Revitalized

Two years ago, Dinosaur Jr. seemed forever destined to remain a beloved name on a headstone in the graveyard of grunge. Then the original lineup reunited, despite an acrimonious, 18-year rift between frontman J Mascis and bassist Lou Barlow. The sludge-and-honey band’s attuned new album, “Beyond,” seems proof that the reunion is working, but the group’s performance Friday at the Troubadour, the first of a three-night stand, revealed that although the chemistry is still potent, it’s also a bit strained.

Standing on opposite sides of the stage like chess pieces, bolstered by individual walls of Marshall amps, the silver-haired wizard of the guitar solo and the forever-wounded beta male barely acknowledged each other. Instead, they chose to relate subtle musical cues through ally-drummer Murph, who charged through their burning maelstrom with chest-rattling bass drum. The onstage chill didn’t feel counter-productive to the music, more like a reiteration of Dino’s burly, contentious dynamic.

The hangdog outfit has always offset its virtuosity with self-incriminating lyrics about miscommunication. So it seemed appropriate that while Barlow bounced his wavy mop of black hair and Mascis stumbled around in a savant’s coma, the fortysomething men let their respective instruments do all the talking, often to their detriment.

For at least 30 minutes, Mascis’ croaky vocals were obscured by the band’s blasts of molten rock. The audience was pummeled into gently swaying submission, although it came to life once it got to oldies hour. “Feel the Pain” clearly delivered as the trio revitalized the loud-soft song structure, injecting it with more speed and destruction. The band closed with the Cure’s “Just Like Heaven,” a Dinosaur single from 1989. Sealed in a hornet’s nest of mud and distortion, the former life of the goth-sprite love song was all but obliterated.