encore 1:

encore 2 (unscheduled):

thanks to mathieu brassard.

mogwai's set lasted 105 mins. support from part chimp.

reviews/comments

from shubhayan roy:

an absolutely flawless performance by the gwai at this packed house of adoring and respectful montreal fans. perfect sound and a potentially seizure-inducing light show left all in attendance in entranced silence. the subdued charm of 'kids' lead perfectly into the soaring fury of 'fear satan,' sans flute. 'hunted' found barry handling vocoder duties very well while the "chorus" of 'i know you are' was stuart's chance to entertain us with some beautifully fucked up noises with the knobs of his delay pedal. barry's keyboards were also great. 'jesus' is now perfect live, seeing as they seem to pull it out pretty much every gig, and trust me i'm not complaining. stuart's maniacal guitar-playing towards the end is a definite highlight. 'stop coming to my house' is full of beauty and warmth with some breathtaking electronics right at the end of the song.

i had been waiting to hear 'ex-cowboy' live since first hearing 'come on die young' and it did not disappoint. some interesting stuff going on in this song in terms of instruments, as stuart switched guitars between the quieter and heavier parts, while barry seemed to sample his keyboard into his laptop during the buildup and disappear backstage until the second build and let it repeat for the remainder of the song. 'helicon 1' was incredible with stu and dom switching instruments as usual. 'long way' was a great surprise, i found barry's harmonium-like keyboard drone particularly enjoyable. the epic 'ratts' is fantastic with its almost sabbath-like riffage. the guitar interplay between john, barry and stuart towards the end is amazing (barry was on keys for the first half) and the sound of the two basses at the end was astounding in its depth.

epic of course is an understatement for the goliath that is 'mfmk.' i had neglected it until then but i scrambled for earplugs as the first notes rang out. stuart broke a string a mere few minutes into the song and by the end only three survived. the intense buildups and beautiful noise at the end cannot be explained in words and if you've experienced it, i don't need to tell you. at the end, stuart took the mic and spoke/sang something i couldn't quite make out. perhaps the blues cover i've heard so much about.

the band was in very good spirits, stuart telling the crowd towards the beginning how happy they were to be there playing for so many people (le spectrum holds about 1200 i think). all songs were followed by polite thank you's and stuart couldn't help but smile when he said 'ok, we'll play one more' before 'ratts' after the enthusiastic support the fans had been showing between songs the whole show. practically no one moved between the encores, we all wanted more and the gwai were more than happy to give it to us. the absolute best of the five shows i've attended in the past few years and i think everyone there left with the feeling that they had just been a part of something very special.

from eric young:

this is the second time i've seen mogwai (last time was last year at the cabaret) and this one was better in all respects (the venue was nicer, sound seemed better, and they played more songs). part chimp opened for them and they were pretty good. stuart and barry were watching a bit in the crowd with the fan. they played an energetic 40 minute set.

mogwai hit the stage at 9:15. they opened up with "kids will be skeletons", which was tremendous. the highlight for me though was "stop coming to my house", which is one of my faves from "happy songs for happy people". they did a second, unexpected encore with a deafening "my father, my king" (they played the opening riff of "star wars" right before the opening riff of "mfmk"). stuart broke 3 strings off his guitar before swinging it around on the floor in circles. the 10 or so minutes of distortion and feedback at the end was brutal, but the crowd prevailed. the crowd was really into it. after the 1st encore, the crowd was stomping and clapping in unison waiting for them to come out again until they finally did. overall, a very great show and one of the best i've seen. cheers.

from michel drolet:

my third live mogwai experience was a rather fantastic performance! they really seemed to be enjoying themselves.

the spectrum was packed (sold out?) and everybody was into the show and appreciative. when there was a slower moment, you could have heard a pin drop! a big surprise was awaiting us (or was it mogwai that were surprised?!) - after the encore, they came back on because the crowd would not leave. they came back for the highlight (for me) of the evening...

what an excellent song 'my father my king' is, and live it's even better! the sound was excellent, but then every gig i have seen at that venue had great sound and the lighting guy did very well to create visual ambience with the limited lights he had.

please come back soon!!!!

from emmanuel tremblay:

not as loud as the previous shows in montreal, otherwise the performance was very similar to the previous one. the crowd was very quiet on low sections and the band seemed to like that. they made up for the bad version of 'yes! i am a long way from home' from the previous show but i thought 'my father my king' was a bit weak this time. the psychedelic/flashy lights on every loud sections were rather annoying up in front.

from graham mcdonald:

mogwai played an amazing show in montreal. the band played with a lot of enthusiasm and had an amazing stage presence. i felt that the musicianship was flawless. certainly one of the best concerts i have ever attended, i just regret not having ear plugs, and the loss of hearing. the band played two encores after twice being called back onto the stage by the roaring crowd, ultimately finishing off with, and a heavy binge of distortion that lasted for several minutes.