The Stub Project: Dinosaur Jr. – Cabaret Metro – 2.14.1992

Wow, that’s a pretty good Valentine’s Day show. I can’t help but wonder if the fact that I can’t remember a single thing about this concert has anything to do with my failure to still be with the woman I lived with (and presumably my date that night) when Valentine’s Day 1993 came around.

I do, however, remember my recent attempt to see Dinosaur Jr.’s reunion show in Victoria, BC in November 2009. So, while this stub is humbling, it is nonetheless a window into the pitfalls of trying to relive the forgotten past.

And I can’t say I wasn’t warned.

“Noooooooo …. Dude! Don’t do it. You go into the vortex and you never get out. That place is HELL!!!!” That’s what a young skate-rat on the streets of Victoria told me and my friend Jonathan when we mentioned that we were going to see Dinosaur Jr. play at the club Sugar later that night.

Naturally, I suspected he was on drugs or perhaps a schizophrenic (simply an observation, not a judgment).  It turns out that he is a modern day Nostradamus. As prophesied, the only thing sweet about Sugar is its alluring name. I would come to learn the hard way that this venue is like candy in a pedophile’s hand and whatever you do, don’t get in that van. You’re in for a rough ride.

The stage was buried in a hole in what can only be described as an extremely narrow and confining space. Not only had the street urchins of Victoria pointed out that the sound system is awful, but it was pretty clear that due to the low, cascading ceiling that the acoustics were going to suck as well. In an awful venue, your only hope is to get close to the stage, so Jonathan and I figured out best bet was to make our way to the front. After all, Dinosaur Jr. brought several stacks of Marshall amps. All our problems were theoretically solved.

With only minutes to go before Dinosaur was set to take the stage, we were ready to bask in the waves of crunching guitar. Unfortunately, to add to their claustrophobia-inducing layout, the venue had absolutely no circulation and it was so unbearably hot that each step closer to the stage was one step closer to the heart of hell. The band hadn’t even started and I was growing faint.

Having never fainted before, I tried to fight it, but alas, it was a battle I was destined to lose. I blacked out before the show even started. Now I know what it was like to be a 14 year old girl at a Beatles concert. I was back on my feet in no time and Jonathan heroically got me to the hallway that leads to the street and in a few minutes, I was seemingly fine. The music beckoned, but unfortunately, each time we tried to make our way back into the crowd (i.e. the Vortex), I was overwhelmed by the heat and had to retreat. We eventually gave up and went back to our hotel before the second song even began.

I suppose I should be grateful to Sugar for the good times. Not only have I gotten a glimpse of hell, but I’ve also seen a preview of what it’s like to die. In the scheme of life, this isn’t exactly unwelcome knowledge to have … but I really would have just liked to have seen a bit more of Dinosaur Jr. While I’m pretty sure I had an exponentially better time in 1992, at least this time I remembered it.

Live on the BBC, 1993: