Minneapolis is showing some love for Mogwai. It’s been a month since the Scottish post-rockers came to play the mainroom in First Avenue, and in the meantime some great audio from their stay in the city is slowly leaking from the city.
Before Mogwai took the stage on May 10th, Barry Burns stopped by U of M’s Radio K for half an hour to take over the dials and give an exclusive interview to our fine University during the broadcast of nowlikephotographs. Check it:
And the best find of all? Empty’s Tapes linked to an exclusive live audio bootleg at The Trader’s Den that captures the band’s First Avenue performance in glorious clarity. It’s worth the download for any fan of the band; all you have to do is register for free and you can start torrenting!
Famed Scottish post-rock quintet Mogwai were in Minneapolis to play First Avenue this Sunday, May 10th, and we were there to witness the maddening bliss. Though the band were kind enough to devote ample time to songs from each phase of their illustrious career, they focused on their recent album The Hawk Is Howling, injecting each song they touched with live intensity and jazz-like freeform emotional energy that no other post-rock band can match so confidently.
Not surprisingly, the performance was a vocally quiet one, with Barry only stepping out from behind the keyboards for unaffected vocals on one song and little on stage banter other than a ‘thank you’ here and there. Instead, ‘Gwai played to their strengths by delivering a set that boldly emphasized the aural extremes at which they excel. For me, the most engrossing moments of the set were both the most reserved and the most bombastic. Whether it was the reserved cadence of “I’m Jim Morrison, I’m Dead”, the epic buildup of “Killing All the Flies”, or the oppressive heaviness of “We’re No Here”, each song was alive with an other-worldly, surging energy that true musicians live to create, and the crowd was receptively feeding off it every second of the night.
Additionally, it was Stuart’s birthday that night, and the band was in notably high spirits throughout their performance; sometimes maybe even a little bit too much so, as there were some miscommunications that resulted in a light-hearted, alcohol induced fumble or two (namely when they veered off the planned setlist without letting Dominic know what key they were changing into). Nevertheless, the crowd was in such good of a mood to finally see the band after their late cancellation last September that any mishaps were quickly forgiven. In fact, the adoring applause enticed the band to return to the stage for two whole encores before Stuart received a ceremonial birthday pranking and the lights came on to send us on our way back out for a post-concert brew.
The fuzzy, lo-fi psychedelic Canadian indie rockers in Women did an excellent job building anticipation for the headliners. Never having seen them before, I was very impressed with the way in which they were able to transform a simple little ditty into an explosive psychedelic brain melter within a matter of seconds. With their jagged rhythms and pounding beats, they inject something very fresh and different into the lo-fi sound that I’ve been hearing proliferate through the indie scene in the last two years. Truth-be-told, the only band that I’ve seen capable of similar feats is our local boys in Vampire Hands, and from my point of view a comparison to Vampire Hands is just about the best compliment you can give to a modern experimental indie rock band.
As always, we were fortunate to capture a slew of exclusive Mind Inversion media at the show. Among the goodies we collected are 3 live videos from Mogwai’s set, 1 live video of Women, and too many photos to count right now. It’s all below!
Epic a/v content after the jump! I’ve still got another video excerpt of “Like Herod” from the first encore (which I’ll give a C on visuals, but a B+ on audio) and tons of photos… Continue reading →
Finally, we are at the end of March, and the time has come for me to put the closing bell on the Mind Inversion tribute to the recently popular Facebook meme on your most influential albums. I’ll have you know that, like most lists I make, the albums for this list were brainstormed rather quickly, and I think that’s a good thing. If an album were actually as influential as I thought, their importance should be fairly easy for me to recall. Truthfully, I’ve never really become too embarrassed about any album that I own; sure, I may have made some questionable choices in my youngest years, but somehow I’ve always seemed to have a remarkably good bullshit detector when it comes to music. What follows is a journey through the albums that had the biggest impact on forming my tastes and such over the years. If you really love the music I post about, read on for a brief reverse-chronological (moreorless) recounting of my most influential albums. For better or worse, I’ve written them out as haikus for your enjoyment!
25. Nachtmystium, Assassins: Black Meddle, Part I
Sick, twisted, subtle
Black metal psychedelia
With soul of Pink Floyd
24. Deerhunter, Cryptograms
Melodies so sweet
And a massive wall of noise!
A new Sonic Youth?
Ah yes, my friends, the day is here where we officially christen our Sound Immersion various artists compilation as a monthly feature here on the site. My fellow posters and myself are starting to anticipate these releases greatly, mainly because it’s an easy way to talk about the music we’re listening to without necessarily shoving it down each others throats. We hope you all enjoy the songs that we’re bringing straight to your computer, iPod and stereo speakers each month, as well. From our point of view, these comps are likely to be the most diverse and reliable mixes your bound to get your hands around; music to focus your mind and let the muscles groove loose to the flow.
Last month, our posters introduced themselves with a debut compilation of the most recent modern sounds they’ve been loving; this month we’re continuing our a journey through our collective pasts. OnSound Immersion 03/09 (Vol 2.), we’ve decided to cop the popular Facebook meme and assemble a biographical mix of the two songs that we each consider to be the most influential or important in our life. Some of the contributors looked to the music that defines their modern taste while others selected the songs that signaled a clear turning point in their music listening life when we first heard them. Either way you consider the question, this wound up as a collection of some of the most important songs in our lives. A few of us have chosen to comment on why we decided to include these songs for our “most influential” mix, and others chose to let their song selection speak for itself. Here’s our playlist:
01. Mogwai – “Summer” (contributed by Eddie)
02. Bassnectar – “Zealots Slow Down (Remix)” (contributed by Nick B.)
03. Black Star – “Hater Players” (contributed by Tim)
04. Burning Spear – “Resistance” (contributed by Nick H.)
05. Jens Lekman – “Maple Leaves (7” version)” (contributed by Erik)
06. Lynyrd Skynyrd – “Things Goin’ On (original version)” (contributed by Ryan) 07. Super Furry Animals – “Juxtaposed With A U” (contributed by Dan). 08. Black Moth Super Rainbow – “Rollerdisco” (contributed by Eddie)
09. Varano– “Universal Rhythm” (contributed by Nick B.)
10. Jedi Mind Tricks – “I Against I” (contributed by Tim)
11. Soulfly – “The Song Remains Insane” (contributed by Ryan)
12. Ruby Suns– “Palmitos Park” (contributed by Erik)
13. Gravediggaz – “Zig Zag Chamber” (contributed by Nick H.)
14. The Mars Volta – “Roulette Dares (The Haunt Of)” (contributed by Dan)
The ZIP download of this amazing mix and our thoughts about our choices are waiting for you behind this next link. All that you have to do is click “read more”… Continue reading →
After their First Avenue show was abruptly cancelled late last year due to Martin’s heart complications, many Mogwai fans were left a bit shocked and bewildered. Thankfully, he was quickly on his feet again, and the band has stayed true to their promise to return to the midwest as soon as possible. So far, no openers have been announced for their rescheduled show on May 10th at First Avenue in Minneapolis, and I hope it stays that way. The Hawk Is Howling had some of my favorite songs from last year on it, but I’m definitely in support of giving the band plenty of time to honor their classic albums, as well.
Keep reading for all the dates on Mogwai’s world tour… Continue reading →
Minneapolis is showing some love for Mogwai. It’s been a month since the Scottish post-rockers came to play the mainroom in First Avenue, and in the meantime some great audio from their stay in the city is slowly leaking from the city.
(Mogwai)
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(Women)
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(Women)
25. Nachtmystium, Assassins: Black Meddle, Part I
MIND INVERSION 