My Bloody Valentine
Kevin Shields is a mysterious figure. The man cemented his legacy 22 years ago with an album called Loveless. When an artist creates a unique piece of work like Loveless, they will always be analysed. It’s an album that makes you wonder what kind of person would know so seamlessly how to tear every wall down and break every preconception of how rock music is supposed to sound. I wholeheartedly believe that the scrutiny following the album broke Kevin Shields and hindered his ability to put out any work that he did not have the utmost confidence in. My Bloody Valentine’s body of work has no lulls or lapses in quality, because they have not put out enough material to have any weak releases.
Being right up front for My Bloody Valentine, you get to see what time has done to Shields. His signature long, black hair has grayed. He has a few more wrinkles. But he knows what this crowd wants. Fair warning; going to an MBV show without ear plugs would be a huge mistake. The band had a reputation for ear-shattering performances on the Loveless tour so they made sure to give the fans what they wanted. Some people may have been a little scared (me included), but believe me, this is what we wanted.
The band’s new album, mbv, has been relatively well received, but Bloody Valentine knew what the audience really wanted to hear. The crowd was excited when the band opened ‘Sometimes’ off of Loveless, and the place went bonkers when they started into a sped-up version of ‘When You Sleep’ off of Loveless. My Bloody Valentine has an agreeable setlist; all eras of their career while covering all of the fan favorites. They even played a few songs off their first album Isn’t Anything which this reviewer has a very high opinion of and was worried that they would ignore. And while Kevin Shields has gotten older, drummer Colm Ó Cíosóig has perfected his funny faces behind the drum set, and Bilinda Butcher looks like your mom, they have a clear understanding of what makes music beautiful and how it can take a huge group of people and throw them in a trance-like state. I still have no idea whether seeing My Bloody Valentine for my first time in 2013 compares to seeing them in their early 90’s prime, that erupted before I was even born. However, I’m willing to bet that Shields and company know exactly what they are doing and feel as though they can get on the stage of the Boston House of Blues and play like it’s 1991.
-Andre Orlando