By Jase Walker
Well it’s more or less the end of summer for 2025. What a ride it’s been and I’m closing out August with the magnificent Mogwai at a venue I’ve not been to before! I’m in PAARD (HORSE) in The Hague and without any doubt this can also be on the list of bloody nice music venues across the Netherlands, quite spoiled for it here if I do say so.
Support includes Kathryn Joseph, whom I’m totally unfamiliar with but as usual the point always stands, support your supports.
I’ve got myself propped up on the balcony to maximize my viewing because, as I’ve found since living here a while, the Dutch are bloody tall and I can either grab a balcony spot or consign myself to the view of someone’s shoulders for most of the evening.
Kathryn begins by apologizing for saying “fuck” so much before beginning with some beautifully synthy keys that instantly reminds me of the likes of Jan Hammer and Eurythmics. Just her and another, both facing each other with keys and a couple of other sample bits, given the sound they’re putting out, this has very much taken my interest and also surprise at the difference in style between this and the forthcoming Mogwai.
It’s noticeable that there’s a particularly slow bpm to these songs that feel extremely gothy and dark, I’m super absorbed by it although it doesn’t surprise me much as I am an absolute sucker for synthy music. Some elements remind me a lot of how Daft Punk approached their ‘TRON Legacy’ soundtrack, intense fuzzy leads and distorted bass that drone and mix with each other.
I’m also quite enjoying the periodic quips and backstory from Kathryn between songs delivered with some lovely Scottish wit and bluntness you’d expect from the bonnie land. Genuinely a very fascinating start, between the humour and somewhat dour music, I very much enjoyed the whole experience and found Kathryn’s material super interesting despite it being somewhat at odds with Mogwai themselves but I always appreciate a good curve ball!
After a bit of a wait with the stage changeover, Mogwai ran on to whoops and cheers from the crowd, not ones for a big dramatic entrance, just a quick wave and a hello.
Opening with their latest album’s first track, ‘God Gets You Back’, Mogwai immediately puts me at ease in a way similar to putting on a familiar, comfortable, trusty piece of clothing that reassures your trust. It’s been a while since I last caught these at Arctangent and got absolutely blown away by how immense their live show is.
Things have barely started and I’m already finding myself falling deeply into the production accompanying the music, I don’t think they’ve even pulled out the extra parts yet going off the various structures dotted around the stage.
Mogwai are also one of the bands in the post-rock niche that haven’t forgotten that there’s still “rock” in the genre name, I remember thinking this a lot last time I saw them and this is ever more apparent in the live performance when they chuck in the odd heavier riffy bit. It’s often easy to label post-rock as a fairly chill genre because it often is, but Mogwai aren’t afraid to throw some audacious noise in here and there to remind you that there’s still time for a good old headbang.
The expanded parts of the production eventually come into use, each part of the frame lightning up in subtle shifts of colour, generally quite softly lit as the more powerful beams fade out of use. Their slow pulses of light match the equally laid back music at the time, steadily shifting through colours and white. Other lights also show up that mimic the appearance of neon flowers that also match the ebb and flow of Mogwai’s set as the other pillars begin to mix ever more complex flourishes of colour.
We’re going so fast and an hour has come and gone, I feel like I’ve barely registered it as I’ve been so utterly enamoured with Mogwai’s show, totally sucked in and helplessly charmed. All of the lights are now going wild as the more intense songs are left to the end, cycling beams of multiple pastel colours that dance around the stage as the band hammers out their final parts of the set.
It’s day one of this stomp around Europe for Mogwai, and I’m glad to have seen the first night of it because the rest of Europe is not prepared for such a wonderful show. Mogwai once again show why post-rock is such a fucking interesting genre of music, the tearing down of convention and adding in whatever the fuck they feel like is so freeing.
Truly a stunning show, a band that has and will stand the test of time and I hope that this is one of many, many times for the future to come. A truly incredible band.
