By the time I slid into Sneaky Petes, the first support act, Save Face, had already finished. A shame, as I listened to their track An Understanding i
Read MoreOn entry, we were greeted with earplugs - setting expectations for an exceptionally loud gig to come. As the lights dimmed, the crowd welcomed My Bloody Valentine with the words "louder, louder!".... clearly hardcore fans who know whats to come.
The first song I Only Said certainly met that criterion - extra volume, extra guitar distortion and extra blurry motion from the background visuals.
The band casually said a simple "hello" and moved on to play the hit When you Sleep. It was clear the audience were enjoying the ambience of this sweet refrain of alternative rock - a chilled, subdued guitar riff backed with a prominent, mesmerising drum beat.
As the songs continued, the sampler was a clear focus of the show - hypnotising the audience into a calm trance of happiness and joy. They swayed and bobbed their heads in a motion that was somehow both lively and relaxed at the same time, clearly indicating the extraordinary combination of emotions coming through.
The show continued with the consistent mixture of variations on an alternative rock theme, until the final song You Made Me Realise. It was one of the longest and most sustained noise introductions, teasing the audience with whats to come.
My Bloody Valentine, the iconic Irish-English shoe-gazing trailblazers of their time, put on one heck of a show, showing that unconventional rock is still very much alive, after entertaining for the past four decades plus. Heres to more decades of unorthodox and distorted music still to come!
Review by Sara Law, Photography by Isaac Watson
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