Review: Elyce Phillips. Photos: David Harris Photography
After kicking off the Australian leg of their 30th anniversary tour at the Sydney Opera House, as part of Vivid LIVE, Scottish post-rock group Mogwai shook the walls of Melbourne’s Forum Theatre with their signature blend of sonic bliss and thundering bass.
Melbourne-based “supergroup” Fancy Weapon opened the night, treating the crowd to tracks from their upcoming debut album (due for release on June 19). The band may be new, but the members will be familiar to many – this is a collaboration of some Australian rock royalty. Frontman Joel Silbersher (GOD, Hoss), best-known for the hit ‘My Pal’, cuts an interesting figure, suitably growling his lyrics in a gravelly tone before blowing polite kisses to an audience that he praises for being “patient”. Drummer Claire Birchall (Smoked Salmon, Paper Planes) was a stand-out, sharing the vocal duties, as well as providing a compelling, insistent heartbeat for the tracks. Mick Turner (Dirty Three, Bleak Squad) and Mudhoney bassist Guy Maddison round out the crew, creating a rumbling, guitar-heavy sound that captivated the Mogwai audience.
This may have been a celebration of Mogwai‘s 30 years in the biz, but there was no self-congratulation or fanfare here. Lead vocalist Stuart Braithwaite kept the interaction with the crowd to a minimum, letting the music do all the talking. The setlist paid tribute to an extensive career, but heavily featured tracks from their most recent studio album, 2025’s The Bad Fire, starting with album openers ‘God Gets You Back’ and ‘Hi Chaos’.
‘Ithica 27 Φ 9′ was the first throwback of the night, taking us all the way back to 1996 for a softer sound that swelled to a climax of distorted guitars and thrashing drums. A tender, beautiful rendition of second album hit ‘Cody’ was a highlight, and a gentle resting place amongst the deafening roar of Mogwai’s more turbulent tracks.
The band closed the night out with the 20-minute epic ‘My Father My King’. Regularly pulled out as an encore feature piece, the song thrills you with everything Mogwai does best, quiet beginnings, rising melodies, an undulating power struggle of distortion and feedback. A perfect end to a gig celebrating decades of work.
Set list:
God Gets You Back
Hi Chaos
Ithica 27ø9
Friend of the Night
Pale Vegan Hip Pain
Cody
Ritchie Sacramento
How to Be a Werewolf
Fanzine Made of Flesh
Remurdered
We’re No Here
Lion Rumpus
Encore:
My Father, My King
Remaining Australian Mogwai date:
Wed May 27 Brisbane QPAC
https://mogwai.scot/pages/live
