bl!
bright light ! gigs

mogwai @ 9.30 club, washington dc, usa 10/05/06


setlist

  • hunted by a freak
  • friend of the night
  • summer
  • travel is dangerous
  • stanley kubrick
  • acid food
  • ithica 27o9
  • yes! i am a long way from home
  • xmas steps
  • stop coming to my house
  • helicon 1
  • glasgow megasnake

    encore:

  • you don't know jesus
  • we're no here / noise

    support from jack rose. stuart's 30th birthday.

    webcast live by npr.org, and archived here:
    http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5384035


    reviews/comments

    washington post review, friday 12th may:

    mogwai offers mix of old and new, mild and wild

    the scottish quintet mogwai has made a decade-long career out of serenely dynamic instrumental songs that layer simple riffs and chords into dramatic sound sculptures. on wednesday night at the 9:30 club, the group highlighted a number of its most distinctive songs from its back catalogue, including the furiously heavy "you don't know jesus" and the droning, angst-ridden "helicon 1."

    in contrast to its older material, mogwai's songs from its latest album, "mr. beast," revealed a milder side. the drum-machine-driven "acid food" featured the deep, aloof vocals of guitarist stuart braithwaite, while the soft-rock melodies of "friend of the night" were gentle and graceful. despite strobe lights, the songs relied more on warm tones than on the underlying tension and dissonance of the group's earlier work.

    however, several of mogwai's newer songs weren't so sedate: the blazing riffs of the aggressive "glasgow mega-snake" were reminiscent of black sabbath, and the final number, "we're no here," built a deliberate guitar line into a resonant roar. as if to prove that the group hasn't fully mellowed, braithwaite ended the 90-minute set by laying his guitar on top of his amplifier, and the wall of rumbling feedback reverberated throughout the room like an oncoming tornado.

    catherine p. lewis