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I’m not sure that pop music carries the same weight in Rome as it does in Sydney. The city doesn’t seem to have much in the way of record stores or venues, and the gig listings that I’ve come across seem to have a curiously empty space between (a sparse amount of) smaller local acts and large arena-filling groups – especially compared to other European cities such as Paris and Berlin. Perhaps also telling is the lack of musical exports – the only thing that comes to mind is italian disco, which seems to come from outside Italy more than the name suggests.
Mogwai was a frustrating experience. On one hand, it was Mogwai in an outdoor amphitheater. So it was going to be at least good, if not great, from the get-go. And it must be noted that they almost sold it out – a bigger turnout than Mogwai commanded back home in March.
But everything in its arrangement was so spectatorial that it made it hard to make that connection that pushes a show from good to great. The gigantic semicircular stage had the band a good 7-10 metres from any of their audience, who mostly sat in grandstands where the clicking of cameras and opening of bags was conspicuously audible against the bass-heavy outdoor mix. Adding to distraction were the click-clacking bottles of the gentlemen pacing the aisles selling refreshments, as if post-rock had suddenly become a contact sport. People seemed unsure how to act around a band that work on the contrast of sublime softness and overwhelming noise, cheering at the end of guitar bursts as if the calm remaining moments were an afterthought that followed the music. At best it was a headline slot that felt like a support slot, at worst it had the ambience of a crowd observing a dolphin show at the zoo.
That said, it was Mogwai in an amphitheater, and if you closed your eyes and let the music overtake you, there was a lot to enjoy. Even though it was near-castrated by the drum and bass focused mix (which did improve eventually), New Paths To Helicon I was an unexpected and awesome opener, and towards the end of the show they really started to get into a groove. I’ve seen them do better, but Mogwai are a consistently great live band, and even with tonight’s misgivings it was still a good evening out.
In contrast to greater Europe’s lofty reputation, though, it really does make me glad to live in a city and country with a thriving local scene and punters who love to get everything that they can from visiting musicians.
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