My Bleeding Eardrums

My Bloody Valentine, June 23rd - The Roundhouse

Creation records was nearly bankrupted by this mans use of guitars and amps to get to the perfect white noise.

I'm sure the Roundhouse may well be in the same boat.

My Bloody Valentine have returned to touring after 16 years, and after a warm-up at the ICA last week, played five nights at the Roundhouse in Camden.

You could feel the air being shot across the room, as Kevin Shields sliced some kind of distorted wave with each chord from the myriad of Fender Jazzmaster's & Jaguar's he switched through - it was almost like a product tour of each colour!

Bilinda Butcher pulled off something extraordinary during this gig, I almost caught what some of the words were! It took Mr. Shields dropping down to the most de-tuned acoustic guitar on record to acheive that on for 'Lose My Breath' from their first album.

Thankfully ear plugs were provided. Anyone who turned down that option will forever enjoy it as the last thing they probably ever heard.

For the closer, You Made Me Realise, after two minutes of garbled vocals, manic drumming and blasted guitars - the band turn on the audience and use the sonic weapon of mass destruction. As the delays and distortion layer on each other, the feeling of standing infront of the jet engine of a 747, both aurally and physically is imposed on the crowd - a deafening roar of distortion layered on distortion for an unguessable amount of time (apparently 20 minutes).

The scene is incredible, first I wonder how long it's going on for, then start to find it hilarious, then feel a bit annoyed that it's going on so long, then back to amazed, then it's funny again, then boring again. I think I ended on amazed - but also slightly relieved there was no encore.

My Bloody Valentine - Soon