When I was handed a pair of earplugs as I arrived at the Tivoli, my intention was to wear them throughout. My Bloody Valentine are famously loud live, and this:
…only confirmed that earplugs were… recommended.
Hearing the first torrential notes of “I Only Said,” I changed my mind and abandoned the flimsy protection to wade into the full depths of the sonic ocean, letting the waves of fierce, hazy guitars engulf me.
It wasn’t a perfect concert. Bilinda Butcher’s vocals were too low in the mix and kept clipping, while Kevin Shields was inaudible – I wasn’t there for the vocals, but hearing them would have been nice. They did the best to emulate the name of their genre – shoegaze – with their stage presence.
But none of this really mattered. Not when I was being buffeted on rough tides of overwhelming sound, consumed by syrupy guitars and pounding drums; not when I felt the music fill my veins and lift me from the ground; not when flashbacks of my past came to the fore, unbidden; and not when the surging cacophony of “You Made Me Realise” made my jaw literally drop. Transcendent is an overused word, but totally appropriate here.
ccpopculture 
Totally totally totally amazing concert. I think the Ramones may have been louder tho. My favourite part was when confetti started falling from the ceiling during the gap. I thought “How Un-MBV to have confetti cannons”. Then I realised it was confetti from someone else’s concert long ago. The rafters were being shaken so much it was cleaning out the debris!
Yeah it was fantastic but just the right level of loud for me – immense without actually threatening physical damage. I hadn’t noticed the confetti – that’s pretty incredible! Thanks for the comment.