[kj] (OT) MBV in NYC

[Alexander Smith]

Here's my crappy blog entry of same, appended with some video (no, I  
didn't take it):

http://vassifer.blogs.com/alexinnyc/2008/09/valentinnitus.html

Alex in NYC



On Sep 23, 2008, at 4:15 PM, Alex Smith wrote:


> Here ya go, Karen (and anyone else who'd care)....

>

> A couple of days prior to My Bloody Valentine's performance last  

> night at the Roseland Ballroom, I remember telling a friend that I  

> tended to prefer the band when they were in "destroy mode" as  

> opposed to lilting dreampop mode. Well, I certainly got what I asked  

> for in that respect. Some quick observations on last night's show  

> and some unsolicited advice for those attending tonight's gig.

>

> It's somewhat striking that a band renowned for making such a  

> ferocious, brain-melting din looks so unassuming. Seriously, they  

> could be bank tellers and kindergarten teachers. Bilinda Butcher has  

> aged very gracefully, her formerly Rapunzelesque tresses cut to a  

> smart new 'do. Kevin Shields hasn't matched her in that respect, but  

> he wasn't really working with a great palette to begin with.

>

> A quick aside to certain individuals in the crowd: Take a look at  

> the stage and you'll see two guitarists, one bass player and one  

> drummer. Alongside them are piles and piles of stacked amplifiers  

> and a carefully choreographed series of projections and blinding  

> light display. There are clearly lots of things going on behind the  

> scenes to replicate the otherworldly aesthetic of the band's  

> recordings. Given all that, it's a massive waste of time to shout  

> out song requests. It's not like they're going to suddenly drop  

> their well-rehearsed plan to accommodate your dumb request.  

> Moreover, they probably can't hear you. And, honestly, you're only  

> shouting it to prove to everyone around you that you're a real fan.  

> Knock it off.

>

> This is not a show you should rush to the front barricades for.  

> Trust me on this one. While, yes, My Bloody Valentine is technically  

> a "shoegazer" band (so dubbed somewhat churlishly by one British  

> rock critic or another to decry the band's abject lack of any  

> semblance of stage presence), this does not mean you're not going to  

> get roughed up in the front. No, no one's going to stage dive onto  

> your head or mosh into you, but the band's relentless preponderance  

> of seizure-inducing strobe lights witnessed up close will invariably  

> make you wish your own parents had never met. Even from where I was  

> standing (parallel to the soundboard, yet frustratingly far from the  

> bar), I was forced to gaze at my own shoes in a vain attempt to stop  

> my retinas from immolating. Being up front also won't do you any  

> favors in terms of the band's penchant for…

>

> BOWEL-WORRYING VOLUME. Listen, if a venue is giving out free  

> earplugs as you walk in, this should be  giant clue as to what  

> awaits you. If you weren't bright enough to bring them along with  

> you, seize the opportunity at the door. You WILL need them. You WILL  

> regret it if you don't have them. As I've mentioned, I was lucky  

> enough to catch My Bloody Valentine live back when they were touring  

> Loveless (at the venue one block over from Roseland, the late,  

> lamented New Ritz at Studio 54). Back then, I was a careless youth  

> with little regard for ear protection. If I recall correctly, I  

> withstood the band's now-legendary fifteen minute noise blitzkrieg  

> during the climax of "You Made Me Realize" without any ear plugs,  

> and I'm sure it had a great deal to do with the tinnitus I've been  

> grappling with since 1999.

>

> Had I known that MBV  was shortly to vanish from the public eye for  

> over a decade, I'd probably have paid closer attention to that show,  

> but at the very least, the experience prepared me for last night. In  

> the sixteen years since that evening, it seems like the band's sonic  

> arsenal has bulked up. When they inevitably launched into "You Made  

> Me…" last night, the intense heft of sound being generated from the  

> stage felt much stronger than I remember. It wasn't so much the high- 

> frequency racket, but rather the low-end rumble. It wasn't just my  

> ears that were under siege. My rib cage, vital organs and skull all  

> weathered the storm. Two minutes into it, and I started to worry if  

> the heavy duty ear plugs I'd brought were up to the task. People on  

> all sides of me were retreating. I saw tear-stained girlfriends  

> carried out by their music-head boyfriends who'd promised their  

> unsuspecting dates a fun night out of rock'n'roll. My friend Bruce  

> summed it up best when he remarked that it sounded like a steady  

> loop of thunderclaps that had been recorded and then magnified at a  

> thousand times their normal volume. This had less to do with rock  

> abandon and more to do with simple endurance, if not punishment. It  

> was a truly disarming experience.

>

> Accompanying the sonic storm cane a visual onslaught of piercing  

> strobes and hypnotic projections of interweaving lines. It gradually  

> began to feel like the band were tapping into something bigger than  

> just a massive spectacle. As the inescapable sound the mayhem  

> enveloped the room, it felt a bit like what I imagine the center of  

> a black hole is like. I've never read any interviews with Kevin  

> Shields, but I've always wondered what his approach to this feat is.  

> Is he doing it as a cocky display of power? Is he tapping into every  

> human being's inherent fear of the unimaginably loud? Is his  

> boundary-pushing intended as a thought-provoking work of art? Or is  

> he simply an indie rock Nigel Tufnel pushing the knob up to eleven?

>

> Either way, it is truly amazing.

>

> Alex in NYC

>

>

>

>

>

>

> -----Original Message-----

> From: Karen Weil

> Sent: Sep 23, 2008 2:34 PM

> To: "A list about all things Killing Joke (the band!)"

> Subject: Re: [kj] (OT) MBV in NYC

>

> Feel better, Alex. We need a full report from you!

> (BTW: If you've got a cold, Zicam is one product that does seem to  

> make a difference.)

>

>

> Best,

>

> k.w.

> ----- Original Message -----

> From: Alexander Smith

> To: A list about all things Killing Joke (the band!)

> Sent: Monday, September 22, 2008 9:15 AM

> Subject: Re: [kj] (OT) MBV in NYC

>

>

> I have tix to go tonight, but am currently as sick as a dog. ugh.

>

> Alex in NYC

>

>

> On Sep 22, 2008, at 12:09 PM, Christof hamille wrote:

>

>> So the tour started.  Has anyone seen it yet?  Good Bad  indifferent

>>

>> I am going to the Chicago show

>>

>> thanks

>>

>> Chris

>>

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