I was lucky enough to catch My Bloody Valentine at the El Rey last night. The night before, they announced a secret show via their mailing list. Now, the El Rey is hardly a large venue: with a venue capacity of approximately 700 people, the task of hosting the alleged “loudest band in the world” was going to be a sight to behold in and of itself.
My Bloody Valentine were a seminal band from the late 1980’s, heavily influencing (and some say single handedly creating) the Shoegaze movement – a type of slow, loud and melodic psychedelic rock that later influenced grunge and Britpop. They broke up in 1993 and only last October did they decide to get back together, playing a series of shows that were reported to be so loud that there were several (rumored) reports of eardrums tearing. Kevin Shields, who shares lead guitar and vocals with Belinda Butcher, was rumored to have gone somewhat insane after the breakup of the band, with (confirmed!) reports of holing up in his house and keeping around 50 chinchillas as pets, refusing to grant any interviews or anything. They reconvened and played shows only 6 months ago, in late 2008, and there was rumor of a new album – something that up until very recently seemed so unlikely that indie rock snobs once scoffed at the idea of there EVER being another My Bloody Valentine album.
They’ve gained the kind of cult following that only loud indie bands can seem to muster. With only two albums (and to be fair, about 7 EPs), they’d reached the sort of reverence thanks to Kevin Shields widely publicized mental breakdown that once belonged only to Pink Floyd’s Syd Barrett and the Beach Boys Brian Wilson. They attracted the sort of follower that was ok with the masochism of having only two full lengths. Not to sound cliché, but you’ll never find a fly-by-night My Bloody Valentine fan. You’re either totally into them, or you just don’t get it.
The band were in town to play Coachella (going on this weekend), and so needless to say, word of a secret show intrigued me. I didn’t think twice and Ticketmastered the hell out of the internet, finding a ticket for $38 (with $13 in “processing fees”! Thanks Ticketmaster!). I rushed to the venue the next day and was fortunate enough to be at the beginning of the line. The crowd consisted mostly of indie rock nerds – around 500 people in line and only 3 haircuts. Everyone was jazzed to be there, with one guy I talked to flying in that day from Ontario specifically for the secret show. The buzz of excitement was tangible as they started letting people into the theater – myself lucky enough to get a spot at the front of the stage.
Keep in mind that My Bloody Valentine concerts are so loud that earplugs are a must. The sound during their final “noisepocalypse” reaches around 132 decibels: equivalent to standing behind a 747 during takeoff. A lot of the crowd had never been to a MBV concert and discarded the warning, so when MBV took the stage at about 10:15 a quick glance back at the crowd had many holding their ears.
For what they make in sound they lack in stage charisma, with Kevin and Belinda hardly moving at all during the bands 100 minute long set. However, the sounds created through their vast setup using only two guitars sounded literally out of this world. It sounded like 30 guitars playing at once, and Kevin has made a big deal out of the fact that he only uses one guitar at live shows – no overdubs. The crowd was pretty rambunctious, at one point a few people yelled out “Freebird!”, which at a MBV show is akin to yelling out “KRS-ONE!” at a Klan rally. But the die hard fans made up for the douchebags and sang along to the (mostly) unintelligible words, gawked at the (still totally foxy) Belinda, and even screamed “thank you” to Kevin.
At the end of the set – without much warning – came the noisepocalype – what some fans jokingly refer to as the “holocaust”. It started at around 100db’s – with the band playing one note very fast for around three or four minutes. Kevin motioned to the sound guy to turn it up, and at that point if you didn’t have earbuds in you were done for. It creeped up to 130db’s in there, with a few uninitiated audience members exiting after being unable to take it. The sheer force of the sound made your whole body vibrate, your teeth chatter, and towards the end knocked the wind out of you. Thankfully with earplugs you were much better off than those without. . Around 15 minutes into the singular note the band dropped back into the song right where they had left off, finally dancing around a little, before stopping and calmly walking offstage as unassumingly as they’d walked in. And let me tell you: it was probably the most zen concert experience I’ve ever had, that wall of noise. That sheer noise, which when THAT loud is nothing but white noise, was so great that many audience members outside after the gig were without words – standing in disbelief at what they’d just collectivley gone through.
It was pretty life changing, and great to see amongst the older fans a fair few 17 year old kids who could easily name drop The Swans first album along with Tim & Eric references. There is hope for rock. It was great to see the hipsters out of the dance clubs again and back to guitars.
It’s hard to explain My Bloody Valentine to people – they’re kind of one of those bands that you’re either totally into or totally not. I’ve rounded up a video from their show at the Fuji Rock Festival in Japan last here, heres “To Here Knows When”.
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