My Bloody Valentine Played The Concourse

Let it first be said: there is no hype. The doting, and worship, and awe that has been placed upon My Bloody Valentine's live show are completely justified. There's the extreme volume, the live renditions of songs that have become near legendary, and the presence of a band that is notoriously cloistered. But more than that, there is the delivery of a completely new dimension to the music that so many listeners already know by heart. The band is masterful at reproducing its records live, but they also take on new characteristics. The bass is more throbbing, the distortion more alive, and the drums had more attack. In short, it was everything a live show should be.

Openers Spectrum put on a solid performance of dark, analogue-synth driven rock. The set started a tad slowly, but picked up speed as it moved along, and culminated with a nice barrage of drums and tweaked out synths from frontman Peter Kember. While the set was strong, it paled quite notably in comparison to what was coming next.

When MBV took the stage, the crowd became noticeably more enlivened. This was the main act: it was what everyone was there to see. The band blasted into the set, and a wave of noise swept over the concourse. The bass alone was enough to rattle your chest, but the treble was there too: just as loud and crystal clear. Cheers to the band's soundman, as they appear to have somehow defied the Concourse's notorious bad sound, and delivered on the MBV promise.

The band's set was very similar to those that have been played on this tour. We didn't manage to get it down on paper, because frankly, we were too engrossed in the show. Suffice it to say that it traversed the band's two records and EP's, but that the focus was definitely on Loveless. To hear the tracks that we've all listened to so many times on record, was truly a treat. Seeing Kevin Shields play guitar was almost surreal: It's an event that seemed for so long like it would never happen, and now here it was, happening.

Finally, there was the main event of the main event: the wave of noise in the middle of "You Made Me Realise". It's been described by many, to varying degrees of extremity: sickening, cleansing, peace-bringing, what have you. In the end, what it is is 25 minutes of 130 decibel feedback and distortion. Some people were covering their ears, some were smiling, some waved their hands in the air. Still, the sonics of this grand finale are not what really hit home with us. What's truly impressive about this stalwart of My Bloody Valentine performance is that they do it at all. There is simply no other band out there creating this kind of music, this kind of noise, for people to consider and take into their heart and soul. And at the end of the day, that's why we're so glad to have My Bloody Valentine back in the world of the living: They are offering something different, food for thought, a piece of the musical pie that you can simply get nowhere else.

Many more pictures in the HAD Archive.

Reminder: MBV Is Tonight At The Concourse, New Album In The Works

(They probably look a little older now)

Well, if you can deal with the Concourse Design Center for an evening, and you have a nice set of earplugs, then tonight may avail you of one of the most illuminating musical sound experiences this side of 1992. As we've previously mentioned, My Bloody Valentine's reunited lineup will be hitting San Francisco tonight. We imagine that we don't really know what's in store for us (and we're waiting to see just how epic that 45 minutes of static really is), but by all accounts it's fantastic.

In other MBV news, Kevin Shields has now confirmed to a number of sources that the band has decided to move forward with a new record, built around the foundations that were developed in '96/'97. While this does have us immeasurably excited, you'll have to pardon if it goes in the folder for "we'll believe it when we see it".

Ticketmaster's all sold out, but being a GA show, you can probably craigslist yourself some love.

UPDATE: We just discovered that Pete Kember's post-Spacemen 3 project Spectrum is opening. Get there early!

My Bloody Valentine: Too Good To Resist

Sure, we were feeling skeptical about the choice of venue, and we still maintain that it sucks. That being said, with all the positive press (from news outlets, fans, blogs, and everyone in between) coming off of MBV's East Coast appearances, we're thinking we're going to have to make an appearance at the band's gig next week. By all accounts, these reunion gigs have been transcendant experiences that leave listeners tingling with joy after waves upon waves of abstract noise (Check out the vid above to see what we mean). It's the kind of thing that really, we thinks, you have to experience for yourself.

Tickets are on-sale now.

MBV Reunion In SF = Fail

We just spotted this little news item while reading ipickmynose. Wow. Just wow. We couldn't agree more. MBV in SF? Awesome. At the Design Center? What a mess. Who decided to turn that place into a music venue we'll never guess, but this is just one on a long string of bands we wish could have escaped its grasp...

Rilo Kiley @ The Concourse, Pre-Sale Thursday

Rilo Kiley will continue their touring for Under The Blacklight with a return to The SF Design Center Concourse on April 17th. While it's not our favorite venue, we figured some folks might like to know about the pre-sale that starts tomorrow (Thursday) morning @ 10 AM. The password is "under", and you can get there by clicking here.

Justice Pre-Sale Tomorrow Morning

On March 27th, it looks like the folks over at APE will be hosting Frenchies Justice (along with Diplo) at the always-huge, always-crappy-sound, SF Design Center. There's a pre-sale tomorrow morning at 10 AM, with the password being "dance". You can get to it right here. We here at H.A.D. dig Justice's "Cross", but we have to admit we're a tad skeptical of anything that goes down at the SF Design Center. That being said, it is a dance show, so maybe it's time to put on the dancing shoes and ignore all that unwanted reverberation.

In related news, Diplo recently did a remix of Spoon's "Don't You Evah" to benefit the Texas Criminal Justice Coalition. There's some kind of "Justice" joke/pun we could work up there, but frankly the payoff wouldn't be worth the effort. Yes, we're sure you can dig it up somewhere on-line, but come on kids - do the right thing! It's 99 cents for charity! Get it here.

mp3: Justice - D.A.N.C.E