After the briefest of 16 year interludes...

Last time I saw My Bloody Valentine it was at the Town & Country Club, they were absolutely fantastic and we got caught out by the extended version of 'You Made Me Realise' and ended up walking halfway across London for want of a train/bus. I'm not quite sure what has happened to the last 16 years but, if last night was anything to go on, the kings of shoegaze have lost nothing during the interval (if anything they've just gone and got louder). The crowd on the other hand were definitely showing signs of the passage of time; thirty-something balding/greying pates littered the venue, some people were actually in seats, thirty-something plus prostates meant the queue to the gents was longer and slower moving and an awful lot of people were collecting the ear-plugs at the door (me included). But, Wow! Shields et al. are still as good as ever, 'Soon' and the 20+ minute 'You Made Me Realise' were flawless. In fact, the volume achieved during the latter was ever so slightly scary, the primary sensual experience being the pressure waves reverberating in your chest cavity as opposed to the wall of sound infiltrating the ear-drums, ab-so-lute-ly awesome.