Photo by Isaac Watson
There are many ways people get excited for a gig, for some it may be that first step into the venue and seeing the stage, for others maybe waking up on the day knowing there is a gig that night, for me, however, it was when a pair of luminous foam earplugs were plonked in my hand by a security guard.
That’s how you know you’re entering a My Bloody Valentine gig.
I have always heard stories of the deafening tones of Kevin Shields’ signature Jazzmaster destroying people’s eardrums, but I always dismissed them, thinking to myself, ‘Why would they purposefully deafen their own fans? Wouldn’t that slow down ticket sales?’
And so, in this optimism of, ‘it surely can’t be that loud, can it?’ I decided to leave the earplugs in their plastic bag. That lasted about halfway through the opening track of the night, 1991’s ‘I Only Said’, with the perfect synchronicity of Shields’ dreamlike guitar and the dense roots of bassist Debbie Googe, coming together to fill the mammoth 21 meters that make up Manchester’s Aviva Studios.
And it was whilst frantically trying to protect my hearing for the next twenty years I had a chance to absorb all that was around me, a diverse crowd, people both young and old, all transfixed under the same fluorescent pink glow synonymous with the band, for a moment it was complete harmony, before all the chaos the rest of the night held, just one audience all starstruck they were actually witnessing a triumphant return they have been waiting ten years for.
As the gig goes on, I can see Shields getting increasingly frustrated with the sound, constantly stepping to the side and at one point seems to mouth ‘It’s not right’, and this eventually reaches its peak on ‘Soon’.
Photo by Isaac Watson
With an introduction of “Mani used to like this one”, a tribute to his friend and former Primal Scream bandmate, who sadly passed last week.
During ‘Soon’ Shields’ guitar cut, and the light on his Marshall amp disappeared, it isn’t uncommon for My Bloody Valentine to blow an amp or two during a show, and I dread to think how many over the decades have fallen into the same tragic fate.
This interlude in the music gave fans an opportunity to scream questions at Shields, with uproar of requesting new music, to asking what his favourite cigarettes, which was met with “I can’t hear you, I’m deaf as f**k man!”
The band persisted. This would usually create a confusing and worrying mood among the audience, but with Googe adding comments such as “Has anyone got any jokes?” a positive mood filled the venue.
‘Nothing Much to Lose’ is one of the standout tracks of the night for me, off their 1988 full-length debut ‘Isn’t Anything’ and possibly featured the best drumming of the show, with Colm Ó Cíosóig being the standout man, all eyes were on him and his kit surrounded by walls of plastic, with the brain melting ending rhythm to the track being something not out of shape on a Rush track.
And as the night began to draw to a close, the finale was a staggering, nearly seven minutes of what can only be described as noise. ‘You Made me Realise’ is already one of the heavier songs the band has done, but with the mixture of intense strobe and smoke machines, it’s a surprise that the power didn’t fail again.
And after all that, all there is left, in the most monotonous and calm voice imaginable, Shields’ addresses the crowd with “So that’s it, thanks for coming”, leaving the stage and possibly their hearing behind them, as The Stone Roses – Waterfall beckons around the hall, met with applause and singing.
As My Bloody Valentine return to the UK after a decade already begins to end, fans across the world are hoping this is a prelude to more music and shows, and if that may be the case, I leave you with one piece of advice: just wear your earplugs! You won’t look cool, but then again, My Bloody Valentine are in the room, how could you look cool?
