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| Live,
Dan Wolff,
20 January 1999 |
Rating: F5
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It seems appropriate that the last song played over the p.a. before Mogwai take the stage is South Of Heaven by noise veterans Slayer. Tonight is mostly about power and intensity, with some almost ambient guitar beauty thrown into their unique sound. One minute you can almost feel your skull cave in and your ears bleed (maybe that's why you can buy Mogwai ear-plugs for £1.50 at the merchandise stand), the next you feel they would be more at home at The Royal Albert Hall.
Aired tonight are a number of new songs from their new EP, including the slow/fast Rage-Man and the magnificently titled Stanley Kubrick. When they perform Christmas Song from the same EP, we are even told how quiet it is going to be and not to talk. Instead of going into the normal raging guitars, it remains quiet throughout and you can even hear the piano in the background.
Thoughts of Mogwai turning into Air are rudely dispersed three songs in when they rope in their roadie as a third guitarist and play a blistering ten minute version of Christmas Steps from this years' album Come On Die Young. Guitarist Stuart Braithwaite almost throws himself off the stage in the proceedings, wringing out every drop of sound from his instrument. Towards the end of the song a violinist walks on stage and plays over the noise to dramatic effect. Lets see Blink 182 try this.
If Christmas Steps looked like the band peeking to early in the evening, set closer Like Herod, from Mogwai Young Team, made it look like a warm up for this. As usual it starts off quiet and gentle only to erupt into a noise like no other. It's amazing the ceiling is still in place. Walls upon walls of feedback make similar Sonic Youth exercises sound like B*Witched. A second drum kit sitting untouched the whole time in the middle of the stage is pounded to death with strobes and lights intensly flashing onto the crowd. Braithwaite grabs a mic and continually shouts incoherantly into it while the others leave the stage. After slamming it to the floor, strobes still burning the audiences' retinas, he walks off. There is no encore. Mogwai are untouchable.
Brighton Paradox, BRIGHTON, ENGLAND
13/10/99
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