The Return Of My Bloody Valentine

Ned, I have an extra ticket! Book a flight!

Is that not Jeremy Clarkson on the far right as well?

(lol - far right)

― arboreal gatorade (I am using your worlds), Friday, 12 September 2008 16:23 (5 days ago)

LOL bloody looks like him, bet if it is him he aint enjoying himself :P

I'll be at the Oct 2nd show myself.

Yay, Spectrum! In any form really! Sonic on just marimba! Fine! Thumbs Up! :)

i have 2 tickets for oct 1 but turns out i need to be somewhere else that night. does anyone want to trade a pair of thursday tickets for wednesday ones?

Did she cut her hair? How marvelous!

Our flight to Newark International Airport leaves in four hours and I haven't slept a wink.

So that was fucking awesome.

The band spent £200,000, about $366,000, on equipment for the tour, and Mr. Shields laughed when asked how many effects pedals he owned. “Hundreds,” he said. He only uses 30 onstage, he added.
from Jon Pareles NY Times review of ATP

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/23/arts/music/23bloo.html

i'll be @ the oct 2nd show too, sleep-deprived and slightly skeptical that it's actually going to happen

haha, yeah i saw that and did a double take ... do the rolling stones spend that much on equipment?
xpost

Monday night the speaker stage right kept cutting out during their set. It was annoying as all hell.
The show as a whole was still amazing though.

I went last night ... fuckin awesome

Only MBV could spend $360,000 on gear and then sort of casually say "it'll be nice to play the songs the way they were meant to be played."

I've always been a Loveless appreciator more than a Loveless fanboy, but damn that show was incredible (I went on Monday)--never do live bands make me want to close my eyes and just listen. There was something excellently unpretentious about it too--Colm and Debbie just rocking out, Bilinda placid with a faint smile, and Kevin totally calm, hitting every chord perfectly. They're doing something special, and they know they are, but they never for a second got self-conscious about it.

Colm and Debbie just rocking out

I admit I might be looking forward to that the most. Debbie attacking the bass is my overriding memory of the 1992 shows.

Bilinda placid

that's one word for it; she's definitely the weakest link

What made the 1992 shows legendary is the conflation of all the juxtapositions. MBV really lived up to the term shoegaze -- specifically Kevin and Bilinda... so many people probably thought the show would be little on energy. People just didn't know there would be a LOT of energy but coming from anyone BUT the expected suspects.

The juxtaposition between the still and low-key Kevin and Bilinda, the far more energetic Debbie and Colm, the strobe lights, and the jet noise in 1992 just broke a lot of boundaries in people's brains on what a live show should be.

While I'm kinda bummed this is, as an ILX celebrity put it, "the third leg of the Loveless tour" and nothing more, I'm happy that people who are seeing MBV for the first time are apparently getting a very accurate represenation of what it was like in 1992, YouTube, iPhones, etc. be damned.

I was there last night. It was fucking amazing, it felt really really good to be just completely engulfed by noise for like an hour and half. one of the best bands I've ever seen play in my life.

however, the crowd was the biggest bunch of pussies in any show I've ever been in. I was embarrassed. people were literally running away from the stage holding their hands over their ears.

xxxpost Debbie was incredible!!! besides shields I was most mesmerized by her.

however, the crowd was the biggest bunch of pussies in any show I've ever been in. I was embarrassed. people were literally running away from the stage holding their hands over their ears.

A bit rude. I can't say I'm surprised at those reactions but they were the case back then. To quote myself:

They kept playing at twenty-five minutes. I swear I saw people literally staggering towards the exit, just having to leave, not being able to stand another second of it. But then I also saw people moving forward, almost as if they couldn't be controlled -- moths to the flame.

people were literally running away from the stage holding their hands over their ears.

no

The anger and exertion in Colm's face was quite astonishing to behold at electric picnic. I recall Debbie seeming quite restrained though.

The NY crowd was predictably full of retards, such as amateur photog in front of me who captured just about every lighting change but may have not heard any music at all. He would focus on Bilinda for about 10 seconds before taking a picture--dude, she is not moving or changing expression.

Then there was the crew of idiots next to me who spent half the show shouting "Don't be afraid to dance, New York" after every song and dancing like wannabe ravers while this out of control girl kept on bumping into me and stomping me with her heel. "You Made Me Realise" shut them down pretty good. God I am sick of the "ppl at indie rock shows are scared to dance" trope.

Whatever, small distractions during an amazing night.

i was slightly surprised at the jock-ish percentage in the audience, maybe including the dudes who kept shouting "louder!," plus tiny girls who pushed upcrowd as aggressively as meatheads, but in large part people seemed to stay in place and respectfully appreciate what they were seeing. the clapping/cheers seemed fairly muted - maybe it just seemed that way because of the earplugs, or maybe it was because everyone was wearing earplugs (around me, at least).

I am sick of the "ppl at indie rock shows are scared to dance" trope

i'm not - i think indie rock crowds suck - but being really vocal about it is poor form

On the clapping thing I noticed that too--I think for me it was a combination of being totally overwhelmed and not even thinking that it was time to clap/cheer, and then when I did think of it, it seemed like it was going to be hopelessly QUIET compared to the band.

so nice to read all the deb appreciation. watching her slam the bass around during thorn's so fun.

roseland ballroom setlist, no honey power :(

1. I only said
2. When you sleep
3. You never should
4. When you wake
5. Cigarette in your bed
6. Come in alone
7. Only Shallow
8. Thorn
9. Nothing much to lose
10. To here knows when
11. Slow
12. Soon
13. Feed me with your kiss
14. You made me realize

dudes, don't bring a fucking date to a MY BLOODY VALENTINE show cuz you guys read pf4rk and listen to belle and sebastian in your bedroom. it's not "pleasant" music in a live setting it's fucking ear-raping noise bliss. come prepared. pound a couple shots of jameson or something and don't just stand there looking like you're at a tour of the vatican or something

that is all.

how to pound shots of jameson into ears?

http://earsunblocked.com/images/ear-syringe.jpg

I waited through the show until halfway through that noise segment to put my earplugs in, and it took until today for my hearing to feel totally right again. Had some weird muffling yesterday, and my voice sounded louder and scratchier in my head.

"To Here Knows When" was amazing. The whole set was so loud you kind of had to know the songs very well to be able to search for the chord changes. I think that was confusing to some people.

It was the loudest thing I've ever heard for sure. Halfway through the noise segment of "..Realize" I started looking up at cymbals being slammed over and over, which was kind of surreal, as I couldn't hear them at all. I just felt little surges cold air slithering around my earplugs, and the feeling of the hair on my arms being blown gently by the air pushed by the sound.

I agree with 90 percent of the above postings. Fantastic live show, one of the best I've ever seen. And fucking loud.

Anyone going to be at the Chicago show on Saturday? I'm coming in w/a couple of friends from Cleveland.

Played the live recording in the car last week, long journey.

Hit a traffic queue, was stationary, until the "death chord" hit, at which point the traffic melted.

And all was fine, until the death chord ended and the last part of the song resumed, at which point the traffic halted again.

This sounds about right.

"You Made Me Realise (That Tinnitus Ain't Exactly A Party)"

wear them earplugs, folks...

is spectrum opening the SF show?

The Toronto show is tonight. Although I heard they're handing out earplugs at some venues, I'm going to buy a pair at lunch today. I can't wait. I honestly never thought that I would get to see this happen.

Mostly detailed list of what gear MBV is using on this tour

Three items of note...

1. Kevin Shields guitar alone can go as loud as 116dB.

2. The P.A. was partially inspired by the “Wall Of Sound” PA that The Grateful Dead used in 1974.

3. This picture...
http://guitarplayer.files.wordpress.com/2008/07/kevfx1.jpg

J-Rock didn't post again on this thread, so I fear he was killed by the noise.

spectrum is opening the SF show, as well as Suzanne Thorpe (solo flute?), in case anyone was wondering.

I anticipate this to be the perfect soundtrack to the Death of America

I anticipate this to be the perfect soundtrack to the Death of America

Aye. I'll be at this show when the Vice Pres. debate is going on.

Really is perfect timing. As I've told Mackro, the holocaust section might as well soundtrack the debate itself.

Notes on Roseland night 1:

• I thought Colm was so sloppy that it was almost ruining some of the songs
• The mix was loud but seemed to lack OOMPH like their albums do; I felt underwhelmed and disappointed
• THE LOUD PARTS DURING "SOON" DIDN'T GET LOUD!! What the fuck!!!
• Death Chord made everything worth it and then some

I heard a definite lack of oomph at the Toronto concert (it did get better as sound dudes finally put a bit more bass in)

The mix was loud but seemed to lack OOMPH like their albums do; I felt underwhelmed and disappointed

One thing I remember about the second 1992 show was how it didn't quite feel like the first one in terms of sheer sonic hysteria -- but I think the answer was clear: the second one was in a bigger venue and the more open the space, the less it's all immediately and totally drilling into every extremity. The fact that the LA shows are at the Santa Monica Civic Center leads me to think most of the show will be similar, but that "You Made Me Realise" being the last song will have everyone just going 'UH' for days after that and remembering little else.

On the other hand, I deliberately picked the second show because that gives Kevin and the sound guys a day to tweak the sound to best advantage.

i'm almost dreading this show now

I just landed in SF today after 4 flights from another hemisphere, I will be at show tonight. what time does MBV go on?

there are two openers and it "starts at 8" so I'd guess not until 10

I will be there at 9:30pm then. See youse.