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mogwai @ ottobar, baltimore, md |
22/05/2002 |
poster by jim redd
click for larger image
yes! i am a long way from home
mogwai fear satan
you don't know jesus
c#
cody
xmas steps
helicon 1
ex-cowboy
2 rights make 1 wrong
encore:
jewish hymn
thanks to travis for the initial list of songs, rahman tareq for the corrections, and
chris reedy for the scan of the actual setlist.
support from mighty flashlight
ottobar website.
from catherine lewis:
after they finished the new song, someone standing near me asked stuart, "what's that new one called?" and stuart
said, "c#". and the guy said, "c#?" and stuart nodded and said, "c#". 'my father my king' had stuart singing the lyrics
to this song at the very very end, into the microphone that was picking up all kinds of distorted feedback. very eerie
and good.
celebrity namedropping:
guy picciotto (from fugazi and rites of spring) was there, probably because his former rites of spring bandmate
is the guy in mighty flashlight.
will oldham, wearing the best outfit ever: overalls over a plaid shirt, with what looked like a denim or
courdoroy jacket, and flip-flops, and without facial hair(!).
from travis:
my girlfriend and i were lucky enough to buy tickets to mogwai's concert at
baltimore's ottobar before it sold out. this tiny venue is usually reserved
for concerts by the likes of wesley willis and local heros such as cex. it is
very small and intimate, and besides the advantage of being able to see mogwai
(and mighty flashlight) up close the sound was also pretty good.
touching briefly on the opening act, they played music that would be a great
soundtrack for the morning hours of a drunken party. the singer/guitarist and
drummer are talented; the rest of the band (including the bassist, who looks
like dracula/frankenstein's monster and apparently was in the rites of spring
with guy from fugazi) looked like they just escaped from a morgue. get some
rest, guys.
both bands came on later than scheduled. mogwai played a terrific show. i last
saw them in dc a year ago at the 9:30 club. it was a great show, and i think
this one was even better. the only thing that would have made it even better
for me would have been their playing "sine wave". the show started with a
version of "like herod" that simply destroys the album version. it was a
night low on early material, but what little they did play was pulled off
perfectly. last year the flute playing on "fear satan" was sloppy, to be
blunt; this time it was obvious that some practice had been put in before
trying as there were no mistakes. they were all in a good mood. stuart had on
a "chile" hat, it seems like they enjoyed their first south american concerts.
the new song played tonight is called "c#" for now. this was the name written
on the setlist and the name stuart told me when i asked him. i'm sure it'll be
renamed after it's been recorded but for now it's the legit title. i don't
know if it's one of the new songs played in south america, but the way i
describe it is: it's a very melodic song akin to "christmas song" but played
on guitars. the singer/guitarist from mighty flashlight played keyboards
during the song.
"cody" and "christmas steps" hit the spot for all us fans of 'come on die
young'. the band really got into the latter number, walking around the stage
and playing off each other. stuart's part 3/4 way through when he begins to
play different chords wasn't loud enough. dominic was also having problems
with the sound that night, especially "helicon 1" and "2 rights" when he
struggled briefly with the vocoder part (which to the audience sounded
perfect).
"my father my king" is the definitive mogwai encore and i hope they keep it on
their setlists for a good long time. the photo of stuart i attached to this
review is him on the floor playing the song. the 9:30 club version last year
was longer, with more distortion and singing, but this version was more
powerful. just a few minutes into it stuart broke one of his guitar strings,
but fortunately it was a dummy chord in the song and didn't affect his part.
as usual he was the last one on stage, playing with effects pedals on the
floor and shaking the living hell out of his instrument, sonic youth style.
after the noise finished i got the jagged orange guitar pick he used the whole
night. earlier on i also acquired a unique poster for the night's concert
designed by fans and put onto hard paper. it's a very nice poster. i hope
everyone reading this takes the opportunity to see mogwai on tour, they are
amazing live.
from tim gregory:
despite being sick this whole week, i couldn't miss last night's show. it was packed, and i got
there late, but still found a place to camp out on the balcony.
mighty flashlight started at around 9:45, i think -- they had that lazy folk/roots sound,
some of which very much reminded me of beck's 'one foot in the grave', and some of which sounded to
me like the bonnie prince billy stuff i've heard. they were good, and the crowd was pretty good to
them.
mogwai started about 30 minutes after mf left --
this will probably be one of the most documented concerts that i've ever been to. lots of people
had cameras of all types, including at least 3 video cameras i saw (including one guy who was on
the stage). i even saw a guy holding up a cell phone during the first song.
they only played one of the new songs, and i was secretly hoping for 'hugh dallas', or something a
little unusual, but still no complaints.
and finally, i think i go a little more deaf everytime i see them play. make sure to bring
those earplugs, kiddies.
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