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| My Bloody Valentine |
WARNING: I love this band. I am going to ramble on about every single song played. I apologise in advance.
The room is buzzing with a loud and constant hum before anybody even touches a fuzz pedal. Theres barely a foot of sticky floor to be had in the mass of audience members, young and old, on the sloped floorboards of the Manchester Apollo. The converted cinema is packed to the brim, impressive when you consider the headlining band's most recent album saw fans waiting 22 years since its predecessor. Yes, a whole 30 years into the band's lifetime and My Bloody Valentine have only 3 studio albums to their name. The simply titled "m b v", released by surprise on the evening of February 2nd, has received generally positive reviews though many were disappointed to find the record was not a huge departure from the band's previous 1991 album "Loveless". The buzz comes in the form of the same conversations and questions bouncing around the archaic venue. "Will they play 'Slow'?", "I wonder how long the set will be", "They best play some of 'Isn't Anything'", "Do you think I'll need these earplugs?". The tickets came to me to my delight as a 21st birthday present from my girlfriend. The band ironically later announced a much nearer O2 academy in Birmingham but we decided we'd keep the tickets and have a Northern holiday for the weekend. In retrospect this was a great decision as not only was the city itself a surprisingly fun destination to explore, but the O2 Apollo itself made a nice venue for a band like MBV. The stage was visible from most parts of the room thanks to the sloping floor and the acoustics were far more theatre-esque than your average venue, perfect for some shoegaze to spring off the walls.
But before any fuzz laden guitar riffs can reverberate around the room, lights dim and applauding yelps of delight fill every corner as the audience welcome the band taking the stage. 'Hi' whispers a coy Bilinda Butcher with a giggle (one of the evenings only verbal exchanges from the band) as they all pick up their instruments. The room falls silent for around 10 seconds waiting for the band to finish setting up with only a few coughs breaking it as band 'leader' and renowned guitar god Kevin Shields fiddles with his Fender Jazzmaster. Finally the eery quiet is interrupted by 4 clicks of drummer Colm Ó Cíosóig's sticks and the room is silent no more filled with the breathtaking sound of the classic "I Only Said". Ó Cíosóig duel wields his sticks like a mass murderer does knives, flailing his arms and beating his drums with savage intent, a necessity in one of the world's most notoriously loud bands. Debbie Googe, easily the most energetic of the 3 members in front of the drums, straddles her bass standing wide legged centre stage, attacking the strings with fantastically harsh and rather understated counter melodies. Bilinda Butcher strums her guitar with her trademark distant expression as if daydreaming within the sleepy sounds she is producing from her collection of amps pointed in all directions perhaps only rivalled by the band's frontman. Shields stands still, strumming away as his hand movements and guitar sound don't seem to correlate. Thus is the way with the guitarist's characteristic playing, with his unending pedalboard creating the most thick and complex sounds of his genre. As he sings in the microphone the words are completely lost as the melodies seem more like extremely distant nuances from where we initially were stood.
The crowd erupts as the final chord strikes given only a moment for ears to recover as the foursome burst into the euphorically lazy synth riff of "When You Sleep". The sound is immensely thick as we are treated to melodies swimming through a muddy swamp of distortion. Butcher joins Shields on vocals, though once again they tend to disappear into the background of the overall mix. At first its unclear if this is intentional or not, though it seems to improve as the concert progresses. Butcher's vocals are at least much clearer as Shields who is so far lost in the mix at times he may as well be miming, though intentionally or not, it does add a very cool vibe. In one of only 3 songs from 2013's "m b v", "New You" however, clarity is achieved as Bilinda takes over lead vocals on what can be called a 'calm' song for My Bloody Valentine. Steady beat and tremolo guitar are joined by a fantastically almost funky bassline from Debbie Googe who also supplies backing vocals that harmonise gorgeously with Butcher's ensnaring the audience and no doubt breaking a few fan boys' (or mens') hearts.
Older 'pre-Loveless' songs are greeted enthusiastically with the spiralling rhythms of "You Never Should" pleasing fans of the groups first album "Isn't Anything", whilst adorers of the band's variously spectacular (can you tell I'm a fan?) EPs are suitably catered for with the mesmerising guitar line of "Honey Power" with Shield's familiar yet always impressive trick of bending the notes and chords with his tremolo bar. The bands possibly most coveted of non-album releases "You Made Me Realise EP" is well covered with 4 of its 5 songs appearing tonight, first of which "Cigarette In Your Bed" showing a more delicate (though not quite!) side to the group with Shields strumming away at an acoustic guitar as Ó Cíosóig supplies impressively rhythmic tom rolls. Another newer song "Only Tomorrow" is greeted with head nods a plenty with an ending riff not dissimilar to David Bowie's "Ziggy Stardust" era axeman Mick Ronson's solos.
Popular territory comes with two tracks from holy grail album "Loveless". It's two of the album's most explosive songs "Come In Alone" and "Only Shallow" that seem to melt the heart and soul of every shoegaze fan in the world on record and the same can be said live as every eye is pointed to the front with even the most intoxicated fans taking a break from flailing around to stand still, mesmerised in the expansive guitar lines, intense drum fills, pounding bass melodies and serene vocals of Bilinda Butcher. If you're not impressed with the band's enigmatic presence witnessing these two songs live you never will be... and you're a moron (I kid, I kid). "Thorn", the band at their poppiest sees the mosh pit liven up slightly as I bop my head to the jangly Cure-esque song that had me fall in love with the group when I found it by mistake on youtube a good 6 years ago. "Nothing Much To Lose" has Ó Cíosóig and Googe drumming and strumming furiously at their instruments with such force that you can see a few people nervously holding their hands to their ears while "To Here Knows When" swamps the room with a delicate yet intensely loud and constant buzz. "Slow", possibly the sweetest song dedicated to oral sex with strangers, has the same effect with a sleepy haze showered over the audience.
We are promptly woken up with baggy-esque and fan favourite "Soon", introduced with a drum beat that could have come straight from "Fools Gold". The dancefloor filler of a tune has even the older fans bopping their heads to the funky rhythm and as soon as the song finishes the loudest applause of the night ensues. The clatter of aggression on fan favourite "Feed Me With Your Kiss" is impressive to behold as Ó Cíosóig and Googe move around enthusiastically as Butcher and Shields thrash at their guitars. Similar passion is demonstrating on "You Made Me Realise", the usually 3:44 minute track stretched as the white noise "apocalypse" section is extended to a good additional 8 to 10 minutes. The noise rises and rises to the point of uncomfortable volumes. I push my way to the back of the crowd to find my girlfriend who disappeared during "Soon" to get some water after feeling faint. I find her with a slightly bemused face as the wailing guitars, pounding bass and thunderous crashing of cymbals attack the crowd. The floor rumbles to the point that the walls appear to shake (plus everyone's bowels are sufficiently loosened!) before out of nowhere the band play the last chorus, its here that I annoyingly discover the vocals sound far clearer at the back of the room as the final chord is struck. Just in time for the last song, better late than never I suppose.
Googe puts down her bass guitar and Ó Cíosóig comes down from behind the drum kit as the band stand in a straight line all wielding Fender Jazzmasters. The jittery drum 'n' bass beat of "m b v"s closing track "Wonder 2" sees four layers of guitar fuzz hit the audience as Shield's murmurs into his microphone. And then its over, a barely understandable thank you from Shields and a shy wave from the band is given to us as the band depart the stage and hopes of an encore are promptly shattered asthe lights are turned back on. Doors open as we are ushered out into the bitter Mancunian cold. Painfully hilarious fake merch is layed out on the ground with chavvy middle aged men shouting "10 quid for a hoodie". Everyone's ears are left a little damaged but the general consensus is very positive. The only gripes I could think of was the sometime inaudible vocals and only 3 songs from both albums "Isn't Anything" and "m b v" included on the set list. Despite this however I find myself reliving this gig in ways unlike previous concerts I've attended. The guitar lines of songs I was less familiar with still whirl around my head and for an 'acquired taste' band who deafen, confuse and ignore their audience that is mighty impressive.
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