The Jesus and Mary Chain makes Psychocandy sound loud and powerful at Vancouver's Vogue Theatre

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      At the Vogue Theatre on Wednesday, May 13

      According to contemporary reviews, a Jesus and Mary Chain show during the Scottish band's ascendance was more of a spectacle than a performance. Brothers Jim and William Reid, backed in those days by bassist Douglas Hart and drummer Bobby Gillespie, would shamble through a set, sometimes striking upon moments of sheer brilliance and sometimes falling apart utterly. Amplifiers would be overturned, feedback would squall, and some not-predetermined number of minutes later—maybe 35, maybe 20, maybe 15—it would be over, leaving the audience to stage a halfhearted, ritualistic semblance of a riot.

      It was all very thrilling, if slightly dangerous. At $49.50 a ticket, there was little chance that last night's sold-out Jesus and Mary Chain concert at the Vogue Theatre was going to be an event fraught with risk for either performer or audience. This crowd, which leaned heavily toward those old enough to be first-generation JAMC fans, had paid their money to watch a group of middle-aged men play all the songs from an album released 30 years ago.

      And that's exactly what they got: a run-through of the Mary Chain's 1985 debut LP, Psychocandy. Well, they got more than that; they also got, as singer Jim Reid announced matter-of-factly at the start, "a short set of songs that weren't on Psychocandy". This included "Some Candy Talking", which felt a bit like cheating, but that number wasn't on the original issue of the album, so fair enough. The seven-song preamble hit most of the expected highlights, from "April Skies" to "Upside Down", but the best bit of it was certainly "Reverence", throughout which guitarist William Reid unleashed acid-etched, edge-of-chaos lead lines over an unstoppable swaggering shuffle laid down by the current rhythm section of Phil King (bass), Mark Crozier (guitar), and Brian Young (drums).

      Then, after a brief retreat, the band came back for the main part of the evening. Three decades later, with so many acts (including the Raveonettes and Wednesday night's opener, the Black Ryder) owing so much to the basic formula of Psychocandy, it can be easy to forget why it sounded so revolutionary in 1985. To get some perspective on the world into which the Reids were unleashing their music, consider that the biggest hits in Britain the week Psychocandy came out included Feargal Sharkey's "A Good Heart", "I'm Your Man" by Wham!, and some execrable crap by UB40 and Level 42. The Jesus and Mary Chain was arguably not aiming for the charts, but their pop lineage is undeniable. Slathered in reverb and feedback they may be, but the melodies of "You Trip Me Up" and "Never Understand" are straight out of the Phillies Records songbook. The Psychocandy aesthetic was the Wall of Sound as built by the Velvet Underground and deconstructed by Einstürzende Neubauten. 

      As the 2015 edition of the group ran through the songs, in order, at the Vogue, we got a big tip-off to that effect right at the start, when Young tapped out the beat of "Just Like Honey"—a pattern arguably copped from Hal Blaine's drumming on the Ronettes' "Be My Baby", or any of the countless songs it inspired. A member of the Black Ryder added a vocal harmony to that one, but after that the Chain didn't need any help.

      It was loud and squealing and the songs were far more full and powerful than the (let's not kid ourselves) thin and tinny recorded versions. William Reid is now doughy and bespectacled, but he brought the noise with conviction. His brother has never exactly been Mr. Show Biz, and his repertoire of moves was limited to occasionally lifting the microphone stand a few centimetres off the stage and then letting it drop. But his studious lack of stage presence is as much a part of his willfully constructed anti-charisma as his laconic but tuneful singing.

      And that's all there was to it. No risk of the whole gig spiralling into a shambolic mess, just some grey-haired dudes playing some of the greatest fucking noise-pop ever written. And if you missed it, well, maybe they'll do a Darklands tour in 2017. If we're lucky.

      Comments

      5 Comments

      Kevn

      May 14, 2015 at 1:17pm

      A really great show ! It brought back memories of the best parts of the 80s.

      Scottie

      May 14, 2015 at 3:50pm

      I didn't know this show was even happening (my own fault) and I've been furious at myself all day for missing it!

      East Van Halen

      May 15, 2015 at 9:08am

      Great record back in the day - I remember they didn't fare well playing in the daylight at the first Lollapalooza show held here at UBC years ago

      John Lucas

      May 15, 2015 at 9:42am

      Really? I saw that Lollapalooza set (it was in 1992, for the record) and remember thinking it was one of the high points of the day.

      Phil

      May 16, 2015 at 7:14pm

      Best show ever. Best band ever. Coolest band ever.