Five things I wrote in my notebook during The Jesus and Mary Chain

Bill Hughes

The Jesus and Mary Chain perform at the House of Blues at Mandalay Bay on Saturday, June 16, 2012.

By Spencer Patterson

Wednesday, June 20, 2012 | 5:20 p.m.

1. Pre-show questions: How douchey do you have to be to order bottle service at a Jesus and Mary Chain show? And to the guy who jumped onstage to pose bare-chested in a jacket and tie, only to get tossed out before the headliners went on, was it really worth it?

2. Jim and William Reid remain one of rock’s classic yin/yang brother teams, the former stylish and restrained at the mic, the latter shaggy-haired and noisy on lead guitar. Too often tonight, Jim’s detached vocals are buried in the mix, but William’s fuzzy tone is nicely filling the room. Score one for the sunglasses.

3. At Coachella ’07, Scarlett Johansson’s guest harmonies for “Just Like Honey” (you know, the song in the final scene of Lost in Translation) felt overly stunt-y, but her appearance was definitely memorable. Tonight’s set lacks a signature moment. Hey, “The Hardest Walk” was in Some Kind of Wonderful; someone find Mary Stuart Masterson …

4. JAMC’s pop songs sound a little thin tonight, but the darker stuff is covering the crowd in distorted goodness. It kicks in with “Teenage Lust” midway through the show, but the real gem is an extended version of “Reverence” to close the main set. My ringing eardrums are reliving it 24 hours later.

5. So, five years after Jesus and Mary Chain’s crushing Vegas cancellation, was the band worth the wait? Kinda. Back then, the reunion felt fresh and exciting. Tonight was … just a good night out.