Kicking off 2018 with Mogwai

At long last I've solved the problem of standing behind those big tall individuals who always seem to see that the best vantage point to watch the band is just in front of me. As a bonus it's also solved standing on the route to the bar or being next to the group of friends who would rather shout at each other than watch the band! The solution, simple really... just stand at the front!

So arriving in good time and having already had a drink in the packed, small or cosy depending on your point of view, Town Mouse, Sheelagh and I duly took our position centre stage and within touching distance of the barrier!

First up were Scottish trio Out Lines, a new project from The Twilight Sad’s James Graham, Kathryn Joseph and Marcus Mackay. Very interesting they were too, the set featured songs from their debut album, Conflats - full of melancholy, sadness and distinctive accordian sound. Pretty good though and I'll probably be hunting it down.

Sticking to our spot at the front we waited patiently for Mogwai. Their album Every Country's Sun was my top album of 2017 so this was one I was really looking forward to. After a short wait on they came and launched in to 'Crossing the Road Material', and the intense guitar hammering began - a promising start following it with I'm Jim Morrison, I'm Dead from an album I've not got by them. It was great being up close actually able to see the band for once, but there was something missing. Maybe it was the volume but the subtlety was missing, for me a key part of any Mogwai song and if I'm honest the lighting in the first part of the show was pretty dull. But all was not lost and Mogwai would kick it up a gear for the last third of the gig starting with album title track Every Country's Sun.

The deep and warm analogue synth tones of Remurdered provided another standout highlight from their later catalogue. The near sell-out crowd reacted to the anticipated queasy volume leap in the middle of classic track Mogwai Fear Satan (Sheelagh actually jumped in surprise!) followed up with the heat-seeking helter skelter of Old Poisons, which was accompanied by all the lighting firepower they had failed to use earlier and some of the biggest cheers of the night were for the final part of the set. Standing at the front was taking it's toll and before the encore Sheelagh and I headed to the bar for a final drink.

The encore of I Know You Are But What Am I? and the exceptionally loud and distorted brute metallic force of We’re No Here ensured they went out on a high.

All in all a good start to 2018's gig going.