Friday, Aug. 12, 2005 | 8:16 a.m.
For more than a decade, the odds of the original Dinosaur Jr. reuniting seemed about as good as the chances of real dinosaurs walking the earth again.
After all, we're talking about a dissolution so bitter that it inspired one ex-member to write a series of songs bashing a former bandmate.
But in April vocalist/guitarist J Mascis, bassist/vocalist Lou Barlow and drummer Emmett Jefferson "Murph" Murphy III shockingly re-formed, and the three have managed to stay on speaking terms and on the road together since.
"We've all done enough stuff since Dino that I think it's the old cliche of time heals all wounds," Murph said in a phone interview from a hotel in Stockholm, Sweden. "It was enough time that we could get over our differences."
The reunion of Mascis and Barlow is particularly surprising, considering Mascis booted Barlow from the band in 1989. That move prompted Barlow's angry retaliation via several tracks with his lo-fi outfit, Sebadoh, including one entitled "The Freed Pig."
"I was surprised that Lou and J would work together again," Murph said. "The early days were totally horrible, totally negative and really volatile. And they have the singer-songwriter creative differences, which makes things even weirder. When you add that into the mix it's really hard."
Fortunately for local fans of the influential indie-rock trio, Dinosaur Jr. has stayed intact long enough to reach Las Vegas, where the band kicks off an eight-date West Coast swing at the House of Blues at Mandalay Bay on Saturday night.
Doors open at 6:30 p.m. for the 18-and-over show, with alaska! and the Omens pencilled in as support acts. Tickets cost $22 to $30.
From 1983 to 1989, the founding Dinosaur Jr. lineup along with fellow Massachusetts-based outfit the Pixies headed a movement of noisy, guitar-driven rockers that laid down the sludgy blueprint for 1990s grunge.
Murph remained in the band for four years after Barlow's exit, then Mascis soldiered on under the Dinosaur Jr. name until 1997, when he released the last album under that moniker.
Murph joined the Lemonheads for a time. Mascis moved from project to project, most recently J Mascis & The Fog. And Barlow became a lo-fi legend, releasing a stream of indie-rock favorites with Sebadoh, Sentridoh, the Folk Implosion and under his own name.
The healing process for the three men began in 2003, when Barlow joined Mascis' Stooges cover band briefly during a live appearance. Last year the two teamed again at a benefit concert, at the behest of Barlow's mother.
Then, around the time Mascis got to work on remastered versions of Dinosaur Jr.'s first three albums -- 1985's "Dinosaur," 1987's "You're Living All Over Me" and 1988's "Bug" -- Murph received the call he thought would never come.
"I was at my mother's house around Christmas time and J's manager tracked me down," the 40-year-old Murph said. "I was like, 'Wow ... OK.' So it just started from there, and once it started we kind of opened the doors of communication and started calling each other again."
The trio returned to the stage at an April gig in Los Angeles, and have been on tour ever since, hitting Europe, the East Coast, Japan and Europe again before returning to the U.S. this week. Another European jaunt looms later this month.
For his part, Murph is having a blast playing songs he hasn't performed in 12 years.
"I think we feel like the live shows are really good. I'm really into J's guitar playing now, and Lou's bass playing," he said. "In the old days it was more of a struggle. There was just so much going on, it was hard to really enjoy what we were doing.
"If anything, I think we're a lot more powerful. We're definitely louder now than we were back then."
As for whether Dinosaur Jr.'s unexpected second coming will last beyond September, or whether the trio will record again, Murph isn't predicting anything. He learned better long ago.
"We're just seeing it as now through the summer and then we'll see what happens," he said. "We really haven't planned anything. We're gonna need a rest after this because it's been so many dates and so many shows in a short period of time. Then we'll sit back and reflect and see what happens."
Quick hits
Vegoose heats up: Canadian hipsters the Arcade Fire are one of four confirmed additions to the lineup for the upcoming Vegoose festival, slated for Oct. 29 and 30 at Sam Boyd Stadium and its adjacent fields.
The Arcade Fire, which released its superb debut full-length album, "Funeral," last year, has been the talk of the indie scene for months, and deservedly so. The Montreal collective attracted an overflow crowd at this year's Coachella Festival, and are likely to do so again at Vegoose.
Rapper Talib Kweli, jam band Umphrey's McGee and funk outfit ALO (Animal Liberation Orchestra) have also been added to the lineup, organizers announced early Thursday.
Tickets for Vegoose go on sale at 10 a.m. Saturday exclusively through Web site www.vegoose.com. Two-day tickets cost $128.50, not including shipping fees.
Previously confirmed acts: Dave Matthews & Friends, Jack Johnson, Widespread Panic, Phil Lesh & Friends with Ryan Adams, the Meters, Trey Anastasio, the Flaming Lips, String Cheese Incident, Primus, Ween, the Shins, moe., Spoon, Gov't Mule, Digable Planets, North Mississippi Allstars, Michael Franti & Spearhead, the Decemberists, Atmosphere, Blackalicious, the Magic Numbers and Lyrics Born.
Best bets: A look at a few of the shows scheduled to hit Southern Nevada in the next week:
Clark County's annual "Moonlight Concert Series" begins its 10th installment Saturday night, when country singer-songwriter Shelby Lynne plays the Government Center Amphitheater.
The 36-year-old Lynne, who won the Best New Artist Grammy award in 2000, most recently released the stripped-down "Suit Yourself" in May.
Tickets are $8 in advance and $12 at the gate. Doors open at 6:30 p.m.
Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers play a rare club show at The Joint at the Hard Rock Hotel on Tuesday.
Petty, who released his latest album, "The Last DJ," in 2002, has dubbed his latest sojourn the "For the Hell of it Tour." Doors open at 7 p.m. Tickets were sold out at press time, and going for around $100 apiece on eBay this week.
Chicago-based rapper Common hits the House of Blues at Mandalay Bay for an after-hours set on Thursday night.
Common's socially conscious rhymes should appeal to fans of such acts as Mos Def, De La Soul and a Tribe Called Quest. His latest CD, May's "Be," has been widely hailed as one of the year's best hip-hop releases.
Doors to the 21-and-over show open at midnight. Tickets are $27 to $35.
On sale
Garbage lands at The Joint on Sept. 15. Tickets are $31 and go on sale at noon Saturday at the Hard Rock box office, at Ticketmaster outlets, by phone at 474-4000 and at www.ticketmaster.com.
Styx and REO Speedwagon pair for an Oct. 1 date at the Orleans Arena. Tickets are $37 to $90 and are on sale now through Coast Casinos ticket centers, by phone at 284-7777 and at www.orleansarena.com.
Lucinda Williams returns to the House of Blues on Sept. 8. Tickets are $25 to $35 and are on sale now through the House of Blues box office and Ticketmaster.
Henry Rollins brings his spoken word act back to the House of Blues on Nov. 26. Tickets are $20 and go on sale at 10 a.m. Saturday.
Flogging Molly headlines the "1/2 Way to the Green 17 Tour" at the House of Blues on Sept. 16. Tickets are $18 and go on sale at 10 a.m. Saturday.
Story of the Year plays the House of Blues on Sept. 25, with opening acts Funeral For a Friend, Anberlin and He Is Legend. Tickets are $17.50 and go on sale at 10 a.m. Saturday.
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