My Bloody Valentine

I went to see My Bloody Valentine on Tuesday last week. It felt like a real event before we got there - lots of buzz about the previous gigs had already appeared in the form of reviews and facebook updates. We were given ear-plugs on the way in in readiness for the onslaught of noise they end every gig with. Anyway they played a blinding set mainly from Loveless, but with a fair few from Isn't Anything (my preferred album I think) and also from the EPs. Sounded really tight and the sound was loud but clear, recreating the sound off the albums fairly closely. But the last song, You Made Me Realise, is what it was all about. The middle section of this is just one chord which goes on for over 2o minutes. It gets louder and louder and the sound feels like something physical in the room with you, vibrating your internal organs and making every hair stand on end. There is no space left in your brain for thoughts so it becomes almost like meditation or a full mental reboot. It's not for everyone, I'd guess about 20% of the audience left before the end, and a lot stood with their hands over their ears, but for the rest it was a perfect end to a very special and unusual gig.