My Bloody Valentine @ The National

Posted by Tom in DC Life, Elections on 07 31st, 2009 | no responses

Photo by Flickr user falfa . Used by permission. Editor’s Note: We realize this show wasn’t in, or really anywhere near, D.C. But as it was My Bloody Valentine’s only show anywhere in the Mid-Atlantic region, and lots of D.C. area folks traveled down for the show, we thought we’d share the experience for those who, sadly, couldn’t make it. Kevin Shields knows a thing or two about myth-making. Whether by design or not, My Bloody Valentine became a mysteriously legendary band after Shields effectively put the group on hiatus and went into a Syd Barrett-esque seclusion following the release of one of the most revered records in rock history, 1991’s Loveless . Over the next 16 years, he would only surface sporadically, with a bit of recorded music here or there, or to issue cryptic statements about studio work that never saw the light of day. The follow-up to Loveless has never come, but since Shields started hinting at it in the mid-1990s, it’s become indie-rock’s Chinese Democracy , a highly anticipated record that may or may not ever be a reality. But what is tangible ever since the band re-formed and started playing festivals last year is the fact that all the talk about My Bloody Valentine’s live show being a mind-blowing experience wasn’t just the stuff of myth. Though that live show certainly justifies its legendary status, as the group demonstrated last night in Richmond. Why Richmond? Why not D.C., or Baltimore? Who knows. Shields is severely rationing live appearances — there are only nine shows listed on the band’s web site between now and the end of the year, and only two of those (including last night) are even in the U.S. So the fact that there was any opportunity to see the band was a rare and welcome treat. That it required a two hour drive (more, if you had the misfortune of leaving during rush hour) was more than made up for by the show itself and the fact that it was at a venue as nice as Richmond’s gem of a rock club. Signs that this was going to be something out of the ordinary greeted us as soon as we got to the front door: earplugs were being handed out for free, and signs posted all over the inner lobby announced that the band strongly recommended that we actually use them. They also warned of extreme strobe and other light effects. With all the warnings, one wondered if this was a concert or a danger zone? A lot of both, it turned out. As soon as the band took the stage, the crowd exploded, no doubt relieved that the show was actually happening. The distance, the seeming lack of publicity, the suspiciously reasonable ticket prices (only $25), and just the fact that it was My Bloody Valentine all suggested that perhaps we were about to

be the victims of some elaborate hoax. But there they all were, in the flesh, and the moment Shields and company tore into the first ear-shattering walls of noise of “I Only Said”, there were no more doubts. For people of a certain age and taste in music, this was one experience many had been waiting for (but assuming they’d never see) for most of their adult lives. There were minor complaints that one could make. The band took a few songs to really lock in super-tight. Shields’s and Bilinda Butcher’s vocals, while never more than a background instrument on many MBV recordings anyway, here were barely audible at all over the din. But one would have to be awfully nitpicky to let that sour what was, by all signs, an evening that likely ranks as one of the best concert experiences many people in that building (this writer included) have ever had. The band’s setlist boiled down to selections from essentially just three recordings, their You Make Me Realise EP, and their two full length albums, Isn’t Anything and Loveless , with the bulk, as expected, coming from the last. If the band is, as Shields has claimed, working on that elusive next record, there was no evidence of it here; every song was at least of voting age, yet at no point did the show come across like a hits-by-the-numbers reunion retread. If they’ve lost any volume in the intervening years, it’s not apparent: those earplugs were an absolutely necessity for anyone on the main level. In the balcony one could get away without them, but only just barely. The noise was relentless, not really a pounding, slam-you-in-the-chest sort of punishing, but more placing your bowels in a hardware store paint-can shaker for 90 minutes. Combined with the intense strobes and projected images, it became a trance-like experience. Sometimes it was so loud that one’s body would spontaneously begin generating heat. Looking around, some audience members sat utterly still, eyes wide; others literally were staring with jaws dropped. One pair covered their ears and were running around in circles. Time ceased to pass, and when we came up for air at the end of 90 minutes, after the hypnotic 20-minute colossus of a sonic bulldozer that was “You Make Me Realize”, it seemed we’d been watching for less than an hour. As we spilled out onto the sidewalk afterward, people looked dazed, shell-shocked, unbelieving, until a smiling bliss crept in. And really, isn’t that how every concert should end? Setlist: I Only Said When You Sleep You Never Should (When You Wake) You’re Still In A Dream Cigarette In Your Bed Come In Alone Only Shallow Thorn Nothing Much To Lose To Here Knows When Slow Soon Feed Me With Your Kiss You Made Me Realise