Jesus and Mary Chain to perform debut album in Vegas

When it comes to live music, there are few things as thrilling as being able to catch a band you love performing one of its albums in its entirety, especially when that offering also happens to be a classic. It gives you the chance to either relive a pivotal piece of the past or, for those who missed it the first time around, experience the whole thing anew.

Whatever the case, it will undoubtedly be a special treat for Las Vegas fans to see The Jesus and Mary Chain on Sunday at Brooklyn Bowl when the act plays its platter "Psychocandy" from start to finish, before it makes its way to Los Angeles for an appearance at FYF next weekend.

"Psychocandy" was issued in November 1985, and the title of the influential Scottish act's auspicious debut couldn't be more fitting. The portmanteau implies a marriage of abrasion and sweetness, and that's exactly what you have with songs such as "The Living End," "The Hardest Walk" and "In a Hole," an alluring fortress of overdriven guitars, propelled by amplifiers pushed to the outer limits, enveloping entrancing melodies.

To hear it today, that album has aged admirably well; it doesn't sound tied to the era when it was released — and that's really saying something. When you can put on a record that was recorded three decades ago, and the sound emanating from the speakers not only belies the vintage of the music, but resonates with as much vibrancy and vitality as it did back then, that's when you truly have a classic.

Read more from Dave Herrera at bestoflasvegas.com. Contact him at dherrera@reviewjournal.com.