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Witnessed

Mogwai, Misuse, 2009-02-20

12/03/09 || Khlysty

Where and when: 20/02/09, Gagarin 205 Club, Athens, Greece.

(ATTENTION: Mogwai is definitely NOT metal; they belong to the “post rock” scene and they’re considered one of the pioneers of the sungenre. Also, they’re from Glasgow, they’re Celtic fans and in the past they’ve toured USA with Isis as opening act. They seem to have influenced heavily the “post-metal”/“metalgaze” scene and, while their records are pretty tame, their live act is fucking heavy. So, read on at your own risk…)

Having already seen Mogwai twice, but always on open-air festivals, I was impressed by how much heavosity the band could administer to their – basically melodic and repetitive- songs. The first time I saw them, they almost blew me away with the power and command of dynamics they exerted on their music. The second time, they were almost metal, all feedback, squalling and distorted downtuned riffage from three (3) guitars, making their songs monumental movements of inspired noise.

Well, third time’s the charm, because this time, in an indoor venue, those crazy Glaswegians managed to be as heavy as ever, but they added lots of details to their performance, so as to keep the melody afloat, even when the three guitars were attacking simultaneously. Their slow to mid-tempo songs were not just played: they were evolving during the performance, with layers of riffing, guitar noise and noodling and massive dynamic changes added as each song was being played.

I think that this time around they held back a little bit on the volume factor, which was ok, since we were able to make out details on each song (a guitar chiming during an all-out noisathon, some vocoded vocals surfacing, a few keyboard lines, such stuff…), details that enhanced the whole experience. And, of course, when Mogwai decided that it was time to hit hard, they did it with a might that few bands are capable of: the three-guitar attack was like a tornado in slow motion. You are able to see it coming, but you’re too mesmerized by it to move to safety.

The concert lasted almost two hours, with the last ten minutes dedicated to noise-making by the guitarists, and while volume-wise the band seemed to hold back a little bit, the performance was great, the songs concise and to-the-point and the band was on top form. A thing that I cannot say about Misuse, who opened the show: while pretty adept, their typical post-rock seemed too generic for my liking. Anyway, repeating that they’re not metal, I would suggest to anyone with an interest towards the more “post” side of metal to try and catch Mogwai live.

8 post-rock Scots out of 10.

SETLIST:

The Precipice
Friend Of The Night
Scotland’s Shame
Hunted By A Freak
Mogwai Fear Satan
I’m Jim Morisson, I’m dead
Summer
I love You I’m going To Blow Up Your School
Christmas Steps
Thank You Space Expert
Like Herod
Batcat
Helicon 1 (encore)
We’re No Here (encore)

Witnessed