Mogwai live!

Mogwai
First Avenue, Minneapolis, MN
Saturday, May 20, 2006

Having made a name for themselves with their notoriously loud live shows, it was probably inevitable Mogwai would finally dial it back a notch. Though the ferocity and apocalyptic ambience are ever present, they’ve moderated the harrowing volume and piercing electronic screeches to more comfortable levels.

Rather than simply drowning the audience in blinding waves of feedback and bludgeoning it with rafter-rattling noise, Mogwai are creating textured soundscapes that echo the elegant serenity found on recent albums. This departure allows their increasingly intricate arrangements and layered melodies to ring with sharper clarity and strike with greater impact. The evolution of their performance is evident in the slow-burning tension of songs that rely on progressive phases and subtle dynamics over simple jarring shifts in volume. Through instrumental virtuosity and telepathic tightness, Mogwai turn unusual (even questionable) set choices into magnificent moments that somehow fit smoothly within the momentum and pacing of the set. “May Nothing But Happiness Come Through Your Door” and “I know You Are But What Am I?” are rather lackluster album tracks that seem odd selections for a live show, but the virile intensity of their performance makes these generic songs sizzle.

Although Mogwai have lowered the volume from previous ear-shredding decibel levels, they still revel in their massive, cavernous guitar squall, which is still unbelievably dense; the solidity is practically tactile. They tore through the brooding, feverish onslaught of “Summer,” illuminated by blistering strobe lights, and followed it with a thundering, cataclysmic rendition of “Ratts Of The Capitol.” With the explosive swell and distortion-drenched reverb of “Helicon 1” melting into the rush of “We’re No Here, ” Mogwai finished their set with a sensational fusillade of mammoth, bloody guitar heroics. It was furious flourish to punctuate their performance, and it was made all the more powerful, since, at least on this night, we could actually hear them.

— Patrick Conlan

Category: Live Reviews, Weekly