encore:

thanks ben.

sold out.

corner hotel

reviews/comments

from paul:

let me just say from the outset that i am not one to complain, and in fact i have been to literally hundreds of gigs before and have never been driven to this type of fury.

i saw mogwai at the corner hotel, richmond tonight and witnessed a band riding a bike one handed, just to show that they could. and worst of all they finished with 20 minutes of feedback of the type that you would not wish on your worst enemy.

mogwai may consider australia just a backlot and a chance to warm up for their sold out gigs at royal albert hall but i can assure you that they lost a lot of fans tonight. those who did not leave like me in a muttering fury left wondering why they spent money on such self indulgent bollocks that simply didn't end but was drowned out by a chorus of indignation.

i was drawn to this band by the type of music that needed no decipherable lyrics, as the most magical of moments in life cannot be described in words, but i left their "show" tonight muttering under my breath and with the clouds of disappointment in the air so thick that you could cut the mood with a knife.

the band showed in a couple of glimpses that they could hold the crowd in the palm of their hand but instead of finishing on a blistering climax they turned up their middle finger and left us all to wonder where it all went wrong.

yours in disappointment and promise unfulfilled,
paul

and a very different take from ben:

my second mogwai experience last night was pure rock. i didn't even wear plugs for half of the set! it was funny to be surrounded by people with fingers in their ears while i was taking all the raucous cacophony in. the venue was so packed that i could barely get around, but then this was the first of two sold out nights. melbourne must love mogwai dearly.

the 'wai took to the stage at around 10.20 in matching bright green adidas jackets (further proof that they never take themselves too seriously), and slid into a near-greatest hits set. the set was by turns lush and ear-shredding. i could tell stuart (who thanked the audience a lot through the show) was wearing a t-shirt with some anti-george w bush slogan on the front - one of the more political statements i've seen in a live setting since witnessing trans am performing dressed as guantanamo bay inmates. heaps of good strobing appeared during the louder parts - there's something about strobing i just can't get enough of. "mogwai fear satan" and "glasgow mega snake" were expectedly intense, "helicon 1" was sheer bliss, and the encore finished with a magnificent 5 minute meltdown of white noise. oh, and i'm sorry paul if the gig really didn't meet your expectations. i hope that i'm not alone in this regard.