The My Bloody Valentine endurance challenge

Hey, did you hear? A long-absent, wildly influential act out of Britain is playing a handful of highly anticipated and absurdly well received gigs. No? Well, the first of My Bloody Valentine's two nights at the cavernous steel echo chamber that is the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium took place last night, and while we'll have a complete wrap-up on Friday after Margaret checks out tonight's show, I just had to weigh in on one of the more talked-about aspects of their shows. Namely, the 10-odd-minute white-noise excursion MBV launches into midway through the pounding "You Made Me Realise" at the close of an admittedly jaw-dropping set.

First thing: bring your earplugs. No really. BRING THEM. If you happen to have your pair whisked away by the overzealous door security because their carrying case resembles contraband (thanks, guys!), grab a pair from the box by the entrance, and then grab another pair as a backup. Seriously. There's a reason why they're free and available. There's loud, there's Kiss circa 1978-loud, and then there's "You Made Me Realise."

The song is pretty extraordinary in its own right, all driving drums and churning guitar that originally appeared on a 1988 EP. But then after about two or three minutes, the song drops away and becomes something Wholly Other. In between the strobe lights and video montage behind the band, you can tell they're absolutely whaling on their instruments. Drummer Colm O'Ciosoig seems to be trying to pound the finish off his cymbals while Kevin Shields, Bilinda Butcher and Debbie Googe are brutally strumming away on their instruments, yet the sound doesn't quite match their movements. It's just this wall, this incredible sonic presence that even from a seat in the back row of the auditorium vibrates clothing, your body and -- at one or two tense moments -- seemingly the entire building.

A couple rows down, a man stood and raised his arms in triumph -- maybe he screamed? -- while more than a few people reached their hands in front of them to touch the wall of pure, unholy sound that was filling the room. Others weren't so hardy. Within minutes, plenty of people made their way to the exits. One woman in front of me stood to leave and as she reached the end of the aisle wobbled a bit, as if nausea nearly overtook her.

Apart from a few swells and barbed curves of noise when it felt like my earplugs were being turned into shredded paper, the sound hardly varied, gave no real indication it was being controlled by anyone. More than a few times I jammed my fingers into my ears to make sure that somehow the sheer physical force of the sound being unleashed wasn't somehow popping my earplugs from my swelling skull.

And yet . . . this was not an unpleasant experience. There was something to what was being done here, something just as worthy of appreciating as the driving version of "Soon" the band played only a few songs prior. Facing such an unprecedented onslaught, my friend at one point did the unthinkable -- he removed his earplugs. Only for a moment, just for a sense of what was really going on here, unfiltered. He told me it felt like he had dunked his head into pure energy, something that wasn't even sound anymore. Given the sheer number of amplifiers and equipment that were assembled for Kevin Shields' setup at the right of the stage, it was easy to think that we had in effect all become another layer of amplifiers, just another surface for My Bloody Valentine's enormous sound to reflect from.

And then, suddenly, the band came back into the song. Many clapped -- not that they could register the sound beyond the physical sensation of feeling their hands hitting each other -- and even more cheered. Minutes later, after the song rose to a conclusion at its head-exploding volume, the song, and the show, were over.

Many people lingered outside the venue like some weird sort of survivors, talking about what they'd just witnessed with mostly awed shakes of their heads. The comparisons came quickly and furiously. "Like standing behind a 747" one guy in front of me texted midway through the onslaught. I couldn't help but think of the 2007 Danny Boyle film "Sunshine," in which one of the crewmen sent on a mission to the sun becomes addicted to the power he sees when he looks at an ever-approaching sun.

If you're going to the show tonight, you're going to feel and hear something you haven't before, something that it's not hyperbole to say will shift your way of thinking about sound, if only during those first few vivid moments after the show, when you take your earplugs out. If you can take the challenge and ride out the storm, it's well worth the trip.

-- Chris Barton

Photo from "Sunshine" by Alex Bailey

Comments

[Ned R.]

"First thing: bring your earplugs. No really. BRING THEM."

Truer words never spoken.

[jojo]

what? (survivor of MBV's previous L.A. visit)

[james]

POWER DID YOU SAY?
Total power to the max. I will say that I had a epiphiny during "you made me realise" The sound was of pure energy, something we have all truly desired. Sounds were washing over me like electricity and LOVE. (all this without earplugs).
If you have never expierenced pure joy and energy please rush to the SMC and be "born again".

[rhonda]

I think it was more like 17 minutes. I felt reborn after, no joke.

[carlos]

that sonic wave of sound was registered at about 128 decibels. 130 is that of a jet engine, and 160 decibels are capable of killing a human bieng. so it's a near death experience, and it never felt better. i'm honestly debating going again..

[Proximo]

There is no need for a Large Hadron Collider while My Bloody Valentine exists.

Last night was awe inspiring and wildly fantastic.

[emerson]

there could have been earthquakes, tornadoes, Godzilla, I wouldn't have had any idea. I went back and forth with the earplugs, but finally decided to just leave them out. It had to be the loudest concert I've ever been to.

[McMac_NYC]

Saw MBV in New York and couldn't agree more with everything in this article. While I did have complaints about the show (mostly: vocals should have been louder), my overall experience was a religious one. I keep trying to explain to people that it wasn't really loud in my ears (wore earplugs but only had them halfway in), it was loud in my *body*. My Bloody Valentine succeeded in making their music physical, and it was a truly unforgettable and blissful thing. As the very best live shows do, they gave me a whole new understanding of - and awe for - their music. Can't wait to hear the new material and see them live again... and again...

[xuli]

my bloody earhole.

[Kurt]

Saw them last night, the final date of their tour. Stood down front and decided not to wear earplugs, probably for the same reason the psychiatrist in Sunshine took off his sunglasses. Pure bliss, though my ears are ringing today. The nearest thing I can compare it to is standing on a flightline next to three F-22s on full afterburners -- it's more than feedback, it's a roaring wall of sound that flays your skin.

[slakbox]

Saw them last night as well. No earplugs. Today I feel as if my eardrums are burrowing further and further toward the center of my head. The ringing is unbelievable and I have a headache. I'd do it again.

[Chuck G]

Transendental. Neuro-circuit rewiring. Difficult to explain.

[Carol]

I caught the show at The Aragon in Chicago last weekend....by far, the most memorable and mind blowing experience I've ever had at any concert. I put my earplugs in for about half of one song, decided I was being too cautious and took the whole thing in sans earplugs. I couldn't have been happier.

[joe]

Saw this show last weekend at the Aragon in Chicago like Chuck G did. We had heard it would be a long one so I timed it from the start on my iPhone. They started FMWYK at 10:08, and the song officially ended at 10:42. Sounds like you guys got ripped off in L.A!!

I too took some pix with my phone of the onslaught and peoples reactions to it. That was enjoyable.

[Jay]

This article put it the best. I am huge MBV fan so I knew every song but the experience was first. I've had their bootleg live recordings but this... this was something else.

I went to the last show of the tour and this was long waited since 1992 and so glad that I got to see THIS show. After wards, I walked out and was just in awe. My friend whom I took because my drummer bailed on me last minute and she never heard of them before and had one of the best show ever, saw a friend of hers. We walked over there to chat. I was in aftershock and didn't say much and saw it was Joey Santiago from Pixies. We just talked about how awesome the show was and how loud it was. Another mentioned that they were actually making the noise and I agreed.

When I was listening to it at first and my body started to vibrate, I couldn't stop smiling. I had the biggest smile on my face. It felt like I was taking my car to 140mph and its shaking because of pure speed and force. I loved every 17 minute of it. I did take out my ear plugs for few seconds and realized its better to shave off 32 decibels from the 128 to somewhat save my ears. I felt like that was an art performance pushing it to limits. I love that they made you feel whatever-you-want-to-say-here because it made me be inspired. It made re-think my appreciation for music in a fourth dimension. Like I just seem video game in 3-d for first time. I was just happy that I went to most memorable loudest concert ever in my life. This is up in top 5 for me. I am also very happy all of the people feel the same way.