Was I really at the same gig as all those eulogising about MBV at the Roundhouse on Friday? It was one of the most disappointing gigs I have been to. The sound was atrocious, the vocals were completely inaudible, the band looked bored as did many standing near me. Noone danced. Is everyone too much in awe of having been at 'the comeback gig' to realise how mediocre it was? If you all really thought that was good you should have seen them first time around when the band looked like they meant it.
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phew
i was thinking something similar and beginning to worry it was just me.
it wasn't a bad gig by any means, just not great.
yep.
sound was pretty bad. i was quite annoyed and as i stated in the other thread so i kept walking round the venue trying to find a spot where i could hear kevin shields vocals.
got even more annoyed watching the people behind the sound desk being all self-congratulatory with themselves.
You should have told them at the end
that they are shite at their jobes.
You're right
Not the greatest live band, but what do you expect from one that takes a year to mix one track?
So
Was this bad performance not a one off? I'm undecided whether to watch them in Manchester.
Excellent!
In the space of two posts, a band whose live intensity has gone down in legend are deemed as a rubbish live band!
BUT THEY COULDN'T HEAR THE VOCALS SIMON!
lyrics being an integral part of MBV and all.
the lyrics
may not be an integral part of MBV but i'd argue that the vocals themselves are.
that is not what is being said...
it was a good gig but it was not as amazing as people have been making out.
just because it's not "the best gig in the world... ever" it does not mean they are a rubbish live band. i didn't have a problem with the band, i had a problem with the poor mixing of the sound. hopefully it'll get better over the next few nights.
"vocals inaudible" "band looked bored" "nobody dancing"
i'm curious as to what you were expecting?
(also, did you really need to start another thread?)
expecting?
How about being able to hear the vocals and the audience getting into it? It's not the lyrics I wanted to hear but the vocals - they are vital to the band's sound.
I guess I was expecting / hoping them to be as transcendent as when I saw them before and quite frankly they weren't even close.
(And I started a new thread because a post of dissent amongst 90 of pant-wetting excitment would have got lost)
people around me
seemed to having a perfect time.
that "what were you expecting?" comment was more aimed at expecting a band that pretty much coined the term SHOEGAZE to be engaging onstage. it's like... they got that name for a reason, y'know?
My friends
who'd seen them the first time round said yesterday was miles better than the hit-and-miss shows of the mid nineties.
shoegaze?
They didn't coin the term shoegaze, though clearly influenced bands that were part of that scene.
A band can be engaging by standing and not interacting if the gig they are playing works. And last night didn't. If the sound is poor and there's nothing to watch it can't be anything other than disappointing.
sorry, i wasn't clear
the term was coined to describe bands of their ilk.
the sound wasn't poor where i was but the roundhouse does seem to be pretty hit and miss depending on where you are - i thought sonic youth last year had awful sound, fr'example.
audiences
are generally shit these days. At least there were people nodding their heads!
I don't know if audiences are worse
I think the kind of gigs DiSers go to are more likely to have a slightly older crowd with less 16 year olds going nuts.
"vocals inaudible" "band looked bored" "nobody dancing"
thats every gig in London I've been too
almost correct aldo
you forgot the incessant london chattering classes, but i guess at mbv these twats become inaudible
Surely.....
you dont expect to clearly hear the vocals at a MBV live show?! Its hard enough on record. Well, 'Loveles' at least.
I never saw them first time round but from all ive seen / heard it doest sound like they became known for their particually energetic live shows!
I saw them at the ICA last saturday and it was quite brilliant and am making a trip to the Roundhouse tomorrow too. Looking foward to it.
yes i forgot that...
the half of the audience that dont actually seem to know who they are there to see so just chat all the way through it... how remiss of me.
I once went to see DJ Shadow and the guy next to me spent the whole gig moaning it was "just a guy playing records" !!
I agree
Those people saying it was the best gig they've ever been to can't have been to many good gigs.
Considering all the great things bands can bring to a live show - rhythm, melody, harmony, passion, energy, tone, etc - MBV brought only volume, which was a massive letdown. Volume should never be at the expense of all of those other things, but it was.
This^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
I thought they were really rather excellent
sounded OK from where I was too. Probably the first gig I've been to where my testicles felt like they were having a game of conkers in the sack, such was the din during YMMR.
Well,
I really enjoyed it and i go to A LOT of gigs... have been doing so for over ten years and yesterday was pretty much a highlight.- maybe it was helped by the sheer joy of seeing MBV after 16yrs off.
Sad the sound wasn't good for some people (i don't dispute it as I'd have no idea what it was like throughout the venue) - i was right at the front and it sounded great - yes the vocals were rather low in the mix but I thought it echoed the recordings quite well for a live sound.
And it lacked energy? WHA? i was dancing like a mental! (granted i seemed one of few!)
the audience seemed pretty into it where i was standing
i mean, not exactly raving, but i can't quite picture exactly the kind of dancing you imagine people doing to this music. we were certainly dancing though, as was everyone around.
as for the sound, i've heard a few people complain, and they tend to have been the people further back or upstairs, while people close to the front (where i was) had a great time, and could hear some (though it would've been nice to have heard more) of the vocals.
not saying they're the best live band ever, but they were pretty damned unique/special, and strong contender for best gig this year. i didn't really see it as a comeback gig, having been 12 and not really into that kind of thing the first time around, so there was no awe, or possibility of seeing them "when they looked like they meant it". to me, lastnight, they looked pretty damned earnest where i was standing.
well we were dancing
and tbh
the reason folks might have been motionless
is cos they were STUNNED
cos it was STUNNING
do look up that word, if you are still confused
The Vocals
seemed a lot clearer on Saturday, if that helps. I don't remember them having any more stage presence the first time around. I'd say, if anything, they are bettter now (soundwise).
excellent news about the vocals
i think i'll enjoy tonight a lot more than friday, this is why going to opening nights of tours is not always a good thing.
If the vocals were clearer on Saturday
then there couldn't have been any at all on Friday! Almost completely inaudible last night.
MBV bring loud volume and strobes, but not really much else.
phew
have spent hours agonising over leaving two thirds of the way through as I felt underwhelmed by the whole experience - though the light show was nice, the sound was actually ok and the free earplugs were most appreciated. The band seemed over rehearsed and there was nothing spontaneous or exciting about the show and at points the band looked plain bored. When it was good it was jaw droppingly stunning but they hit a plateau early on that they weren't going to improve on, I knew how it was going to end so it seemed right to go...
You left!
Did you have somewhere better to go?
In terms of stage presence and performance if anything they had more now than in the 90's - with MBV you are never going to get a play through of recorded material you get what you got last night. It made me very happy.
Last night was was fine
but the audience were so boring. Yo'd think after the fervour to get tickets that they had these rabid fans, but actually it was a room full of people who felt like they ought to be there (like me). There was no cheering at the start of any of the songs and if i hear one more review that says it was amazing because it was loud i'm going to cry.
Pretty good show, good visiuals, still love that venue, but terrible typical london audience. Will finish mid-table in my gigs of the year.
but it was really loud, right?
Amazing!
"typical london audience"
I always find London audiences to be pretty good. I don't really this this. Near the front there were plenty of people dancing about, did think it was a bit static though.
Comeback gigs are tricky
especially if you never saw the band originally...
it's either the highlight of your short life or the biggest disappointment ever.
I thought It was a good show what I'd expect from MBV, but the sound was a bit shit. Overall, I was just very happy to be there, because I know thousands would have taken my ticket in a hardbeat.
what kind of dancing would you do to MBV anyway?
i wasnt looking for dancing
I was looking for recognition from the audience that there was a gig on, of supposedly everyones favourite band.
there was
plenty movement/dancing at the side of the stage. was probably a bit too hot/packed to do anything in the middle
i once
had the pleasure of talking to kevin shields and he told me how people always complained that the vocals were too low at gigs. Well he said they're meant to be at that level so that you can't really make out the lyrics. That way everyone has their own little personal experience of the gig. Plus it helps make all the instruments (incl the vocals) merge into one beautiful sound.
Personally I thought they were amazing. I noticed quite a few people dancing and generally enjoying themselves. Best gig ever!
yeah that'd make sense
if you could actually hear the vocals at all
Maybe
it's just where people were stood. I was in the middle and it was fine. Kevin was a bit quiet for a fw songs in the middle but I didnt think it mattered. I mean how many people are complaining about the odd guitar being too quiet or the bass being too loud on a few tracks? You just have to expect that at live shows and enjoy them for what they are and you're never really going to get perfect sound everywhere in big venues.
I thought the sound last night was superb
Although I was near the back in the middle which is where the sound is always best so it might have been shit elsewhere.
Has anyone mentioned
23 quid a t-shirt yet?
criminally, no
the t-shirts were terrible as well. were poor designs.
the ones outside looked nicer, but would probably wash off after one wash.
^this
I was expecting t-shirts to be about 20 quid but like you said the designs were poor and i certainly wasnt willing to spend 23 pound on a t-shirt i didnt like. The ones outside we're ok but they all the ones they had seemed a bit too big for me.
Either way, i saved money.