Mogwai
>> Barrowlands
>> 23rd September 2006
Part two of my in-depth report on f***ing brilliant gigs that still happen at the Barras features rock gods Mogwai. To my shame this was my first experience of a Mogwai show, but as a climax to what must be seven or eight years worth of listening to their music it was an epiphany: a near-religious event.
The legend of Mogwai live lives on in the shouted sentiments of half-deaf fans the world over. Stories of the band playing louder and louder until eventually the crowd starts to leave have been going round for years and it was these Chinese whispers that intimidated me into not going out to see them. But in the search for the truth, and through my devotion to maintaining Lick as the cultural pulse it has surely become, I strapped on a pair and got into the venue.
With the recent release of Mr Beast I expected this show to be heavy on new material, not the case. An early airing of ‘Summer’ set the tone for a gig rich in Mogwai’s expansive back catalogue. Settled alongside the truly mesmerising ‘Friend of the Night’ and ‘Helicon 1’ the set list was a tapestry of post-melody, brutal noise and heavenly resonance. At each turn the band can literally leave you open mouthed at the complexity and beauty of the music it makes. ‘Glasgow Mega Snake’ in particular stands out as a near-perfect slice of heavy, heavy noise – the number of layers and ideas present in what essentially is three minutes of rock music is just astonishing. And when the band turn up the volume during the songs climatic colossal riff it literally sent a wave of unbalance through my head.
Toward the end of the impressive 1½ hour set the ability of this beast of a band was made clear. Finishing the main set with a feedback drenched ‘We’re no here’ the band returned to play an extended blend of ‘Hunted by a freak’ and ‘Mogwai fear satan’. As ‘…fear satan’ started to relax into a gentle thrum of Braithwaite guitar tremolo, he subtly reached down for his plectrum and, with perfect timing, the band just demolished the crowd with a wall of noise; and, frankly, I am worried to find out what the decibel level might have been – needless to say it was the loudest thing I have ever heard in my life.
And with that they were gone, leaving the crowd with a weeklong tinnitus and a bloody big grin.
>> Russell Moore
www.mogwai.co.uk
>> 23rd September 2006
Part two of my in-depth report on f***ing brilliant gigs that still happen at the Barras features rock gods Mogwai. To my shame this was my first experience of a Mogwai show, but as a climax to what must be seven or eight years worth of listening to their music it was an epiphany: a near-religious event.
The legend of Mogwai live lives on in the shouted sentiments of half-deaf fans the world over. Stories of the band playing louder and louder until eventually the crowd starts to leave have been going round for years and it was these Chinese whispers that intimidated me into not going out to see them. But in the search for the truth, and through my devotion to maintaining Lick as the cultural pulse it has surely become, I strapped on a pair and got into the venue.
With the recent release of Mr Beast I expected this show to be heavy on new material, not the case. An early airing of ‘Summer’ set the tone for a gig rich in Mogwai’s expansive back catalogue. Settled alongside the truly mesmerising ‘Friend of the Night’ and ‘Helicon 1’ the set list was a tapestry of post-melody, brutal noise and heavenly resonance. At each turn the band can literally leave you open mouthed at the complexity and beauty of the music it makes. ‘Glasgow Mega Snake’ in particular stands out as a near-perfect slice of heavy, heavy noise – the number of layers and ideas present in what essentially is three minutes of rock music is just astonishing. And when the band turn up the volume during the songs climatic colossal riff it literally sent a wave of unbalance through my head.
Toward the end of the impressive 1½ hour set the ability of this beast of a band was made clear. Finishing the main set with a feedback drenched ‘We’re no here’ the band returned to play an extended blend of ‘Hunted by a freak’ and ‘Mogwai fear satan’. As ‘…fear satan’ started to relax into a gentle thrum of Braithwaite guitar tremolo, he subtly reached down for his plectrum and, with perfect timing, the band just demolished the crowd with a wall of noise; and, frankly, I am worried to find out what the decibel level might have been – needless to say it was the loudest thing I have ever heard in my life.
And with that they were gone, leaving the crowd with a weeklong tinnitus and a bloody big grin.
>> Russell Moore
www.mogwai.co.uk
