Nostalgia: My Bloody Valentine @ Santa Monica Civic 10/02/2008
The strangest feeling as one stood in the audience for their final U.S. show: this was not about the band; this was about the audience. How the audience reacted to hearing the music as if it was played underwater or in the next room really loud. How it was not necessary to actually see the musicians playing since the light show obliterated the view. How every smug, self-satisfied person in the audience stood in awe, not of the band, but of how they were able to withstand the barrage of noise when the final song with its 15 minute sonic explosion was performed. Pity…the Holy Grail remained so because few, if any, actually saw the bloody thing. Nostalgia sux.
October 8th, 2008 at 12:36 am
I thought it was a fantastic show, and not until the final minutes did I it become crystal why I love the band. MBV excels at conveying sound as mass. Just like when a color is so vibrant, you can smell it, or an image gives your tastebuds a workout. That final 18 minutes (23 minutes when I saw them in ‘94) was tactile, alarming, calming, and open to interpretation, as illustrated by the guy getting DOWN to it in our section.
But the Santa Monica Civic kinda blows.
October 8th, 2008 at 9:28 am
Billy—
I agree that the band did a good job in conveying sound as mass. I am just making a critical analysis of the subtext of the show itself. Your comments have more credence than mine since you saw them play back in 1994.
October 8th, 2008 at 10:10 am
I have waited 14 years to see this band live… ever since Dan played Loveless for me for the first time! i thought it was an amazing show. One thing that struck me, is how these songs, that are now 17 years old (yes Loveless is c.1991) hold up today and are just as fresh and astounding as they were then. They don’t sound dated at all, in fact they were played with a new intensity that was exciting to hear. I have to say tho, that the lights as bright as the sun in my eyes was a conscious annoyance that was the one thing that distracted me from full enjoyment… well that and the concrete barn-like sound of SMCA. what vocals?
When they launched into the noise part of the last song I was in awe… I can only describe it as standing in front of a jet airplane that is on mushrooms, for 18 minutes. I made it for about 2 minutes without earplugs. LOL
October 9th, 2008 at 8:20 am
I added a pic of the crescendo of light.