A review of Mogwai at Terminal 5 on 9/18/08...

Gizmo’s All Grown Up!!

It’s sort of like a lullaby for the apocalypse: you can sense that the world is ending, but you have an unwavering feeling of contentment and serenity, like no other soundtrack could possibly summon such feelings of comfort for such a beautifully grim finale. 

That’s probably the best description I can provide of the feeling that accompanies seeing a live Mogwai show. There are moments of such clean, simplistic beauty followed by moments of cacophonous, dirty peril; an intense and nearly surgical latticework of the gorgeous and tranquil intertwined with the harsh and jarring. It’s sort of like being on a ship fluctuating between tumultuous seas and lake-like waters. In fact the name Mogwai (an allusion to the somewhat unstable creatures of the Gremlins films) should conjure up images of adorable furry critters that, when handled incorrectly or irresponsibly, can turn into ugly, nightmarish demons with a menacing taste for blood. This appears to me as a rather purposeful and accurate association. 

I understand that Mogwai is not a band for everybody. I’ve had my hits and misses regarding attempts to turn others on to what I consider an intensely original and musically turbulent band. But one thing I’ve found: those that do fall into the Mogwai trap fall hard. There’s a powerful affection that bases itself in true Mogwai fans. With extreme resistance to general classifications like “boring,” “depressing” and “background music,” Mogwai fans embrace the minimalism and distinct lack of vocals, recognizing that this is a band that offers a musical experience, not just a collection of sing-along songs. 

Perhaps the true appeal of a band like Mogwai is the interpretive aspect. Such volatile and varying music can call to mind any number of common themes that typical lyrics would address: political upheaval, relational turmoil, social isolation, general discontent and of course, passionate nostalgia. It’s really up to the listener to decide what the song is about. And that’s only if they decide they want it to be about something more than the music. 

As with most bands, the live experience for Mogwai is quite different than that of listening to their studio albums. However, with Mogwai, this divergence is quite extreme. It’s really astonishing to see a band assert such an incredible aura with such an unenergetic stage presence. This is not to say the band is boring to watch. But they are not jumping around. They are not appealing to their fans with exaggerated gestures and a lot of between-song crowd interaction. In fact, all members stay relatively stationary and offer few words to the audience over the course of the show. 

But their musical presence more than makes up for any lack of stage energy. The music itself exudes all the power and vivacity you would want or expect from a live show. Picture it actually attacking your senses with a strategic assault, often lulling you into a false sense of serenity before striking you with something heavy, loud and explosive when you least expect it. It’s almost as if the band understands that any kind of an overstated stage presence would divert too much attention from what the audience should be concentrating on: the musical experience. Taking this into consideration, one might think Mogwai’s comparatively modest energy is a conscious choice; a decision to keep your attention focused on what it should be focused on.   

I had only seen Mogwai once before this most recent show at Terminal 5, and that single previous experience simultaneously blew me away and made me crave more. I was so impressed with their May 2006 show at Webster Hall that I made a pledge to myself to make sure I saw them next time they came to the New York area. Unfortunately this highly anticipated visit took two and a half years. Fast-forward to September of 2008 and we have a new album and a very different set list. 

Although I was incredibly impressed with the recent Terminal 5 show, it didn’t quite have the same effect for me as the previous Webster Hall show. I attribute this largely to the heavy concentration of new material in the Terminal 5 set. At the Webster Hall show of 2006 there were only one or two songs played that I was not familiar with. And although I was fortunate enough to have a friend provide me with an advance copy of the new studio release “The Hawk is Howling” prior to the most recent show, I only had a few days to listen to it before attending the concert. 

With that being said, a large chunk of the Terminal 5 set was unfamiliar to me. Although it is always nice to be surprised with something new, I counted about six new songs out of a fourteen-song set. And I certainly understand a band’s desire to play their new material on a tour that is supporting their new album, but it was a little unexpected to hear so many new songs from an album that wasn’t scheduled to be released until 4 or 5 days after the show. In this sense it was personally disappointing to not hear some of my Mogwai favorites like “Auto Rock,” “Acid Food,” “Christmas Steps,” “Kids Will Be Skeletons,” “Glasgow Megasnake” and my personal favorite, “Travel is Dangerous.” It was great to hear “Helicon 1,” “Mogwai Fear Satan,” “Like Herod” and “Hunted by a Freak,” but I suppose I was a little bitter about being denied my true favorites. 

The lack of an encore was also a little disappointing. Not only was there no encore, but there was no announcement or warning that we were listening to the last song. I will concede that their closing track “Batcat” off the new album is one of the best songs they could possibly close with, especially the way it was performed live with “Like Herod” running directly and almost seamlessly into it. But for me it’s always a little unsatisfactory to be unaware of a set’s finale. On top of that, “Batcat” finished at around 10:50 p.m., so frequent concert-goers like myself would expect an 11:00 curfew for the club, thus allowing another ten minutes of music. Even as the house lights came on, there was the dwindling hope that a somewhat eccentric band was just playing a little practical joke, allowing the lesser fans to leave while the die-hards waited with baited breath for a somewhat delayed encore. But as the techs began to feverishly break down the stage setup, it became apparent that the show was over. 

Although this may sound like a slightly negative review, it isn’t. Even with my rather trivial “complaints” (for lack of a better word), the show was incredible. It just seems impossible not to compare the only two live Mogwai experiences I have under my belt. And in that sense, the 2006 show takes the cake. But it should also be understood that the 2006 show at Webster Hall was probably in my top five concert-going experiences (joining the ranks with more well-known bands such as Tool, Radiohead and Counting Crows). It would have been nearly impossible for Mogwai to surpass that show (at least in my eyes), but they did provide a more-than-adequate follow-up, leaving me with a nearly insatiable desire to see them again. Unfortunately, if history is any indication, it will probably be about another two and a half years before my live Mogwai withdrawal is assuaged.