thanks to kevin and joel.

'secret pint' dedicated to ..trail of dead, american analog set and 13th floor elevators.

misc info

matador label showcase at the annual 'sxsw' (south by south west) festival. other acts performing include mark eitzel, the soft boys and headlining act stephen malkmus and the jicks. mogwai played between soft boys and malkmus. set length shorter than usual due to the nature of the show.

further comments from kevin

first group (mark eitzel)= horrible
second group (soft boys)= decent
third group (mogwai) = unreal
fourth (stephen malkmus) = hahaha like i stayed around..

damn short set, but made up for by quality
rock is good

review from cdnow

joined by label ties, if not sonic similarities, scotland's mogwai took the stage after the soft boys at the matador records showcase on saturday night and delivered what can only be categorized as an aural assault. things started quietly enough, with the lush atmospherics of "stanley kubrick" enhanced by keyboards and cello. however, during "you don't know jesus," from the band's forthcoming album, rock action, it quickly became clear that earplugs would be useless. with the volume set on stun, the band unleashed a head-tripping, three-guitar blitz that was as compelling as it was deafening. the band played just six numbers during its hour-long set, repeatedly smashing songs into shambolic cacophonies of feedback then reconstructing them again around stuart braithwaite's pealing guitar leads. steeped in the dynamic art-rock of glenn branca and sonic youth, the band broke the instrumental spell only once when braithwaite added vocals to "secret pint" (also from the new album). the set built to a jaw-dropping crescendo with a relentless, 20-minute version of "my father my king". with feedback still screeching from the speakers, the band members left the stage one by one as the cheering crowd emerged from its trance to create some feedback of its own.

review from nme, by april long

from the moment a head-banging pal comes onstage to introduce them until their priapic 20-minute-long climax, mogwai are relentless, merciless and magnificent. the title of their new lp may be 'rock action', but that's not what happens here - just shape-shifting alternations between electric tsunamisand devastatingly quiet lulls. it's classic mogwai mo - something which, despite their new fondness for vocals (avoided tonight), they seem loath to abandon. any set that includes only four songs in an hour is setting itself up for prog accusations, but mogwai just keep doing their thing - and getting better every time.

review from austin chronicle, 23/03/2001, by michael chamy

so maybe the soft boys reunion wasn't all it was cracked up to be, but at least there was room to breathe at the music hall's matador showcase, unlike last week's claustrophobic austin music awards. for those of us walking in to see mogwai's texas debut, it wasn't so sad to see the soft boys wrap up by 11pm, as that just meant less time for the brits and more time for the scots, who kicked off their scheduled 11:30pm set a few minutes early. with opener "stanley kubrick," mogwai immediately claimed the hall as their own, uncorking majestic spirals of sound so immense and powerful it verged on criminal. after the aforementioned cut off '99's ep+2, the five young scottish lads unveiled a trio of dazzling songs off their upcoming rock action. "take me somewhere nice" found stuart braithwaite stepping up to the mike for an aching number that takes the morricone-on-morphine aesthetic of come on die young's "cody" to new levels of melancholy splendor. "2 rights make one wrong" wove a rich web of interlocking themes that sucked the crowd into a mighty vortex of volume. after that, things got a little more mellow with "christmas steps," which consisted of one slowly unfurling guitar line that was soon complemented by a second, braithwaite and guitarist john cummings deliberately plotting a route to parts unknown. then dominic atchison's bass started to rumble, and before you knew it, a leaden riff emerged led by the bruising bassline. the overpowering sonic temple of distortion was back, and it threatened permanent damage to those of us foolhardy enough to be parked in the vicinity of the massive speakers. as "christmas steps" slowly dissipated, we were offered a brief respite, but it wouldn't last long. the glaswegians were soon back in full force with the stunning "jewish," an as-yet-unreleased napster favorite that exists only as a live staple. the exotic fretwork lent a mysterious middle eastern tint, a striking mixture of awe and horror, like being surrounded by an armed brigade while standing on one of christ's stations of the cross midway between the dome of the rock and the western wall under the blazing-hot jerusalem sun. at that point, braithwaite went ballistic, lashing out at his guitar in spastic rage as the pulverizing volume reached new levels of insanity. it was almost hard to believe the ear-splitting fury didn't empty the club then and there, but there was absolutely no escape. this was mogwai's ship, and they were the captains, blazing a path through the bloody eardrum and straight into the buzzing skull.

link:austin chronicle

photos

photo by 'idandersen'
http://www.flickr.com/photos/ldandersen