I’ve been looking forward to this for a while. As Slowdive was first active between 1989 and 1995, I never had a chance to see them in their first incarnation. I had mature tastes in music as a pre-teen and teenager, but not so advanced that I was seeing Slowdive at twelve years old. It was probably ’94 or ’95 when I first read about My Bloody Valentine (in an interview with Billy Corgan) but I think the first time I heard Slowdive (Souvlaki) was a few years later. Maybe my freshman year of college? I quite enjoyed a bunch of songs from that record, but it wasn’t until I heard Pygmalion for the first time that I fell in love.
From there I moved onto Mojave 3, and pretty much lamented never having the chance to see Slowdive. You can imagine my excitement when I heard the band had created an official Twitter account earlier this year. And then that Twitter account announced some tour dates. I elected to miss FYF fest here in LA this summer because I had a feeling a full US tour would be announced shortly after, and to my complete lack of surprise two dates downtown at the United Artists Theater were posted not long after.
This weekend the band played to two packed houses, looking and sounding absolutely incredible. I was really impressed with the volume (they’ve never been a band that really explodes from speakers) as well as the sound of their sporadic three guitar attack. Each instrument with its distinct tone and texture reminded me a lot of Bedhead/The New Year and their three (or sometimes four) guitar sound. As for song selection it’s hard to complain about any of their choices. Of course I’d love to have heard “J’s Heaven” or “Trellisaze,” but they played “Crazy For You” (if a little uptempo) and came out for their encore with “Rutti” (shortened) so I have nothing to complain about at all. It was an amazing show. You need to see this band if they come to your city.
Slowdive
United Artists Theater
Los Angeles, CA
Setlist:
Slowdive
Avalyn
Catch The Breeze
Crazy For You
Machine Gun
Souvlaki Space Station
Blue Skied an’ Clear [MP3]
When The Sun Hits
Morningrise
She Calls
Dagger
Alison
Golden Hair [Syd Barrett]
Rutti
40 Days
