Dinosaur Jr Drummer Will Play Remaining Aus Shows After Sydney Absence

Fans of influential US rockers Dinosaur Jr can rest easy ahead of the remainder of their mostly sold-out Australian tour following an unplanned absence from beloved drummer Emmett "Murph" Murphy at last night's show at the Metro Theatre.

As noted by our reviewer at the gig, Chris Familton, the kit was instead manned by Kyle Spence, of US outfit Harvey Milk and a previous collaborator of Dinosaur Jr frontman J Mascis.

The explanation given by Mascis at the time, according to the writer, was that the "government wouldn't let Murph into the country, so we brought Kyle".

Although the unexpected line-up change apparently caused a sense of "unease" among the crowd, it was swiftly apparent that Spence "had the chops to nail the songs," Familton wrote.

The Music has since clarified that the drummer's absence was due to an issue with a flight being redirected to San Jose rather than San Francisco, consequently affecting Murph's connections and ability to make the show on time.

He has since arrived, however, and will play all remaining shows on the tour, starting with tonight's sold-out performance at The Triffid, in Brisbane.

Tickets remain for the band's shows at the Gold Coast and in Byron Bay and Adelaide before they wrap up with a double sold-out showing at The Croxton in Melbourne.

For more information and dates, see theGuide.