Mogwai - Live at the Beacon, Bristol, 22nd February 2026

Given the noise maelstrom that’s about to occur, there is something quietly disarming about the way Mogwai take to the stage.

No grand entrance, no attempt to rouse the crowd, just a few waves before the brooding, spectral keyboard of ‘God Gets You Back’ pulses into life and the audience falls into a near-instant hush.

‘Hi Chaos’, also taken from recent album The Bad Fire, follows with a slow, deliberate climb, the pressure building throughout.

Stoic as ever, Stuart Braithwaite, Barry Burns, Dominic Aitchison and Martin Bulloch are almost imperceptible as their dynamics swell, locked together in a steady volcanic ascent that eventually tips into distortion.

The set is a healthy balance of new and old material to keep everyone happy. ‘Drive The Nail’, from As the Love Continues (2021), is epically windswept and serrated, its guitar lines scraping against a dense rhythmic undertow.

In contrast, the piano-led ‘Friend Of The Night’, from 2006’s Mr Beast, offers a reminder of the band’s melodic instincts but siphoned through their unique blend of shoegaze and prog.

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