This was another much rescheduled gig. I remember going to see Jesus & Mary Chain nearly 40 years ago, when they were a cocky bunch of skinny Scottish youths with a much hyped reputation. Their gigs would end in minor riots, and their sound was full of noisy feedback. My hearing took 3 days to recover from an eighties gig at Rock City in Nottingham. But time moves on.
Tonight they were supported by another Scottish band, Magnetic Rev. I had arrived early (of course) and duly got to the front while waiting for my mate Kieron to join me. Difficult to encapsulate Mercury Rev's sound as it veered from periods of quiet ballad into ear-shredding noise from full blast guitars with feedback. The ballad parts were not great as the male lead vocalist at least has a poor voice (the female much better). Poor voice, but really nice humorous persona. And got the sympathy of the crowd by explaining why he had walked on stage in crutches. He had snapped an Achilles tendon at a gig in Glasgow. This left him sitting throughout the session, while playing his guitar. Unfortunately, in the more frenetic surges of guitar noise, the fact that he was both seated and jerking around made him look like he was being executed in an electric chair. Not a good look.
Anyway, Kieron arrived with few minutes to spare for the main act, and I took pity on him (and probably on myself!) by vacating my spot at the front, near a speaker, for something a little further back.
And this was quite a change from seeing them 40 years ago. We got the explanation that they would play Darklands, their second album, in full, then go off for some drugs (joke, actually cup of tea) and then play a miscellany of their other songs.
There was a solid sprinkling of real youngsters here, although the solid base was of men my age - just about pensionable. So unsurprisingly not the vigorous mosh pit of my youth. I remember my skinny mate Mike hurling himself into the sweaty fray while I edged off to the side to safety (without taking into account that the spot by the speakers was safe only from physical bruising, not hearing damage!). This was all much more sedate, as befits a band in their sixties. Also, while the Nottingham gig was playing through their loud and bold debut album Psychocandy, this was going through their rather more restrained follow up Darklands. Which featured their biggest single hit April Skies (as Kieron explained to me, being a big fan of the band when he was at school).
Before the end I suggested to Kieron we should move to the back during the encore, allowing swift exit from the Roundhouse which is notoriously slow to clear. It also allowed us to find a nearby pub for a post gig drink and de-brief. Of course I enjoyed the gig, but also I have to say I missed the excitement of both my first time seeing them, and of the Psychocandy songs which were almost entirely ignored in the second half of the gig. But great to catch up with Kieron, even though I sit next to him in the office. Just quite different chewing the fat with a pint on a Friday night😃
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