Austinist Show Review: Mogwai at La Zona Rosa

Glaswegian instrumental rockers Mogwai cemented their reputation as Lords Of The Crescendo with a monolithic hour-plus set last Friday at La Zona Rosa. The quintet drew a near-capacity crowd as notable for its diversity—stoners, math nerds, hipsters and other twentysomethings packed in like the dysfunctional age group they are—as for the fact that anyone showed up at all, given the weekend’s dreary storm-surges. Touring in support of their fifth LP, Mr. Beast, Mogwai certainly lived up to their namesake: cute and cuddly upon first glance, soon enough the creature onstage unfurled into a ravenous monster intent on disintegrating your face.

Opener Jack Rose (a dead ringer for Peter Jackson) played an unassuming set of Middle Earth-ian 12-string folk music, providing a lovely counterpoint to the pending sonic assault. We figured the band picked him up at a pub back in Glasgow, but apparently he’s from Richmond, VA. And really likes Shiner.

In a rather endearing display of Celtic pride, Mogwai took the stage in matching green starter jackets, and from then on had the audience in the palm of their hand. The set drew mostly from the last two records; highlights included the slow-building, relatively subdued “I Know You Are But What Am I?” “Hunted By A Freak,” and the towering “Ratts Of The Capital,” which, although marred by guitar issues midway, spiraled into a gale-force sonic maelstrom. Easily the most anticipated song of the night was “Glasgow Mega-Snake” (did we mention they have the best song titles ever?), a vicious rocker that closed the set with such an abrupt, deafening fall to silence it was as if the moment itself had been sliced with a razor. The audience-wide sharp intake of breath was perfectly audible.