Acoustics at the Opera House have had their high-profile detractors. And these were pushed to the limits in celebration of Scottish post-rock band Mogwai, whose 20 year career has seen them move from climactic loud-quiet-very-loud dirges to driving krautrock. All of it loud. Ending a four year absence from Australia, the concert hall served well the five-piece’s full and unnerving sound, including that menacing hollow snare of drummer Martin Bulloch, entangled by the haunting strings of Luke Sutherland.
The set touched on most of their long playing output, from the rapturous How to Be a Werewolf and Remurdered to perennial highlight Mogwai Fear Satan. There was also the barrage of noise left behind after the doom-tinged We’re No Here, which had the seats shaking and audience members trying to applaud over the collective shrill ringing in their ears.
Band frontman Stuart Braithwaite’s interaction with the crowd was limited to a quiet thanks. The band members rarely acknowledged one another while playing and swapped precise timings for a more organic ebb and flow and natural crescendos. By the concert’s end, the band’s relentless cochlear assault left the crowd feeling pummelled – in the best way possible.
• Mogwai perform in Brisbane on 4 March
