Mogwai at The Garage, Highbury: Review and setlist from a show full of ‘power and beauty’
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It’s 30 years since The Garage opened in Highbury, and 25 since Mogwai began unleashing their first classic albums.
I must confess, back then I was underwhelmed at first, being an indie-kid Blur fan (no, they’re not). But since those early months they have been a constant in my life, matched only by Prince and Bob Dylan.
‘We’re Mogwai from Glasgow, Scotland’
“It’s good to be back here in The Garage,” says Stuart Braithwaite after the customary welcome.
The band’s unassuming manner on stage is a contrast to the beauty and power of the music.
They first played the venue as a double-header with Arab Strap in 1997, at the time of debut album Mogwai Young Team.
Following support act Cloth, it is the opener from that album, Yes! I Am a Long Way From Home, which launches the show, and it’s a wonderful, uplifting thing.
Mogwai come in part from punk, and they love a riff, but the music remains full of optimism.
Although the venue is packed with people in coats padded for the cold weather (it’s Islington so Canada Goose has even infiltrated music venues), this is a crowd that knows the band, has grown bald listening to them (I’m one), and knows the value of quiet.
The explosion of songs like Mogwai Fear Satan remains, and the silent anticipation heightens it.
Set against the music, the impudence of such song titles has always been part of the charm. Here we get gems including How To Be a Werewolf, Ceiling Granny and George Square Thatcher Death Party.
While Yes! I Am a Long Way From Home still brings a tear to the eye after all these years, there are moments to match it, none more so than a sparkling Hunted By a Freak and the chime of a rarely-played Summer.
Setlist
- Yes! I Am a Long Way From Home
- Boltfor
- How To Be a Werewolf
- Drive the Nail
- Midnight Flit
- Hunted By a Freak
- Mogwai Fear Satan
- Ritchie Sacramento
- George Square Thatcher Death Party
- Ceiling Granny
- Remurdered
- Ratts of the Capital
Encore:
- Summer
- My Father, My King
The Garage
Since opening in 1993, The Garage has hosted acts from Pulp to the Killers.
Mogwai are playing a second sold-out show tonight (February 7) as part of the 30th anniversary season, which also sees a show by Sugarbabes on Wednesday (February 8), and The Futureheads on Saturday (February 11).