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My Bloody Valentine perform first show in five years: Watch
The Dublin shoegazers, led by Kevin Shields, kicked off their summer tour at Birmingham's O2 Institute. MBV is expected to put out 2 EPs soon.
By Suraj Prabhu
Get your earplugs ready! Shoegaze pioneers My Bloody Valentine are back on the road. Kevin Shields' iconic experimental post-punk outfit played their first live show since 2013 last night (22 June), at Birmingham's O2 Institute. The gig kicked off their summer headline tour, which will see them tour the US, as well as play a few festivals, including Robert Smith's Meltdown Festival, Japan's Sonic Mania festival and Denmark's Roskilde festival, reports NME.
According to the observations of some fans who were at the gig on social media, the Dublin-based indie rockers experienced a few technical difficulties and had a few false-starts, but that didn't stop them from ripping out their best hits from their three studio albums ('Isn't Anything', 'Loveless', 'm b v') and two EPs ('Tremolo', 'You Made Me Realise'). The setlist (which you can find below) included a string of fan-favorites too, including the likes of 'Ony Shallow,' 'Wonder 2,' 'Feed Me With Your Kiss,' 'Only Tomorrow,' and 'When You Sleep,' among more. Unfortunately, they didn't perform any new material from their forthcoming two EPs, which isn't at all surprising considering the fact that Shields always likes to keep things close to the chest and under wraps till the very last moment.
One fan who went by the handle @spitefaceben on Twitter described the Birmingham gig as "loud as hell", thanking the band for the earplugs they traditionally gift their fans during their gigs. "Back at the hotel. Typical bad back and aching legs. and thank god for the earplugs," he wrote. "Good gig, in spite of Kevin Shields obviously having technical problems and a few false starts in the first half. Loud as hell, as one would expect from My Bloody Valentine."
After Shields described their new album as 'more like a sprawling EP', the band eventually decided to release it as two EPs, one coming this summer, and the second in spring 2019. Last November, Shields described their new music as 'all over the place', but said the band itself was 'in a healthy state'. Earlier this year, My Bloody Valentine released 'all analog' reissues of their 'Isn't Anything' and 'Loveless' albums.
Speaking about the upcoming EPs in an earlier interview, Shields revealed how getting back on the road will act as a sort of deadline for new material. "We're going to play live again," Shields said at the time, "so that's always a really good way to guarantee that we'll get the record done."
Check out some fan-shot clips of MBV's first gig in five years below, followed by their full setlist for the night.
Promise I haven't got shaky hands here. That's #mybloodyvalentine managing to shake my phone when it's stabilised by a guard rail and my hands... 😨 #loveless #mbv #onlyshallow #shoegaze #altrock #kevinshields #fender
A post shared by Joshua Crawley (@allhailthevoid) on Jun 22, 2018 at 3:08pm PDT
Must post before I sleep...and then wake up again in 5 hours' time. What a dream come true tonight... #mybloodyvalentine #youmademerealise #noise
A post shared by Jade Evans (@jadelouisaevans) on Jun 22, 2018 at 4:44pm PDT
My Bloody Valentine destroying people's ability to hear once again. #mybloodyvalentine
A post shared by Marcus (@godofbore) on Jun 22, 2018 at 3:16pm PDT
My Bloody Valentine Setlist - O2 Insititute, Birmingham (06.22.2018):
I Only Said
When You Sleep
You Never Should
Cigarette in Your Bed
Only Tomorrow
Only Shallow
Who Sees You
To Here Knows When
Feed Me With Your Kiss
You Made Me Realise