Saturday 01/04/06, Mogwai @ Brookes University, Oxford

Not many bands can lay claim to be figureheads of a genre, but it's possibly true of Mogwai and their 'post-rock' leanings. Following a massive and extremely well-received tour of the States, Mogwai are launching an assault on these shores in typically explosive fashion. True to their genre pigeonhole, Mogwai do occasionally sound like the future, as on the glorious rendition of the vocodered freakery (better than Cher, believe) of 'Hunted by a freak'. Brookes is a fitting venue for such music, with it's chromed-out interior resembling a '50's sci-fi b-movie.

Of course, Mogwai are five albums deep and have constantly evolved throughout their works. Tonight we see Mogwai's clear influence on other acts, with local heroes Youthmovie Soundtrack Strategies in attendance. You might say we're witnessing a passing of the torch, but Mogwai's power has not waned, as has been whispered in darkened internet alleys (In fact as tonight proves it’s possibly grown). These people need to be shouted down, like you're making a vocal re-enactment of Mogwai's early quiet/ loud sound.             

This show is in support of the fantastic 'Mr Beast' album. That name comes from a hand-held airport messageboard, usually for business-men with normal names, like Patrick Bateman. First single from Mr Beast, 'Friend of the night' is a close relative of Nine Inch Nail's 'Hurt' and is an emotional reminder of the Joaquin Phoen... sorry, Johnny Cash version. The visuals tonight aren't as good as the Johnny Cash video, but the drummer makes a decent attempt, banging the drums with 'sticks' that look more suited to a gong. As that other Rick Rubin produced genius, Jay-Z says; "It's like bringing a knife to a fist-fight".

Mogwai didn't kill rock music, but embraced it in all its myriad forms. Tonight, from Mr Beast comes metal heaviosity in the form of 'Glasgow Mega Snake' and stoner-rock with depth charge noise (‘Rocks, Depth Charges’, these things sink fast; you don't need telling how heavy this is) with 'We're No Here'. Tonight, both these tunes stand proudly next to those classic back-catalogue tracks. Mind blowing stuff.