KONSERT: Mogwai in Singapore

(Photo credit: www.music.ign.com)

MOGWAI, the Glasgow, Scotland-based masters of arty guitar menace, make a one-off concert stop at the Esplanade Theatre in Singapore on Aug 1.

The five-piece outfit is enjoying renewed acclaim with its fifth album Mr Beast and the rave reviews accompanying its recent live outings have re-established Mogwai’s standing as a top drawer act.

Rock trends might have changed, but Mogwai, formed in 1996 and built with avant garde white noise durability, remains a formidable force.

Classics like Mogwai Fear Satan, Hunted By A Freak, May Nothing But Happiness Come Through Your Door, Helicon 1 and Summer appear on the current setlist alongside the new album material, putting a good career mix on this tour.

With a US tour next month and a slot at the Fuji Rock Festival in July in Japan, this upcoming Singapore gig is tipped to be a sold-out event. The Esplanade Theatre seats 1,800, so an early booking is advisable.

No stranger to fans in Asia, Mogwai has played major shows in Japan, Taiwan and Hong Kong in recent years.

But this is the closest these Scottish blokes have come to these parts and since KL concert promoters remain close-minded and rarely venture outside the golden oldies circuit or teenybopper market, Singapore is the next best option for cutting edge gigs.

Tickets, priced at S$98 (RM225.40) and S$78 (RM179.40), go on sale June 8. Browse (www.esplande.com) for details.

(Source: The Star, 19 April 2006)