back on tour but, this Sinclair show was a good band-aid, so to speak.“

Listen to Emptiness At The Sinclair below:

Catch Dinosaur Jr. live at the following dates next year:

March 2022

27 Dublin, IE @ Vicar Street
28 Manchester, UK @ O2 Ritz Manchester
30 Hull, UK @ Asylum
31 Glasgow, UK @ QMU

April 2022

2 London, UK @ O2 Academy Brixton
3 Amsterdam, NL @ Melkweg
5 Antwerp, BE @ Trix
6 Hamburg, DE @ Markthalle Hamburg
7 Cologne, DE @ Carlswerk Victoria
9 Lausanne, CH @ Les Docks
10 Paris, FR @ Le Trabendo
12 Munich, DE @ Muffathalle
13 Berlin, DE @ Columbiahalle

June 2022

2 Barcelona, ES @ Primavera Sound
11 Porto, PT @ NOS Primavera Sound Festival

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