I ventured to Chicago last Friday to see Mogwai perform at the Congress Theater. Mr. Heisig was unable to accompany me and being as I am not a great writer by any stretch this will be a short post.
Of the four or five times I have seen Mogwai now, I liked this performance the best. As usual, they play only the tracks they want, not as to piss of the audience but they are techinically limited to what songs the can put in a playlist. Be that as it may, they always choose a great playlist, intermixing old songs with their new(ish) material to keep the whole crowd please.
They definitely knew how to navigate their catalogue at the Congress, having a keen ear on when to play their slow songs, when to sound heavier, and when to stop. I was even surprised during "Killing All the Flies" at the timing of the sudden burst near the end of the song, something I pride myself in being able to predict after listening to the song a couple dozen times (in a row).
They closed out with "Like Herod" in their encore and while I would have preferred "Mogwai Fear Satan" or "Xmas Steps" as an ending, it left me pumped as I exited the theater.
They band that opened for Mogwai, otherwise known as Twilight Sad, could not do justice to the show. I would venture to say either they couldn't hear each other, or they simply did not care, but their music, while plenty brooding, was not as cohesive as it could have been.
They reminded me of the band I Love You, But I've Chosen Darkness, minus the driving force that goes into the performance of darker music. While it was their last show on the tour with Mogwai, I think they seemed a bit more tired than just being on the road.
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