A Question of Sound #1: The Ear-Splitting Return of My Bloody Valentine
Whether you like it or not, a lot of people get their music for free these days. Rare tracks, unreleased albums, even entire back catalogues – they’re all readily available at the click of a mouse. It just depends on your ethical standpoint, your level of computer expertise and, perhaps most significantly, the size of your hard drive. But if the perceived worth of recorded music has declined in the last decade, then the stock of live music has surely risen. Even with live video streams and concert DVDs, there’s no experience that comes close to just being there. This is perhaps why the reunion show has become such a big concept in the last five years or so.
As someone who worries far too much about things like artistic legacies, I’ve made a habit of avoiding almost all of the grizzled legends currently blazing the comeback trail; notable exceptions include Dinosaur Jr (definitely worth it) and Janes Addiction (a favour to a friend, and probably not). When the long-awaited live return of My Bloody Valentine was announced in November 2007, however, I found myself overcome with a sense of giddy excitement and anticipation that I haven’t experienced in response to a musical event, be it an album release or a live show, for a very long time. Now, I could happily scribble a 1,000 word hypothesis as to why an MBV comeback felt so right, but I’m assuming you’d sooner hear about the comeback itself. So I’ll try to focus on that without running off on too many tangents...
Having ordered three tickets for the Saturday show at London’s Roundhouse, I proceeded to tell everyone I knew (well, anyone who would be at least marginally interested) the good news. And then I waited. In April one of my friends phoned up to tell me that he wouldn’t be able to attend the London show (a friend’s wedding was his dismal excuse – priorities, eh?). This turned out to be a blessing in disguise. Determined not to miss out, he bought two tickets for the Manchester Apollo show on 29/6/2008 and invited me along. My excitement levels literally doubled, I began counting the days.
. . .
As we enter the rather attractive amphitheatre of Camden’s Roundhouse, we are greeted by one of the security guards who is enthusiastically handing out earplugs. He has a word of warning for those who decline his offer: “Are you sure? You’ll regret it!” I’m too young to have seen My Bloody Valentine prior to the legendary extended hiatus, but I’ve heard plenty of stories (and rumours) about the blistering noise sections, in particular the cacophonous middle eight-thousand of You Made Me Realise. I love music, I value my hearing - I’ll take a pair of your earplugs please, sir.
After a brief but enjoyable set from Sonic Boom (highlight: a heavenly version of Transparent Radiation) the four original members My Bloody Valentine – who incidentally look pretty much unchanged from the Loveless era publicity shots – take to the stage and launch into a meaty version of Only Shallow. I promptly insert my newly acquired ear plugs and something approaching the song’s vocal melody becomes apparent. And it sounds fantastic.
One of my favourite things about Loveless is the way it seems to possess different sonic qualities at different volumes; in the live setting, with a pair of earplugs, it is possible to have a similar experience, although in the louder sections there is the added bonus of a more physical element. At various intervals tonight I can genuinely feel my thorax vibrating. I can almost visualise the ossicles in my ears whirring away like miniature pneumatic drills, conducting the thunderous noise of the band, those little hammers and anvils beating in time with Colm O’Ciosoig’s powerful, metronomic drumming.
The band manages to get through a surprising number of classic tracks tonight – indeed, they play pretty much everything you’d want them to play: When You Sleep, Sueisfine, (When You Wake) You’re Still In A Dream, Come In Alone, To Hear Knows When, Feed Me With Your Kiss, Nothing Much To Lose, etc.
Nevertheless, the obvious highlights for me – as conventional as this may be – are still Soon, the peerless shimmering dance-shoegaze crossover, and the live signature track, You Made Me Realise. Every great band should have a classic track that frustratingly isn’t on any of its albums; this is My Bloody Valentine’s. It’s Kevin Shields’ best kept secret and tonight, true to form, it is transformed into thirty-minute ear-splitting monster. To say the noise levels during the extended noise section are uncomfortable would be a gross understatement: I try taking my earplugs out for a minute and I can barely believe it. Those ossicles I was talking about are presumably in the process of constructing a picket line as I insert those little foam protectors back into my ear canals. It’s abrasive, but with something to take the edge of the volume levels (which, if you believe everything you read in Internet forums, peaks at around 130dB) it’s an interesting physical experience. Not something you’d want to do every day and, looking around me at some of the contorted, uncomfortable facial expressions, clearly not something you’d want to expose naked eardrums to for any significant length of time.
You Made Me Realise rounds off a memorable set and as I leave the Roundhouse with my ears ringing I feel slightly smug in knowledge that I’ll be returning for a second helping of My Bloody Valentine in eight days time. Did I say slightly smug? Sorry, that should read enormously smug.
London Set List:
Only Shallow
When You Sleep
You Never Should
When You Wake
Cigarette In Your Bed
I Only Said
Come In Alone
Thorn
Nothing Much To Lose
To Here Knows When
Slow
Blown A Wish
Soon
Feed Me With Your Kiss
Sueisfine
You Made Me Realise
. . .
Sunday June 28 – The Apollo, Manchester
Here we are again. A different venue and a different friend to share the experience with, but the same brilliant band. Buoyed by my experience at the Roundhouse, and perhaps influenced by a few days in our nation’s capital, I soon find myself becoming one of those annoyingly arrogant audience members that thinks he knows better than everyone else. “Of course, they’ll start with Only Shallow” I condescendingly tell my friend, seconds before being blown away by a rousing version of I Only Said. In an instant I feel rather foolish.
There aren’t too many other major surprises tonight, although I can’t help but feel I’m watching a technically tighter group of musicians. With the exception of a clunky false start on either When You Sleep or Only Shallow, I forget which one, the songs sound more rehearsed tonight, as you’d expect from a band with a handful of reunion shows under its belt. Perhaps it’s because of my position in relation to the speakers, although more likely it’s because I’m sober this time, but the overall sound quality seems less muddy tonight, too.
I find myself enjoying some of the more unsung tunes like Cigarette in Your Bed, which I couldn’t even remember them playing in London, and the dirge-y Slow (also from the You Made Me Realise EP). Come In Alone and Blown A Wish are also pretty great.
I didn’t see anyone handing out earplugs at the start of the night this time round, and consequently You Made Me Realise manages to claim a few more victims than it did in London: from my vantage point I can see at least one person crying, which isn’t really a surprise. I’m pretty sure there are jet engines out there that kick out less noise than My Bloody Valentine at full tilt. And you wouldn’t put your head next to one of those, would you?
Manchester Set List:
I Only Said
When You Sleep
(When You Wake) You're Still In A Dream
You Never Should
Cigarette In Your Bed
Come In Alone
Only Shallow
Thorn
Nothing Much To Lose
To Here Knows When
Blown A Wish
Slow
Soon
Feed Me With Your Kiss
Sueisfine
You Made Me Realise