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Freeplay: Mogwai
By Megan Carneal
mcarneal@mscd.edu

There are a few rules when dealing with live Scottish Mogwai. Do not feed them after midnight, because it might interact with the hallucinogens they have already taken; do not let them get wet, because it would destroy the endless number of effects pedals they rely on; and do not expose them to sunlight, as they produce such a ghostly noise it surely would disappear in the harsh light of day.

For those who were there and, more importantly, for those who missed it, Mogwai’s live appearance May 3, 2006, at the Gothic Theatre is available for free download. The set list consists of 15 tracks complete with the rarity of Mogwai vocals. The recording has been remastered, so the between-tracks repartee is gone, but it makes the recording play and sound more like a studio album.

The set is a journey through space, time and sound. So many effects bombard every aspect of the show that any kind of drug enhancement is appreciated, but not needed.

“Glasgow Mega Snake,” sounds like a group of personified acid-tripping guitars gathered around a drum set challenging each other to come up with the subsequent sound. At one point they are simultaneously hypnotic and excruciatingly depressed; in the next instant they become distorted, dark and threatening. Toward the peak of the song, the guitars melt into each other, becoming inescapably dynamic and creating a ruthless melody.

Before the mind has time to deal with the trip it is going through, “My Father, My King” closes the set, furthering the disorientation. The extensive instrumental is almost as much of a journey as the entire recording. The track has an organic quality, constantly morphing into a new sound. Panning guitars fade in and out and then into each other to create a crescendo of epic length and proportion. The song ends with a whirlwind of intense effects blanketed by thick reverberation. Just as it started with a soul, it ends in a natural state of decay, as the effects are gradually absorbed by the entranced audience. With its last breath it beats out a final drum solo, followed by applause at a life well lived.

This recording may have the luxury of the remastering, which makes it seem as accessible as a studio album, but should still be treated with the caution of a live set, for it is easy to become tangled in it and lost for hours.

Download Mogwai live at the Gothic Theater 5-3-2006 at http://www.archive.org/details/mogwai2006-05-03.sbd.remaster.flac16.