Nottingham Rock City - 25.6.85
1985
There's something faintly ridiculous about The Jesus And Mary Chain. They agonise over their instruments as if - in the powerchord thrash - it really mattered whether or not the guitar's intune. They hire a big and beautiful PA rig and then use it to create levels of feedback that could be annoying if they were'nt so neatly, nonchalantly controlled.
And they think they're being original in some way by charging people four quid to be present at what's really little more than an open practise interms of their comunication with a real and living audience.
To top it all, their childish posturing and supposedly mean and moody, unsmiling face are yet another tired and tiresome second hand device which hundreds of bands have used in the past in an attempt to create charisma on the cheap.
We are not, however, ealing with mere gigcraft here, because The Jesus And Mary Chain are more of an emotion than an entertainment. behind the shoddy attitudes and shoddier behaviour, their songs capture a gloriously arrogant sense of despair and desperation which almost makes up for their long list of faults.
Unfortunately, if this performance is anything to go by, they seem to be more interested in furthering their reputation as the bastard sons of pop than in furthering their music. And that is totally the wrong way to proceed. Once the shock-horror headlines start to fade, it's the music on which they'll be judged. At the moment, the scales are just about balanced in their favour.
And they think they're being original in some way by charging people four quid to be present at what's really little more than an open practise interms of their comunication with a real and living audience.
To top it all, their childish posturing and supposedly mean and moody, unsmiling face are yet another tired and tiresome second hand device which hundreds of bands have used in the past in an attempt to create charisma on the cheap.
We are not, however, ealing with mere gigcraft here, because The Jesus And Mary Chain are more of an emotion than an entertainment. behind the shoddy attitudes and shoddier behaviour, their songs capture a gloriously arrogant sense of despair and desperation which almost makes up for their long list of faults.
Unfortunately, if this performance is anything to go by, they seem to be more interested in furthering their reputation as the bastard sons of pop than in furthering their music. And that is totally the wrong way to proceed. Once the shock-horror headlines start to fade, it's the music on which they'll be judged. At the moment, the scales are just about balanced in their favour.
