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THE
JESUS AND MARY CHAIN: RETURN TO YESTERDAY – AND MORE PSYCHOCANDY
Classic Alternative Tracks Live In Detroit
DETROIT, MI – The famous Scottish rock legend – The Jesus
and Mary Chain – came back out of hiding to perform, “Psychocandy” in
Detroit. It was the return of the famous
brothers – Jim Reid and William Reid creating all of the melancholy fuzz, motorcycle
grind and deep mind bending psychosis that is – psychocandy. The album is
significant because it recently turned 30 and the media is being kind and
favorable towards it. This is somewhat of a major contrast compared to when it
was first released. A lot of rock critics and album PR people wrote it off as
garbage and noise. I mean, the write ups were terrible and fans of alternative
went for the more coherent stuff of the day like New Order, The Replacements
and Midnight Oil. The J & M Chain never got much radio love and were swept
under the rug.
MTV was a little nicer to the thunder duo. The late night rock show, “IRS’s The
Cutting Edge” did a feature on them in one episode in the late 80’s, ( I want
to say 1988). The show’s host, Peter Zaremba from the Fleshtones, said
favorable things about them. The segment showed him watching them on a bunch of
TV’s that were washed up on the beach. It was at night and the TV’s gave off an
eerie glow. Now this is just from what I remember and keep in mind that it has
been a long time. Zaremba made note of how the Jesus and Mary Chain was getting
inspiration from early rock and roll and then turning that into a new kind of
sound. Something old – something new – something inspired…… the tone of the
segment was more upbeat than the stuff I was reading about in the music
magazines. Now it’s 30 years on and the official word is that these guys are
Alternative Rock Gods in the music press. That’s fine, I am not here to pick a
fight with anyone but I remember the slow climb up. |
Then there is that little scrap with Echo and the Bunnymen.
Ian McCulloch claimed that the J & M Chain were trying to steal their sound
so they wrote a musical response in the form of, “Over Your Shoulder” to
upstage them and show them how to do –“the sound” correctly. While this musical
spat was short lived other bands found them very uplifting and inspiring like
The Pixies. Black Francis covered the Jesus and Mary Chain and the song, “Head
On” took on a new life of its own. The band later resurfaced in 2007 at some
music festivals but continued to remain somewhat invisible in radio and
especially in the Detroit market.
ST ANDREWS HALL, LIVE SHOW – MAY 3, 2015
There was no opening act and getting into the city proved
difficult and odd. For some unexplained reason the Detroit police department
was out in full force and had blocked off highway exits and entrances and major
intersections. I knew from experience that we don’t have the most attentive
police department in the country and our numbers, (despite the glorious hype of
local media) are very small. I was able to find an unoccupied street crossing
and BREAK ON through and park my car close to the famous Saint Andrews Hall. A
lot of people are trying to get out of Detroit and here I am trying to find a
way in….. weird I know. |
The Jesus and Mary Chain Psychocandy tour sold out. I am not
sure when that happened exactly because I got my ticket early. The whole venue
was full of alternative music fans. There were Goths, retro rockabilly types
and eccentric people everywhere and it was interesting to see that. I wondered just
how many fans there were from way back in the day and who just came to the show
out of curiosity to see what the big deal was. Many bands have come and gone
since the first introduction to the Jesus and Mary Chain and Alternative music
has become a steady industry. There was no opening band on this tour so instead
of that the J & M Chain just jumped into some old favorites including, “Reverence”
and, “Head On”. Behind the band was a big projection screen like the Velvet
Underground back in the 60’s. It was filled with filmic imagery and by that I
mean melting film footage, blurry images, and a barrage of strobe lights. They
had a fair mix of dark colored and flashing bright lights. Jim and William Reid
as well as the rest of the band was bathed in eerie shadows and in explosions of light. The overall
effect was atmospheric and yes…. It reminded me very much of Echo and the
Bunnymen only with some powerful stage imagery.
There was a deliberate pause before the, “Psychocandy”
portion of the show started and Jim addressed the audience but I couldn’t
understand his accent. Plus I was near the back and it was difficult to hear
what he was saying. People started cheering and screaming as soon as he began
talking. The audience was very enthusiastic. I was happy to just be in the
room. This was the bands second stop on this long awaited tour and so far it
was very exciting. |
When the drums started for, “Just Like Honey” I felt like I
was part of a religious experience. There was a quiet kind of hush as the band
started. This was the MEAT. The first thing I noticed was that Jim Reid sounded
just like he always did. His voice hadn’t changed or lost anything and it was
like we were transported back in time. All you can do in a situation like that
is just take it all in. We were in a state of awe and there was an incredible
sense of beauty in the lights and chaos by the time, “The Living End” came up.
I cannot say for certain that there was any kind of thrash dancing going on up
near the front but I suspect there was. These guys were really shaking things
up. The energy was contagious. The band members were reduced to silhouettes on
stage and shrouded in mystery. The important thing was that the beat kept
driving and the songs were delivered note per note. I wished they were longer
because the energy they were creating up there was massive and bright. You just
don’t get that kind of experience from a lot of bands today.
If I could compare these guys to anyone I would have to give
that nod to, “The Velvet Underground”. There are moments on songs like, “Far
Gone and Out” that I can hear deliberate signatures of VU throughout the entire
song. They are delivered in a loving way of course but they are there and then
the song nose dives right back into solid J&M. I would even go as far as
saying that I hear a bit of That Petrol Emotion in some of their songs. Even
though these sounds are apparent the Jesus and Mary Chain are their own
creation and the excessive fuzzy tones are remarkable but very much necessary.
They were using those echoes to create in depth feelings of searching, yearning
and desperation. It is blinding white hot canvas and it penetrates your senses.
I wanted more. But there were no encores once it was over.
The band modestly walked off the stage even though the audience from what I
could tell was spellbound. I feel that the audience deserved an encore and
maybe two at that. Sloan really over delivered when they rocked Saint Andrews
Hall a year ago but that is okay. I have a suspicion that the Jesus and Mary
Chain will come back with possibly a new album and another tour at some point.
There is enough interest there and a lot of love in the house.
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THE JESUS AND MARY CHAIN
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