Could’ve been easy: Eighties Scotland’s two prime rock & roll contributions back-to-back, bound by Primal Scream frontman Bobby Gillespie being the Jesus & Mary Chain’s drummer on their Psychocandy LP. As the JAMC were recreating their debut Saturday night, Gillespie might have snuck in behind the kit to resume his role as their Moe Tucker.
No such luck. Both veteran acts stuck to their respective programs, indulging no fan fantasies. Yes, Gillespie dedicated his band’s final number to JAMC mainstays Jim and William Reid.
That was the closest point of crossover last night’s Levitation headliners entertained.
Still, no disappointments, other than Primal Scream guitarist Andrew Innes being painfully undermixed for much of the set. Otherwise, they came out swinging with their sublimely Stonesy 1994 anthem “Rocks” and driving Beautiful Future highlight “Can’t Go Back.” Aside from those openers and a grinding “Country Girl,” dedicated by Gillespie to “Doug Sahm, the Sir Douglas Quintet, and Townes Van Zandt,” the Primals barely indulged their rock & roll side.
What the Levitation audience wanted was the drug-soaked dance music that is the band’s other forte: “Higher Than the Sun,” “Movin’ On Up,” “Loaded.” Which they got, as well as the most sinister dance floor killer ever: XTRMNTR’s “Swastika Eyes.”
The Jesus & Mary Chain, meantime, played in dramatic silhouette lighting and billowing dry ice clouds through career highlights including “April Skies” and “Blues From A Gun.” Capping the mini greatest hits set was debut single “Upside Down,” a noisy, squalling beast that almost sliced the Eighties in two. Next, a faithful reprise of their other defining moment, 1985’s Psychocandy.
Following a documentary excerpt on the Reid’s hometown, East Kilbride, the band was suddenly lit frontally for the first time, emerging from the shadows with a gorgeous “Just Like Honey.” The rest of the feedback-drenched dark pop landmark unfolded against drug-damaged pop art visuals, effectively illustrating the sullen psychology and narcoleptic aesthetic fueling classics “Never Understand” and “Inside Me.” Guitarist William Reid howled feedback and fuzz as brother Jim sullenly mumbled, the ear-damaging overtones priming today’s tinnitus.
Classic.
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This article appears in May 8 • 2015.
