My Bloody Valentine London

I didn’t actually intend on writing a review of My Bloody Valentine’s live return. I was set to see the fourth night of five at the Camden Roundhouse, and I figured by then, the world would be flooded with reviews. As it turned out, I attended both the first and fourth nights but was too excited / couldn’t hold a drink and a pen and notebook at the same time to take notes. So we’re relying on some fuzzy, jet-lagged memories here . . .

Reading through some of the now-published reviews, I’ve learned only two things:

1. The gigs were loud.
2. The 20ish-minute span of noise during “You Made Me Realise” was very loud. (And back in the day, it was called “the Holocaust.”)

These things are true, but nobody is really addressing the big question here: Are My Bloody Valentine still any good?

Forget the naysayers (because there will, undoubtedly, be people cooler than you or I will ever be who say nay). They were fantastic.

This doesn’t mean that they were perfect. Did they make mistakes? Sure. On both nights I saw them, at least one song fell apart nearly completely. Did it matter? God no. The band picked themselves up and got on with it. I’ve seen plenty of reunion tours where every song was pristine—this was far more interesting.

The band kicked off Friday night’s gig with “Only Shallow” before tearing ferociously through the rest of the set. It was everything I ever imagined an MBV gig would be—strobe lights, amorphous, multi-colored visuals, and loud everything except the vocals. In fact, without the vocal melodies as a guide, it was sometimes difficult to know where you were in a song. Only Colm O’Ciosoig’s drums let me know when we’d reached the chorus of “Blown A Wish.”

By Monday night, perhaps fatigue was setting in because the night’s performance was an altogether less frantic affair. Despite being essentially the same setlist played in a different order, it felt like a totally different show. Some of the songs sounded rather different from the way they’d been played two nights before. Hell, some of the songs were barely recognizable. But therein lies the beauty of seeing My Bloody Valentine live. Instead of playing their records verbatim, they explore and expand upon their songs.

Unfortunately, some of the melodies and complexities that make My Bloody Valentine songs so good are exactly what got lost in the loud, muddy sound at the Roundhouse. While frustrating, it wasn’t gig-ruining, and earplugs on the fourth night allowed me to drown out some of the muddiness and pick up the vocals (the band, in fact, recommended earplugs for the gigs).

The first night I experienced the “You Made Me Realise” sonic assault, it was sort of interesting and amusing. Yes, it’s unbelievably loud (according to rumor, it reached 129 decibels—basically like a military jet taking off next to your head). Yes, you could feel the noise vibrating through you. And yes, some people had their hands over their ears / left / threw up. But once you’ve experienced it once, there’s really no need to go through it again. On the fourth night, I ducked out about fifteen minutes into it (only to pass the Klaxons, looking awestruck).

While a reunion like this is bound to be viewed through some rose-tinted glasses, My Bloody Valentine stood on their own as an incredible live band. Each member integral to the whole, the band wove all of their parts together not just to play songs, but to create an immense sonic experience. As an audience member, you can’t help but be drawn in and made a part of that experience, which is exactly as music should be.

Erin Cramer


Friday, June 20th setlist:

Only Shallow
When You Sleep
You Never Should
When You Wake
Lose My Breath
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


Monday, June 23rd setlist:

I Only Said
When You Sleep
(When You Wake) You’re Still In A Dream
You Never Should
Lose My Breath
Come In Alone
Only Shallow
Thorn
Nothing Much To Lose
To Here Knows When
Slow
Blown A Wish
Soon
Feed Me With Your Kiss
Sueisfine
You Made Me Realise