Patrick "Murph" Murphy, drummer for the band Dinosaur Jr., is a bit concerned about an upcoming Salt Lake City gig because it falls on Easter Sunday.
"I hope people come to the show," Murphy said by phone from Washington, D.C. "It's a little weird knowing we're going to be playing on Easter in a place that is pretty religious. But that's the way the tour schedule fell."
This is just not another tour for Dinosaur Jr.; it's a reunion.
The band members — guitarist/vocalist J. Mascis, bassist Lou Barlow and Murphy — haven't played as a group for more than 16 years. And Murphy and Mascis haven't played together since 1994.
So, what started the reunion rolling? Barlow's mother.
"Lou's mom works with a foundation that helps children with autism," said Murphy. "And Lou was doing some shows for the foundation. She got ahold of J., and J. and Lou began playing with each other. So the next step was to call me."
That was the "initial spark" the trio needed, said Murphy. "We've had friends and fans keep asking us to get back together. And we never thought it would happen."
One reason was intra-band tensions that ate away at the band in the early 1990s. "I was worried about how we would react to one another," said Murphy. "But when we met, it was like a new beginning. We had gotten over all the stupid stuff and were together to make music."
In summer 2005, Dinosaur Jr. announced its official reunion and hit the road playing European festivals and Japanese gigs. "Funny thing was, we didn't feel any pressure of trying to recapture our glory days," said Murphy. "I mean, with us, and this is not trying to sound arrogant, but the music is still strong. We just play it and let it do the talking. When we wrote those songs, it was the perfect time in our lives. And we flash back when we play."
When Murphy accepted the invitation to rejoin the band, he met Barlow in Los Angeles for a jam session.
"It was like the old days when we would play," said Murphy. "Lou and I would always start playing together while J. was upstairs working on guitar parts. It was just like that. Lou and I jammed around and then J. joined us later."
The first songs they played as they got back together were "Raisans" and "Sludgefeast," said Murphy. "Within an hour we were all back mentally. It was pretty incredible."
The reunion tour, so far, has been great for the band, said Murphy. "Our music has been around for so long, and we have a lot of fans."
What did surprise him was how many younger fans Dinosaur Jr. has gained over the years. "When we started going on this tour, I was taken aback at the age of the crowd. I was expecting older fans who were with us back in the 1980s. But we have been seeing kids at the shows. And I can roughly estimate that 85 percent of the audiences have been kids in their 20s."
Age also has another impact on the band — at least the band members, said Murphy. "The biggest challenge we have come up against is the fatigue. When we play, we give it our all. It's a high-energy show. But sometimes that wears you out. We find ourselves wiped out at some shows. But we always find the energy to give the fans what they want."
While the reunion has been great, Murphy and the boys are itching for the next step — a new album of new material. "We do have a live DVD coming out in August. We recorded some shows last winter, and J.'s brother-in-law (German filmmaker Phillip Virus) helped put it together.
"We are also rereleasing and remastering our catalog. And we're excited about that. But we do want to see if we can write some new songs and get them on a CD. It looks like that will be a reality once the tour is finished."
If you go
What: Dinosaur Jr.
Where: The Depot, 13 N. 400 West
When: Sunday, 9 p.m.
How much: $20
Phone: 467-8499 or 800-888-8499
Web: www.smithstix.com
E-mail: scott@desnews.com