We saw My Bloody Valentine and Mazzy Star – things got loud (and very quiet)

My Bloody Valentine @ Metropolis, November 6
Mazzy Star @ Club Soda, November 17

Fans of alt-rock’s 90’s heyday were able to scratch a couple more names off their bucket list this month, with the rare appearances of both My Bloody Valentine and Mazzy Star in this city, just two weeks apart (Sebadoh were also in town this month, but they’ve become an annual tradition by this point.)

Even more surprising, both bands are on tour promoting their long-awaited, excellent new LP’s, each of which fit seamlessly into their respective catalogues (My Bloody Valentine’s mbv was released last February, while Mazzy Star’s Seasons of Your Day came out in September).

The similarities end there. While each band played a career-spanning set to a captive audience, many of whom were in diapers during the 90’s, their approaches could not have been any more different.

My Bloody Valentine is infamous for loud shows. Not just “loud” in the conventional manner that most guitar-based bands are loud, but loud in a way that reaches deep within your body and rattles it mercilessly. Much is made of the band’s standard closing song, “You Made Me Realize”, an inauspicious set-closer save for its “Holocaust section”, where they band relentlessly play a single distorted note so ear-piercingly loud that it has caused some audience members to soil themselves.

My Bloody Valentine’s mastermind Kevin Shields is known for, shall we say, being particular about the band’s sound (see: the band’s massive recording budget for 1991’s Loveless, and the 20+ year wait for this year’s mbv) and this night was no different. Rumour has it that Shields demanded the venue swap out their entire PA for the night so the band could install their own, which, if true, shows the lengths Shields is willing to go to ensure the MBV live experience is executed exactly as he envisions it.

With trippy psychedelic visuals projected behind them and an array of strobe-towers, the band took the stage and immediately launched into “Sometimes” from Loveless. From the first note, it was clear that the loud-volume warning signs posted throughout the venue were no joke. Even with the provided earplugs, the noise was almost a physical element, a rushing warmth that you could actually feel rattling your cheeks.

Although Metropolis is a cavernous venue, the mix was perfect for this set, allowing the vocals to rise through the barreling cacophony in a way that they never quite do on record. However, Shields still seemed perturbed over the sound, throwing menacing looks side-stage to the techs and frantically pointing at the wall of amps behind him throughout the band’s 90-minute set.

All eras of their discography were well represented, with the band running through the bulk of Loveless, a couple of slightly-reinterpreted tracks off mbv, a few deep cuts from their debut LP, Isn’t Anything and various earlier EP’s, and of course, closing with the requisite “You Made Me Realize”.

When “You Made Me Realize” finally hit, you could sense the crowd bracing themselves. From the opening of the “Holocaust section”, it became immediately obvious that the provided earplugs were totally insufficient. While trimmed to a relatively short 8 minutes from the 20+ minute assault of their 2008 reunion tour, the pounding, repetitive drone was still nearly unbearable. To compare it to the din created by any other band would be useless; it felt like riding an uphill roller-coaster ramp, with no descent in sight. When the band eventually kicked back to “regular” volume, they sounded positively quaint in comparison.

While nearly overwhelming at times, the show was a completely visceral experience, and more than any other gig in recent memory, demonstrated the nearly-limitless possibilities of volume as an art form.

Mazzy Star, on the other hand, demonstrated the inherent power of subtlety.

The ethereal-sounding band, centered on vocalist Hope Sandoval and guitarist David Roback, were bathed in darkness throughout their set, illuminated only by a few scattered candles on-stage and a set of static purple lights. The strict no camera / cell phone policy actually seemed to work, creating a near pitch-black atmosphere throughout the venue.

The band remained almost comically still throughout, with Hope barely moving a few inches from her custom mic / work bench area. Adorned with what appeared to be a bolted iPad (likely serving as a teleprompter, unless she is really into Angry Birds), she flicked at it throughout the set, the light from the device still barely permeating the darkness of the stage. The work bench was also adorned with a device that she used to launch some moody pre-recorded instrumental tracks between songs, creating a seamless set, and affording the notoriously-shy Hope the opportunity to avoid speaking to the crowd.

The setlist focused heavily on the band’s debut, 1991’s She Hangs Brightly, while touching on every era of the band’s long history. It says something of the band’s confidence in their material that their one true hit, 1993’s “Fade Into You”, was played in the middle of their set, without any fanfare.

The crowd, leaning heavily towards the late 30’s set, but with a smattering of young, Osheaga-types, was generally quiet and respectful during the band’s acoustic-leaning tracks, though you could feel the release when the band kicked into the loudly droning “She Hangs Brightly”, where everyone suddenly began murmuring at once, their minutes-long streak of silence apparently untenable.

The band had no gimmicks, apart from projections featuring faded-looking old postcards and psychedelic swirls, which allowed the focus to remain on Hope’s captivating voice, which has shown absolutely no signs of wear. In fact, for better or worse, she sounded nearly exactly as she does on record, which lent the evening few surprises, but showcased just how locked in and tight the band is.

Given the 20+ year wait between gigs here, the two encores were a nice touch, and sent everyone out on a subdued and wistful note, a welcome sonic respite from the onslaught of MBV just a few days prior.