Mogwai

To describe the Mogwai experience in mere words is all but futile; they've all been said a thousand times before but still don't come close to conveying the power of their live show. They're like good drugs: they knock the shit out of you, but it's one hell of a ride.

Although the band came off-stage a good couple of hours ago, my ears are still ringing. All that remains is a haze. Right now, even the whir of this ageing PC takes on an air of ethereal majesty. Truly, Mogwai are a band for the mind, body and soul.

It all started innocently enough, the plaintive chimes of opener 'Yes! I Am A Long Way From Home' ringing out to the delight of the capacity crowd. Looking around me, it's clear the Glaswegian quintet inspire devotion: heads bob and weave seemingly of their own accord, bodies of all shapes and sizes, ages and creeds revel as one in this post-rock fiesta.

As a relative newcomer myself, what proceeds to unfold is something of a surprise. Ears and eyes are treated to layer upon layer of epic guitars, shimmering white noise and skull shattering bass. But it's not the noise itself that impresses, more the accomplishment of the textured, sprawling soundscapes they manage to craft out of it.

Highlights of the hour-and-a-half set are a venomous 'Glasgow Mega-Snake' (indulge me, please) as well as old favourites 'Mogwai Fear Satan' and 'Hunted By A Freak'. Such formalities as song titles, though, are rendered practically irrelevant by a display of this pulchritude.

Photos courtesy of Gary Wolstenholme