The Return Of My Bloody Valentine

My Loveless discs are correctly labelled - I can clearly hear the glitch on the digital disc, disc 1.

I'm thinking back to the other night in Brixton. I was drunk but it seemed I couldn't tell what a few of the songs were. I think the band recognised there was serious problems with the sound - but ever since the first reunion gigs I've thought you really can't tell what they're playing very well UNLESS you know the songs, the vocal melodies etc. beforehand. Maybe the gigs will change. The "holocaust" (ugh) was very short at Brixton. Hopefully they'll move on. I'd love if they turned down from 11

I felt a bit like this at The Roundhouse in 2008. It was amazing to see them live again after so much time, but it was just absurdly loud (my ears were fucked for a day or two afterwards) and sometimes it would take me one or two minutes to work out what song I was listening to.

I'd love to read stories of people seeing them in the late 80's - or even the tour the did with Blur & DJR & JAMC?

I saw them a couple of times around Nov/Dec 91 and then again on that Rollercoaster thing with Blur/JAMC/Dinosaur Jr in Mar/Apr(?) 92. It's very difficult to compare because there's so much time between, but I remember thinking the gigs were great at the time and I don't recall hearing damage / tune identification being such a problem then.

Loudness query: are we saying even with good earplugs (not just crap foam ones) the ears will get fucked over? i already have damaged hearing and tbh I am *really* worried, haha.

i've been pretty content w/ my audio technica agh m50's for the past ~year or so and despite the slew of electronica i listen to, it's only this album that makes me want to jump for an upgrade. this says nothing of "m b v" apart from fact that it's been a damn while since i've been so excited about hearing nuances and probably speaks for the record, and this band in general, in sense that you find the sounds - the crackle in "only tomorrow", the underlying sighs in "if i am", whatever the hell i could or could not be missing in "wonder 2" - they manufacture as equally interesting as the songs themselves. no other group does that for me.

you know how packets of peanuts have to by law feature 'Warning: May Contain Nuts' ....

xpost

Nate - the glitch is meant to be on the analogue master, not the digital one. So if disc one glitches, your set is mislabelled.

like, it's going to sound ridiculous but i think one of my favorite part of "only tomorrow" just might be that 1 second violin-burst at 1:55. it's appearance is so solitary yet so fitting as a subtle yet declarative transition it just oh my god

Kraudive, the sound was pretty bad in Brixton, but they only played one new track.

like, it's going to sound ridiculous but i think one of my favorite part of "only tomorrow" just might be that 1 second violin-burst at 1:55. it's appearance is so solitary yet so fitting as a subtle yet declarative transition it just oh my god

― kelpolaris

this is perfectly reasonable

Trayce, I remember them being very loud when I saw them in Manchester last time, even with my earplugs, but I was tempted at the Brixton gig to take them out.

XP on the Rollercoaster gigs. I saw the Rollercoaster gig in Cardiff Ice Rink in April 92. The first band on was Dinosaur Jnr, who did a great 8 song set playing lots of songs I knew - "The wagon", "Freak scene", "In a jar". They sounded great, and J seemed happy and talking to the crowd. Next up were Blur who seemed to ignore their hits and play lots of 'new' numbers (which turned up on "Modern life is rubbish"), and seemed to have some interesting films - I can remember the one during "Pressure on Julian" featured a man washing his car playing backwards, and I thought it seemed a bit like the ones Pink Floyd showed. Then MBV played - actually before they played, the 'interval' music was Indian classical music, which was different to say the least. Then MBV played, The set was mostly dark, there were films for every song, mostly swirls and lines on a red background. Setlist from memory (so may be wrong) - Only shallow, Slow, Nothing much to lose, Honey power, I only said, To here knows where, Soon, You made me realise. It was loud, louder than anything I'd ever heard before or since, the long note of YMMR was fascinating as people were just walking around at the back not really taking any notice, but all the cliches were true - wind tunnel, out of body experience blah blah. I loved it. They had their flute player for "I only said", which was incongruous. And that was it. I decided that seeing the Mary Chain after that would only be a disappointment, so I left. So for me, MBV headlined that gig. I wore the t shirt for years, I still have the programmer in my attic somewhere.

my remembrance of the leicester poly (pre-rollercoaster) gig from around that time was the morning after, walking around town in a group all miserable and avoiding conversation just because any noise was painful and odd.

went to brixton for rollercoaster gigs themselves and remember enjoying the mary chain the most.

had no desire to go to the reunion tours.

I saw them at Primavera twice back in...09? I think we left the indoor show to see either the Mae Shi or Sunnnnn 0)))))) and the main stage one to see...fuck knows? maybe that was the point that my friend passed out in the toilet and got rushed to hospital and was texting me saying she was in hospital but i was convinced she was just hammered and meant hostel so stayed out and then stumbled in at 8am to find her in our room with the most horrible, massive, wobbly, thick bruise on her arm from where she'd pulled a drip out of it lol.

my remembrance of the leicester poly (pre-rollercoaster) gig from around that time was the morning after, walking around town in a group all miserable and avoiding conversation just because any noise was painful and odd.

Crazy days. (Yes, Koogs and I have known each other for 22 years. Blimey.) I recall one of our party leaving during "Soon" because their body had gone completely cold, whereas I'd had the opposite reaction. I remember the sound guys laughing about "paying six quid(!) to go through that".

Oh, and I knew what I was in for because I saw Martin and Sice in the canteen beforehand and they were slightly in awe of what they'd witnessed on previous nights on the tour. And the Boo Radleys weren't exactly averse to playing loud themselves. "They just...keep getting louder, Mike."

oh christ.

I saw them at Manchester University in 1989. I was stood at the front and have a dreamlike memory of bright white lights shining in my face and consequently just zoning out with my eyes shut for much of the show. Also a feeling of being bathed in sound - not that it was especially loud, but the sound had a very beautiful sweet and warm quality to it. The one song that sticks in my mind from it is When You Wake You're Still In A Dream, pretty sure I achieved actual levitation during that.

And the inverse experience... I saw them again at the Town & Country Club in London in 1991. This was a much bigger and busier affair, it was really fucking loud and I was pretty stoned iirc, so the whole thing just seemed like a very noisy, abrasive hell. Think I actually collapsed during You Made Me Realise, have strong memories of spending the noisy bit sitting in darkness on the floor in the middle of this whole mass of people just wanting it all to stop. Very tired and emotional, think I was on the verge of tears. Last time I saw them, possibly even the last time I listened to them for about 10 years after that.

Listened to Nothing Is again and skiffle beat aside, I was struck by a resemblance to the Band of Susans' hypnotic one-chord jam, Hope Against Hope:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xZREQ-Now_E

Jamming on a different chord though, think that Hope Against Hope is in E? The looped guitar sample still making me think of the Young Gods too.

Someone upthread said one of the new tracks sounded like The Pastels.

I was listening to the EPs reissue on Spotify on the way home last night, check 'slow', they used to slTP back then too. (maybe before, who knows we not allowed to listen to pre-creation stuff are we?)

The furthest they've gone back is to allow "Paint a rainbow" on the Rough Trade Indie Pop compilation. It does sound a bit Pastels-ish, as does other bits of their Lazy back catalogue, when they were considered second-rate Primitives copyists. How times change.

Imagine a world where the Primitives had released You Made Me Realise, it's easy if you try

My Tabby Valentine

I saw them at Manchester University in 1989.

Nick we were at the same gig! First time I saw them, the long-gone Sperm Wails supporting iirc. Recall feeling a weird kind of tension in the crowd before MBV came on, but might just have been my teenage jitters, I would've been 17 then. Yr def right about there being almost blinding lights from the stage for a lot of the show.

The other time I saw them back then was on the Loveless tour at Bham Institute in 1991. Sonic Boom supporting (as Spectrum), a much bigger PA and the woozy psychedelic projected films for each track. This was when they had a flautist for the melody lines on various songs from Loveless, a very effective addition to the sound. Most of my group of friends were on a balcony so had a great view, but less intensity - when we were leaving we met up with other people who'd been in the pit and one chap had thrown up as a consequence of YMMR, which I was pretty impressed by.

hi five bill a! lol @ the sperm wails, had totally forgotten about them

my remembrance of the leicester poly (pre-rollercoaster) gig from around that time was the morning after, walking around town in a group all miserable and avoiding conversation just because any noise was painful and odd.

i was at this gig too! compounded the damage by seeing them in Glasgow a few days later. glad that i didn't do my hearing any permanent damage.

Went to the Leicester Uni gig on the Glider tour; was quite near the front & have always worried that i lost some bit of my hearing then. Definitely the loudest experience of my life.

seen them 3 times since their return, have worn earplugs and/or stood a bit further back. No more the happy recklessness of youth, but still happy to be lost in the noise.

> i was at this gig too!

as were both members of isan, before they'd met. we should form a support group.

http://musicfeeds.com.au/album/my-bloody-valentine-m-b-v/

― ( ͡° ͜ʖ͡°) (sic), Wednesday, February 6, 2013 4:06 AM (8 hours ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

That shoegazing is so nice and chill. Especially for listening to on vinyls.

that really delves into my intrigue

the review i wrote of mbv when i was 15 was much better

Oh, and I knew what I was in for because I saw Martin and Sice in the canteen beforehand and they were slightly in awe of what they'd witnessed on previous nights on the tour. And the Boo Radleys weren't exactly averse to playing loud themselves. "They just...keep getting louder, Mike."

The Boos were supporting the first time I saw them (in Bradford) and I found myself at the urinal next to Martin Carr. I wanted to tell him I thought their last EP was brilliant, but it didn't really seem an appropriate situation in which to try to strike up a conversation with a stranger.

And the inverse experience... I saw them again at the Town & Country Club in London in 1991. This was a much bigger and busier affair, it was really fucking loud and I was pretty stoned iirc, so the whole thing just seemed like a very noisy, abrasive hell.

I was at this as well, maybe a week or two later, but I'm struggling to remember who the support group was that night. Any idea?

I was at this as well, maybe a week or two later, but I'm struggling to remember who the support group was that night. Any idea?

Had to look this up but apparently it was Sonic Boom and also someone called Shake (any idea who that is?). They actually did two nights on the trot there, so the night after it was Swervedriver and God doing the honours.

That rings a bell - I must have been there the night after you. I don't think I'd ever heard of God before and never heard of them again. I'm pretty sure the gig I went to was on a Sunday night and that I was watching Chelsea v Man United on the TV that afternoon and had to leave before the end of the match to get a train up to London (though I appreciate this is unlikely to be of help or interest to anyone else).

This thread will probably die down soon and get revived when all of us start receiving our physical copies.

I only got the CD so I cannot imagine any difference (I am looking forward to the packaging) but I am sure the vinyl fetishists will be able to report new listening experiences.

God were great! It was Kevin Martin from Techno Animal/The Bug etc along with people like Justin Broadrick (Godflesh, Jesu etc), Tim Hodgkinson (Henry Cow), Scott Kiehl (Slab!), Russell Smith (Terminal Cheesecake) and loads of others. Improvised noise rock with big pounding ritualistic drums. Saw them once with Godflesh, great band.

God just got a lot of love in the The 40 Weirdest Post-'Nevermind' Major-Label Albums (according to Spin) thread.

any reports on how long the noise assault during "you made me realize" went on at the show last week?

At Brixton? About 3 minutes.

no sign of mbv in the uk midweek album charts:
http://www.musicweek.com/news/read/official-charts-midweek-sales-flash-top-40s-wednesday-february-6/053475

assumed that releasing this at practically 0:01 AM on Sunday was to do with maximising sales for the chart week, but is thing even eligible? or maybe they're having problems sorting out the uk sales figures?

how would they even know how much this sold?

kevin writes it all down on post-its

assumed that releasing this at practically 0:01 AM on Sunday was to do with maximising sales for the chart week, but is thing even eligible? or maybe they're having problems sorting out the uk sales figures?

― Jaap and roids (NickB), Wednesday, February 6, 2013 12:50 PM (9 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

i am assuming this was because of what turned out to be justifiable concern over traffic to the website

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_kBfc64WlOE

xp assumed it was because it was the end of 2/2, end of 22 years

^ good point

the dates are the other way around in Britain though

I saw MBV maybe a dozen times between Feb 13, 1986 (first time) and Aug 26, 1989 (last time). Everyone wanted to be really loud back then so they were not unusually deafening at first. They got progressively louder during 1988. When they were opening for eg. Sonic Youth or Dinosaur Jr tours in larger venues it was fine but if they headlined in smaller venues it got a bit much. Like some of the posters upthread I remember walking out of a couple of gigs because it was just an uncomfortable roar.

From 2013 it seems natural to dismiss the pre-Bilinda days as inferior if you are only listening to the records. But at the time the recordings were so rare they were practically irrelevent. The only record you could ever find in the shops (if you were lucky) was Sunny Sundae Smile and maybe the bootleg compilation that went around. It was as a live band that they earned their initial reputation. And they were actually a phenomenal band in those days - the first time I saw them I was completely blown away. Rooted to the spot. It was like Husker Du with Keith Moon on drums. I and most of my friends on the scene at the time thought they got worse with the new line-up. Although obviously the records suddenly got awesome the day "You Made Me Realise" came out.

^ interesting, thanks

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hxf6wQvRQ0s&NR=1&feature=fvwp