Shoegaze prophets My Bloody Valentine conducted an incredible sonic exploration yesterday. The legendary soundscapers took to the stage solemnly, saying practically nothing to the crowd before opening.
“I Only Said” was the first track played. An enormous wall of sound hit the crowd with the first strums of Kevin Shield’s and Bilinda Butcher’s guitars, as the tonal achievements of the seasoned dream poppers were made evident. “Loomer” was played next, featuring signature whammy bar guitar and ethereal doubled vocals, while “Only Shallow” rolled over the crowd like a wave.
The performance was mightily impressive, but the crowd’s response remained a dichotomous one which I attribute to poor scheduling. Tool, the night’s headliners, were to play just after My Bloody Valentine on the same stage, drawing many of the prog-rock group’s fans forward in search of early seating.
Unsurprisingly, the Tool fans were less than appreciative of My Bloody Valentine’s preceding set, and they had no problem expressing it. “We want Tool” yells were heard throughout the crowd, and during the eight minute noise freak-out, “You Made Me Realise,” a battle between skyward thumbs-ups and middle-fingers was had among the differing fan bases.
The performers hardly seemed to notice, however, keeping their eyes either on the horizon or at their pedal boards. A few times, Shields did subject the crowd to a spurt of deliberate feedback or intense distortion, presumably punishing the audience for their rock and roll sins, and the band did leave their guitars feeding back on the stage floor when they left, forcing the stage crew to run around frantically trying to stop the noise.
