My second Mogwai gig in the sold-out WUK. Compared to the Arena gig in 2009, the venue seems a bit small, and the very last bit of the sonic punch seems to be missing here. But you are never wrong in WUK.
Score: 4.5 out of 5 stars
Another Gig? But only if they promise me to finally play 'Hunted By A Freak' :-).
RM Hubbert is a soloist on a classical guitar and did not leave a significant impression with me. Apparently he is an inspired guitar player, but I could not see any 'support' for Mogwai. His music was too distant from the main act.As always, Mogwai is a feast of music gear and heavily modified guitar/bass sounds. Instruments change in nearly every song. Fenders, and in particular Tellies, dominate the scene (I counted at least five Tellies). It is, once again, an impressive demonstration why Telecasters are much more than twangy western e-guitars. Mogwai are also obsessive in having their instruments in tune, sometimes they even tune them during a song. Mogwai is clearly on a permanent quest for perfect and new sounds, and their concerts always bear surprises. As soon as the high-treble distortion of up to three the Tele single coils kicks in, no prisoners are taken. Mogwai's music is even more impressive live because you can also feel the wave created by the massive distortion. Visuals are supportive but never distracting, earplugs mandatory (distributed by WUK guys - thanks!).There is not that much action on stage by Mogwai, which conveys a message by itself - (c) Bernie. Except for a brief 'Thank you, appreciated!' there is no verbal communication with the crowd. So it's logical that (very little) vocals are heavily modified by a vocoder and more of another instrument than voice - (c) Bernie. Mogwai's instruments convey their message alone. It's so refreshing to have a band on stage that focusses on their music. The setlist was focused on Mogwai's new album 'Hardcore Will Never Die, But You Will'. Other highlights were the ever-famous 'Mogwai Fear Satan' from their debut album, including the peaceful mid-part followed by deafening distortion. The last song 'Bad Cat', in which three Telecasters drives the sound engineer nuts, was a rather rough, but very energetic ending, leaving me, well, just happy.The only thing I've been missing again was 'Hunted By A Freak', where you can find so many nice live videos online. I have no idea why they no longer play it. This gives half of a point deduction for an otherwise perfect and highly entertaining evening.
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