Live Review: My Bloody Valentine @ The Aragon Ballroom (9/27/08, Chicago, IL)

(My Bloody Valentine - "I Only Said" - Live at the Aragon Ballroom - 9/27/08)

Download: My Bloody Valentine - "Cigarette In Your Bed"

At Chicago’s Aragon Ballroom, a legendary group took the stage after being away from both live and recorded music for 17 years. The quartet, My Bloody Valentine, a British band who helped re-define psychedelic music by wholly inventing a subgenre that continues to shape and influence independent music today, demonstrated to an enraptured audience how it was possible for songs that were 20 years old to remain vital, contemporary, and awe-inspiring. Using a Berlin-Wall-of-Sound, My Bloody Valentine played songs from a masterpiece in sound that still resonates greatly today.

And the songs from Loveless didn’t sound half bad either.

The biggest surprise from My Bloody Valentine’s 13-song set wasn’t that the band gave what many regarded as an incredible, ear-shattering live performance. Rather, it was the fact that the material from 1988’s Isn’t Anything was what ultimately held up best in the context of that live performance. After opening with two Loveless tracks—the mid-tempo “I Only Said” and “When You Sleep”--, the band absolutely tore into “(When You Sleep) You’re Still In A Dream”, a deep cut from the aforementioned Anything. It was on these upbeat tracks that the band was at its most tight rhythmically. Bassist Debbie Googe and Drummer Colm Ó Cíosóig were in absolute lockstep, creating a thrilling foundation on which guitarists Kevin Shields and Bilinda Butcher could create their vast tapestry of sound.

The minor problem, then, was when the band tried to create some semblance of dynamics on Loveless tracks like “Come In Alone”. On that track, the night’s only real disappointment, the sheer density of the wall-of-sound dropped out when Kevin Shields solely played the whirring main melody on his guitar. That resulted in a lot of empty sonic space, which is a killer in momentum for songs that are so clearly based on epic soundscapes. This is probably why the Isn’t Anything tracks were the best, because they were closer to traditional (but still forward-thinking) rock sounds, rather than the fever-dream sound collages of Loveless.

That said, one highlight came in the form of You Made Me Realize EP track “Cigarette In Your Bed”, during which the band regained an impressive command of dynamics that had eluded them during “Alone”. To see a band that was playing as loudly as MBV was don an acoustic guitar to successfully play what was, in the context of the set, a straightforward ballad was impressive.

In a set loaded with highlights, it was on Loveless’ more upbeat songs, such as “Only Shallow” and “Soon”, as well as on Anything tracks like “Feed Me With Your Kiss”, that the grandiose guitar shined brightest, and were the main causes of the band’s pulse-pounding live show. Part of the reason for the live show’s success was due to the increased presence of the drums. In mixing Loveless, Shields and his engineers buried both the drums and vocals to create an air of ethereality. Live, the drums were much higher in the mix, which allowed some songs—namely, the material from Anything—to get a greater “oomph”.

Lastly, but certainly not least, was the infamous “You Made Me Realize”, with it’s the 15-20 minute white-noise section in between. Basically, hearing this section live was like experiencing the end of Eraserhead and 2001 simultaneously. I’m still not entirely sure that’s a compliment, but it did make for a memorable concert moment—particularly after watching dozens of people walk out after minute 10.

While My Bloody Valentine gave a performance that surely be remembered by everyone who experienced it, the show also presented an opportunity for fans to re-evaluate MBV’s debut album, Isn’t Anything, insofar as that was the material that shone brightest amongst a set heavy with highlights. Truly, it was a show not to have been missed.

MBV MySpace Page

(Jonathan Graef)
jon@minneapolisfuckingrocks.com

Cross-published on CIMI.

Video: My Bloody Valentine Playing "Only Shallow" For The First Time In 16 Years

(My Bloody Valentine, "Only Shallow", Live at the Institute of Contemporary Arts)



(My Bloody Valentine, "Only Shallow", Live at the Institute of Contemporary Arts)



(My Bloody Valentine, "Only Shallow", Live at the Institute of Contemporary Arts)

Being the huge shoegazer freak that I am, the My Bloody Valentine reunion is a prospect for which I've been frothing at the mouth for quite some time. As the band slowly began their warm-up gigs for their first tour in 16 years, I was naturally interested in finding clips of the band at the Institute of Contemporary Arts, located in London. What I've found are three clips of the band performing "Only Shallow"--the first song the group has performed together live in 16 years. It's more than an apt choice, seeing how "Only Shallow" is the opening song of their magnum opus, the monumentally influential Loveless. The first clip at the top is of the best quality, in terms of audio and video together. The one below it has best video quality, but is the worst in terms of sound; the last is adequate on both fronts. Watch all three at the top of the post.

Check out the set-list and more details over at Stereogum.

(Jonathan Graef)

Slowdive: The Videos

Download: Slowdive- "Alison"

With all the talk surrounding My Bloody Valentine's "new" album, I got to thinking about other shoegaze bands from that era, such as Ride and Slowdive. I've already written about Ride before, more specifically their fantastic album Nowhere, so I'd thought I'd write about Slowdive this time. Their second album, Souvlaki,, has some of my absolute favorite songs of all time, including the euphoric "Alison", the ethereal "Machine Gun", and the e-transcendent "When The Sun Hits".

The band formed in 1989 and broke up in 1995. During that time, they put out three albums: Just For A Day, in 1991; the aforementioned Souvlaki, (which contained two tracks that were co-written with Brian Eno), an album that was released in the UK in 1993 and in the US in 1994; and Pygmalion, a widely misunderstood album, and, as a result of its commercial failure, a rare, collector's album, in 1995. All three records were re-released in late 2005, with the first two albums being given bonus disks and the third merely being put back into print.

To read a more detailed biography, go here. While you're reading that, check out the numerous videos posted below. You'll find both versions of the video for "Alison" - one has a more "party" style atmosphere to it; the other is a narrative video with much more footage of the band - and a whole slew of live videos, many of which are taken from the band's last gig they played in Toronto. All videos are for songs from each album Slowdive had released. My favorite is the clips of Fantasia set to the song "Slowdive", which you can find at the very bottom of the post.

Enjoy!



(Slowdive, "Alison", Version 1)



(Slowdive, "Alison", Version 2)



(Slowdive, "Shine")



(Slowdive, "Catch The Breeze")



(Slowdive, "Ballad Of Sister Sue")



(Slowdive, "Avalyn", Live In Toronto, 1994)



(Slowdive, "When The Sun Hits, Live In Toronto, 1994)



(Slowdive, "40 Days", Live In Toronto, 1994)



(Slowdive, "Souvlaki Space Station", Live In Hamburg, 1994)



(Slowdive, "She Calls", Live)



(Clips from Fantasia set to Slowdive's "Slowdive")

MySpace Tribute Page
Buy Slowdive Albums here

(Jonathan Graef)

My Bloody Valentine To Release "New" Album This Year

Download: My Bloody Valentine - "Only Shallow"
Download: My Bloody Valentine - "Loomer"
Download: My Bloody Valentine - "Never Say Goodbye"
Download: My Bloody Valentine - "The Things I Miss"
Download: My Bloody Valentine - "Glider"
Download: My Bloody Valentine - "Off Your Face"
Download: My Bloody Valentine- "Come In Alone"


Check it out at the Daily Swarm. In sum, My Bloody Valentine are back together and may release an album as early as this year.

These are the two key quotes from the piece (well, one would be a quote of a quote in this case). First, from Kevin Shields himself, in an video interview that's due to air Monday on Soft Focus (which is quoted in the TDS piece):

We were making a record in the 90s, around when the band broke up in 1995…and I continued with Belinda. We kinda made we made most of an album….It’s going to be this ‘96/‘97 record half-finished record finished, and then a compilation of stuff we did before that in 1993–94, and a little bit of new stuff.

I pretty much know what the one that’s going to come out this year is going to sound like because its already pretty much 3/4’s done already…it sounds like what we sounded like – different but not radically different. People will go, “Yeah, it sounds like My Bloody Valentine.”

So the first "new" record isn't really new, per se. Having said that, I don't think there's a single soul on the planet who doesn't want to hear this material.

The second key quote comes from the TDS piece itself:

While Shields claims a My Bloody Valentine album is due this year, he gives no indication of exactly when or how it will be released. When the group split up in 1995 they had already left Creation Records and signed a legendarily ill-fated deal with Island, but it is unlikely that the contract remains in effect after all this time. The band recently activated (the official MBV website) and Shields’ manager confirmed the the site is being built by Debbie Goodge, the band’s bass player. It is possible that the album will see an independent, Internet-only, Radiohead style release, and a release date could be announced at any time.

As for My Bloody Valentine’s return to the stage and possible appearance at Coachella 2008, we have no new news to report (the subject does not come up in the Soft Focus interview). According to sources close to the band and the festival, discussions are ongoing and no final decisions have yet been made.

So there you have it. It would seem to me that any material by MBV - whether its "new" or new - would be analogous to Dinosaur Jr's reunion album Beyond, which was released earlier this year. That is, the record would find the band picking up where they left off, as if there had been no delay, break-up or hiatus at all, and expertly continuing their sound. In other words, well-received, but not groundbreaking. But really, how could it be? Loveless, like all genre-defining masterpieces, is both timeless classic and huge albatross. The best thing the band could do is pretend 1995-2007 never happened.

One last quote, from a typically restrained Pitchfork:

So what did we learn today? That My Bloody Valentine are indeed back together in some configuration or another. That they've recorded new material. That they have at least two releases on the way, one of which may very well come out this year. And, last but not least, that Loveless has a follow-up and IT WILL SOON TOUCH THE EARS OF HUMANKIND.

Wooooooooooooo!

(Jonathan Graef)

Japan Cakes cover My Bloody Valentine

(From Pitchfork)

Ambient-Rock band Japan Cakes will release an entire album cover of My Bloody Valentine's landmark shoegaze album Loveless. Pitchfork posted the first track, "Only Shallow", on their website yesterday. The original is one of my favorite albums of all time. I realize that isn't the most brave or groundbreaking choice but, after all, some things become cliche because they happen to be true.

Needless to say, the Japan Cakes project is of great intrigue to me. I do like what the band has done with "Only Shallow." What is interesting to me about what Japan Cakes did with the song is that their approach is arguably just as layered as My Bloody Valentine's was; only the instrumentation is different.

The dreamy production is there (on a much smaller level, granted), but instead of stacks of swirling, looping guitar noise, there's pedal steel, cello and other orchestral instrumentation. Japan Cakes do entirely away with the vocals, which I think is wise because a). the vocals on Loveless are virtually indecipherable and b). Even though Kevin Shields is the early 90s Brian Wilson, he is actually a terrible lyricist. By replacing the vocals with cello, Japan Cakes redefine MBV's serenity and put it into an entirely different, and pleasing, context.

You can listen to Japan Cakes take on "Only Shallow" at the top of the post, then get their take on "Loomer" below. In addition, you'll find the original My Bloody Valentine tracks for the sake of comparison and some songs from Ecstasy And Wine and the Glider EP.

From Loveless

Download: My Bloody Valentine - "Only Shallow"
Download: Japan Cakes - "Loomer"
Download: My Bloody Valentine - "Loomer"

From Ecstasy And Wine:

Download: My Bloody Valentine - "Never Say Goodbye"
Download: My Bloody Valentine - "The Things I Miss"

From Glider:

Download: My Bloody Valentine - "Glider"
Download: My Bloody Valentine - "Off Your Face"

(Jonathan Graef)