A raucous crowd of aging grungers, long-haired heshers and youthful hipsters gathered into tiny, gauntlet-shaped NYC club Rebel Saturday night to worship at the altar of Dinosaur Jr., perhaps one of the most influential bands of the last twenty years. The band’s sound seems just as relevant now as it did when the Massachusetts outfit first started out in the mid-Eighties, and Saturday they delivered a set of ear blistering and nostalgic guitar heroics. Finally reunited following well publicized solo and side projects and long-lasting beefs, Dinosaur Jr.’s original line-up — guitarist/vocalist J. Mascis, bassist and vocalist Lou Barlow and drummer Murph — performed a set of cult favorites and material from their highly anticipated new album.

Bobbing backing and forth stiffly to the rhythm, Mascis flowed through effortless and shattering solos caked in fuzzy shrapnel and delivered via his new Fender Jazzmaster (a replacement following August’s Long Island equipment robbery). Barlow, who handled roughly one half of the Saturday’s vocal duties, swayed and bounced in the shadows, striking his bass in unison with the bang, crash and roll of Murph’s drumming. Midway through their set, he lofted a drum stick into the crowd striking a fan in the head. The ecstatic Dino-buff, no worse for the wear, lifted the stick in the air and let out a joyful whoop.

Cutting through cult favorites “The Lung,” from 1987’s praised You’re Living All Over Me, Green Mind’s “Wagon” and Without a Sound’s “Feel the Pain,” the aging power trio showed no signs of musical decay. After roughly one hour of intense axe shredding the band took a brief pause before returning for a powerful cover of The Cure’s “Just Like Heaven.” Complete with screeching guitar solos and abrasive backing vocals courtesy of Barlow, the rendition offered an added highlight to an already remarkable return to arms for the beloved indie band.