My Bloody Valentine at the Roundhouse, 21st June 2008

A short, pretty pointless review.

Sonic Boom, formerly of Spacemen 3 was pleasant enough- hushed, minimalistic drone- but not enough to keep you on the edge of your seat. Perhaps it was more out of cameraderie than merit that they were chosen to open for MBV, because I can think of a number of better bands aligned with MBV that could have opened for them. Still, the Mudhoney cover went down well (probably the best of the set).

It's kinda strange going to see a band who basically split up when you were about 3, and hearing all the stories about them- and then there you are waiting excitedly in a darkened room, watching the stage like hawks for the band's arrival. I had my earphones stuffed loosely in my pockets, ready for my hands to quickly dive for in case it got so loud I had to run out screaming. Was it that loud? Well, no, but it was definitely the loudest show I've seen.

On stage Shields and Butcher were typically still, while O’Ciosoig and Googe were thrashing and battling about. Belinda's vocals were especially angelic, when you could hear a piece of them under all the noise. Apart from a couple of false starts they were a tight group (older fans have said they've improved as a live act since they're first coming). Personal highlights for me would be Soon, Only Shallow (a great opener), To here knows when and Blown a wish. My only wish would have been that they'd played No more sorry and Sometimes, but you can't have it all.