i’ve been suffering from irritable brother syndrome for a number of months, so i’ve come to the ‘burg to watch the ‘gwai in the hope that a bit of sonic attack might help cure me.
it’s been a wee while since i last saw the band, in edinburgh last year. since then, martin has had a new pacemaker fitted, so hopefully he’s a little better at keeping the beat this time. only joking! as i’ve written before, he’s the only guy who comes close to the mighty topper.
grosse freiheit 36 is a smart venue and with it being germany, lots of bars so there is never a queue for beer. back of the net! twilight sad are pretty good, much better than the normal rubbish that support mogwai when i see them (some french nutter in strasbourg, the magnificents etc.) and they end with a smart cover of 24 hours. astonishingly it’s the first time i’ve ever seen anybody cover a joy division song and they do the song some justice.
rumours that sinewave is to open the show are completely fabricated (rob: i am still reading the blog, though just mad busy). in fact it is precipice that kicks us off. also, i’ve now worked out how to escape the chattering arses at mogwai gigs- just stand as near the front and speakers as you can. (the arses might still be chattering, though you just won’t hear them). so that’s where i begin.
though i can’t recall dodgy sound at any mogwai gig, tonight, the sound is perfect, especially so on the sublime friend of the night which arrives early in the set. it really is the stand out track on mr beast and i’m sure will stay in the set for a long, long time.
conversely, to me, the hawk is howling, doesn’t have any standouts, which could suggest that the standard is consistently high, though i’ve yet to fully ‘get into the album’ yet. jim morrison, does however sound good and probably the best of the new stuff tonight.
whilst the overall performance is excellent, all in all a strange set with nothing at all from cody. none of the beast shows that i saw were particularly loud, though this one is, especially the oldest numbers, ithica and herod. on the former, all four stand proud like dogs with two cocks, perhaps an apt description given that the funky pussy club is literally next door to the venue. i just can’t imagine what goes on in there……
back to the music and it’s a rare time that i get to see 2 rights whilst sober. (both manchester on the happy songs tour and the glasgow abc being on the back of all-dayers). let me just state how magnificent it is- truly the classic track off rock action and evidence on what genius barry has brought to the band.
the encores; not listed on the setlist, prove to be helicon 1 and we’re no here. i think for the former, dom and stuart swap instruments. i guess if you’ve been playing a given song for over ten years, then you might pull a stunt like this. privately, i’d had liked xmas steps as it’s been over 5 years since i’ve seen that played live. just means that i’ll have to catch the band somewhere else in the future.
overall: good, loud, nice venue, ok support act, good beer. as joy division once put on a record, ‘an ideal for living’.
