support from the magnificents (in the main hall) and chevreuil (in the foyer).
expectations here are very high tonight, as the gig on the hsfhp tour rates amongst my all-time top ten. unlike liverpool, the magnificents don’t sound too bad tonight, however if they appeared on 'the apprentice', they would still get "fired".
again, auto rock opens, and like 2003, the sound is perfect. unlike the uk, though, the audience is completely respectful of the band with no noisy chatter during the quiet bits. and tonight, there are quite a few quiet bits being played.
having read the joke about the barry burns t-shirts a few days earlier, it seems a bit ironic. for on the guitar tracks, a stranger would be of the impression that mogwai has been barry’s band all along. he seems to be having the most fun tonight. martin, though seems to have taken over stuart’s mantle of being band pimp, whilst the others seem to be calmly concentrating on playing their instruments.
it’s another quiet set, though tonight, with more songs from hsfhp than of late. i was pleasantly surprised to hear i know you are live once again, not the strongest in my mind, however it fitted in well amongst some noiser songs.
lights tonight are not so impressive, however the quality of the music is still first class. and unlike liverpool a few days earlier, the encore cody sounds particularly beautiful, with real meaning this time. other than seeing travel is dangerous live for the first time, my personal highlight was a stunning version of satan, with martin demonstrating that he has taken over the title of "human drum machine" from the mighty topper headon.
not as explosive as the happy songs gig, however still a very high quality one and a testament to an excellent venue, some respectful fans, and a band playing at the top of their game. unlike spinal tap, their amps just went up to nine tonight.
