mogwai recap

As I mentioned in my last post, the Mogwai show was amazing. Mogwai themselves were what made the show, everything else was sub-par. Growing opened and I could not decide if I liked them or not. There were a lot of moments that were really tight, but they seemed to always be transitioning to their next theme. Nothing was concrete, but nor did it flow very well. For the most part I felt they were playing on a very elementary level. It was something I could do in my basement with a friend, two guitars, some gritty samples, loop pedals among a collection of others, and a little bit of creativity. When I hear something, I want to be initially perplexed by it and not think to myself that I could do that without much effort at all.

The lighting was terrible (rather dark at times to the point where they actually asked for more light to be able to see what they were doing) and the overzealous addition of fog in cooperation with a bit of distance from the stage made for mediocre pictures. Sonar is basically a warehouse with a stage along one wall and a bar along the side and back. By the end of the night, bottles were being kicked around at everyone's feet. Despite all of this, Mogwai still put on an amazing show and although I highly recommend seeing them, I'm not supporting sonar or growing too much. You can find out where Mogwai is playing shows and look at pictures and setlists from earlier on the tour at mr.beastmap.com.

[mp3] Mogwai - Folk Death '95 (from the new album Mr. Beast)

I also decided to change up the layout a little. I hope you like the new header ... feedback is welcome and appreciated. Otherwise, I've been listening to a lot of albums that aren't actually out yet which I recommend if you can find them now and when the do release ...

TV on the Radio - Return to Cookie Mountain (4/21)
Yeah Yeah Yeahs - Show Your Bones (3/28)
The Appleseed Cast - Peregrine (3/21)
The Flaming Lips - At War with Mystics (4/4)