At the time this created quite a stir: The Jesus and Mary Chain, My Bloody Valentine and Dinosaur Jr, three of the loudest bands around at that time, plus young upstarts Blur sharing a bill on equal footing. And the running order of the bands would be drawn each night. Well that's what they said. When Jesus and Mary Chain came on last and a huge lighting rig descended no-one was in doubt about who was headlining. JAMC and Dinosaur Jr can be pretty terrifyingly LOUD at the best of times. But MBV was something else.I seem to remember the band emerged from four plastic pods - just like in Spinal Tap. I might have this wrong, memory has failed me many times before. But what I have no doubt about was the noise. Now this wasn't just loud. I watched MBV from the very back of the Academy under the overhang from the first floor. And my diaphragm was vibrating painfully. All my internal organs were being shaken up by the waves of sound hitting me. And I was at the back.
This seems to be borne out by reports of their recent London gigs with ear-protectors given out on the way in (here and here). The mystique of MBV is about more than noise but if you are going tonight, I'd advise body protection as well as ear protection.
SOON
OFF YOUR FACE
My Bloody Valentine
Glider EP [BUY]
Glider EP [BUY]
The Jesus and Mary Chain
Barbed Wire Kisses [BUY]
JUST LIKE HEAVEN
Dinosaur Jr.
Dinosaur Jr.
Fossils [BUY]
Also tonight The Fall plus John Cooper Clarke and Bobby Peru at Manchester Academy. Spoilt for choice! Tickets here.
A one-off 
And guess what? It is a DOME. From the outside it is definitely a faded/neglected relic (from the 70s?) looking suspiciously like a roller-disco. Inside it is slightly better. Mainly because it is dark and beer is available to buy. There is a stage formed at one 'side' of the Dome with a level floor in front, tiered seating at the opposite side, and then a bar to one side. The ceiling of the Dome is transparent plastic that appears to be filled with corrugated cardboard. Capacity of about 800-1000 at a guess.
Only surprises were finishing with Lately/Rock in A and also a rendition of Happy Birthday Ronald played apparently for Yan's Dad who was 84 last week. But come on people! We know whose birthday it was today don't we?
During Rock in A, Noble went walkabout over the heads of the crowd (fairly brave given the large gaps) and took the air raid siren with him. Not sure if this was the intended rock 'n' roll pose he was aiming for:
Set-list:
Leonard was backed by a nine-piece band - three singers, keyboards, drums, bass, saxophone/'instrument of wind' and two guitarists - all suited and booted in black (good to see a drummer with a tie and waistcoat). They were clearly exceptional musicians but their role was to provide a subtle backdrop to his voice and to the lyrics. Some of Leonard's backing music, particularly on latter career albums, does tend towards the muzak/smooth end of the spectrum; and this was reproduced (with class) here. But purposely to foreground Leonard's rich voice and those distinctive lyrics. Dressed in a charcoal grey suit and with a brimmed hat, he appeared humbled by the rapturous reception he met - his entrance, after an absence from the UK of 15 years, was of course met with a standing ovation.
The Ruby Lounge was temporarily converted into a small shrine tonight; a holy place for all those who worship 
After the first song the calls for favourites from Hefner's back catalogue began. Darren pointed out they would be starting gently but would pick up speed and get to cover those requests. He was true to his word about the former but despite a set that covered all five albums including a few from final 'experimental' album Dead Media, there were many of those classics they simply couldn't fit in. Most noticeably Pull Yourself Together. But plenty of others - including some inspired requests from the crowd (Painting and Kissing and The Baggage Reclaim Song being the best). 
By the final part of the set Darren, Jack and crowd were truly in their element. The final songs they played, finishing the main set with The Day That Thatcher Dies, were pure joy to hear live - even with Darren starting to lose his voice. This was a relatively short evening (on stage for about for 75 minutes or so) but also one bathed in affection, warmth and the simple pleasure of hearing great songs played in such intimacy. A night to treasure.
Arrived to catch the last two songs from 
Whether you will get a note or not now, I cannot say. However if you do order a copy (and I really would recommend it) you get a fine record of infectiously good indie guitar pop and all for the unbelievably good value of £5. Including post and packaging. Beat that major labels.
The album is in the same vein as kja's 2005 release PIP - but with more guitars. The kiddie piano/toy box percussion moves aside to make way for lots of stomping guitar riffs - every song has it's own big hook. It's not lofi (recorded in Athens GA with Jason Nesmith) but has an intimacy and charm of someone playing at home with friends for fun. And as well as the catchy hooks it has bags of wide-eyed exuberance as it stomps through 12 tracks in a breezy 35 minutes. A real winner.
Tonight a celebration event was held at Manchester’s Town Hall in advance of that opening to which yours truly blagged an invitation. The event was aimed at sponsors and those with influence or deep pockets. Sadly I possess none of these. But I did enjoy the free Tuborg and came away with a BOTW mouse mat.
However if you have spare cash or bags of influence please consider BOTW and go 