It sure isn’t easy being a touring musician. What more with a band like Mogwai, who have to lug around no less than 6 amps all across the globe. Die-hard fans leaped over the moon when it was announced that Mogwai would be returning to KL after almost 5 years since they last set our ears ablaze with their signature wall of sound. The venue was packed with eager post-rock fan boys that look like they were in a local 4-piece post-rock band of their own — no doubt many of whom were inspired by Mogwai’s shoegazey sounds that have paved the way for the Malaysian post-rock scene.

Mogwai’s return to the Malaysian stagefront was greeted with thunderous cheers and applause from fans who patiently waited through the soundchecks that seemed to have lasted for an eternity. The Scottish boys kicked things off with “Heard About You Last Night” from their latest release, Rave Tapes which was graced the title of number 1 best selling vinyl LP in the UK.

Even watching the band switch around their instruments amongst themselves was like watching a graceful dance, with the multi-talented boys never missing a beat when transitioning from one song to the other.

Playing with the soft-loud dynamics at ear-shattering volumes that would make Kevin Shields of My Bloody Valentine proud, the euphoric sensation started kicking in where feedback and noise began to morph into sweet music. Many of the audience members seen closing their eyes and letting their body sway to the rhythm as they plunged 30 feet deep into their inner realms, surrounded by the atmospheric feels of Mogwai’s music — while instrument fanboys could be seen salivating over bassist Dominic Aitchison’s Travis Bean bass guitar and guitarist John Cummings’ ultra rare Fender Electric XII 12-string guitar.

With Malaysia being the last stop for this leg of their tour, guitarist Stuart Braithwaite wasn’t stingy at all with his gratitude as he kept thanking the responsive crowd at the end of each song. The band saved the best for last with clear fan favorites “Hunted By A Freak” and “Mogwai Fear Satan.” It was uncertain if the audiences left with the same hearing abilities they had at the start of the night, but with a performance like that, it is certain that no fan was left unsatisfied.

(Othniel T)

Urbanscapes, Malaysia’s month-long creative arts festival, confirmed that Mogwai will play Urbanscapes satellite show on Nov 30 at KL Live.

The Scottish post-rock band Mogwai (“Take Me Somewhere Nice”) often championed by the late John Peel of BBC Radio will take their brand of shoegazing, instrumental metal renditions to Urbanscapes’ Satellite Show this year. With a repertoire that contains tracks from the soundtrack for film The Fountain and French TV series, Les Revenants, and “Rave Tapes” which became UK’s best selling vinyl album this year — Mogwai will offer a chilling, ethereal set that will chill the bones and sway the crowd.

As previously announced, on Dec 6, festival-goers can look forward to soak in the anthemic sounds of the Los Angeles-based indie rock band Local Natives (“Gorilla Manor”, “Heavy Feet”) that Pitchfork described as a “sort of West Coast ‘Grizzly Bear’ [the band]”. Playing alongside them will be the legendary American college rock outfit The Lemonheads (“It’s a Shame About Ray”) whose cover of Simon & Garfunkel’s “Mrs Robinson” paved a way to a breakthrough in their salad days.

Scottish synthpop band Chvrches (“Recover”, “Lies”), whose track “The Mother We Share” was featured in the opening video for the 2014 Commonwealth Games Opening Ceremony in Glasgow, Scotland this year. The trio will perform at 7 pm, Nov 19 at KL Live. American comedy rock duo Tenacious D (“Tribute”, “Wonderboy“), featuring actors/musicians Jack Black and Kyle Gass will play Urbanscapes’ second Satellite Show on Dec 1 at KL Live.

For more information and line-up details, please check out urbanscapes.com.my.

Ticketing Information

Buy your Urbanscapes tickets online at www.ticketpro.com.my. Tickets can also be bought at physical outlets throughout the country. For full list of outlets, look them up at www.ticketpro.com.my/jnp/ticket-outlets/index.html. Ticketing information for additional satellite shows will be announced when appropriate.

Urbanscapes Hotel Packages

Awana Hotel (Distance 3.4km)

Package entitlements: One night stay Buffet Breakfast for two at Rajawali Restaurant Urbanscapes tickets for 2 at Awana Horse Ranch

First World Hotel (Distance 11.7km)

Package entitlements: One night stay Urbanscapes tickets for 2 at Awana Horse Ranch

Urbanscapes 2014 Satellite Show featuring Chvrches

TIME: 7 pm

DATE: Nov 19

PLACE: KL Live, 20 Jalan Sultan Ismail, 50450 Kuala Lumpur

*Pre-Sale tickets will be sold once early bird tickets are sold out. These tickets allow access to one satellite show of your choice only (make sure you buy the correct Satellite Show ticket!) These tickets do NOT allow access to Urbanscapes.

Urbanscapes 2014 Satellite Show featuring Mogwai

TIME: 7 pm

DATE: Nov 30

PLACE: KL Live, 20 Jalan Sultan Ismail, 50450 Kuala Lumpur

*Pre-Sale tickets will be sold once early bird tickets are sold out. These tickets allow access to one satellite show of your choice only (make sure you buy the correct Satellite Show ticket!) These tickets do NOT allow access to Urbanscapes.

Urbanscapes 2014 Satellite Show featuring Tenacious D

TIME: 7 pm

DATE: Dec 1

PLACE: KL Live, 20 Jalan Sultan Ismail, 50450 Kuala Lumpur

*Pre-Sale tickets will be sold once early bird tickets are sold out. These tickets allow access to one satellite show of your choice only (make sure you buy the correct Satellite Show ticket!) These tickets do NOT allow access to Urbanscapes.

Urbanscapes 2014

TIME: 2pm till late

DATE: Dec 6

PLACE: Horse Ranch, Resorts World Genting

* There are limited sales for each phase, and once the quantity runs out, ticket sales will move on to the next phase. These tickets do NOT allow access to any Satellite Shows.

Follow #Urbanscapes on:

TWITTER: @urbanscapes

FACEBOOK: fb.com/urbanscapes

INSTAGRAM: instagram.com/urbanscapes

Hostess Asia/Dominic Phua

When the sun was about to set, some people (who were mostly teenagers) started to rush themselves to the front row as Archy Marshall or famously known as King Krule came up on stage. Wearing a unique fish-shapped hat, this young man began rapping in gibberish with some set of jazzy tunes and hip-hop beats. King Krule and the band mixed it really well, it turned out to be beautiful. He took everyone’s hearts with songs from his debut album “6 Feet Beneath The Moon”, our favourite moment was when he played Baby Blue.

As the skies went darker, the stage filled with the smokes from the dried ices. Mogwai began their set with ‘Heart About You Last Night’. With approximately 90 minutes, Mogwai blew away the crowd’s mind. It was the second time for this post-rocker in Singapore since their last show in 2009.

Hostess Asia/Dominic Phua

Then it was the time for The National. Matt Berninger came up on stage with a glass of white wine. He greeted the crowd and start playing ‘Don’t Swallow The Cap’ from their latest album which also got nominated for Grammy, ‘Trouble Will Find Me’. Berninger enchanted the crowd with his baritone vocal followed by occasionalscream through ‘Sea of Love-Afraid of Everyone-Squalor Victoria’, not to mention his astonishing stage performance. The crowds gone wild when Berninger walked to them during Mr. November. If we were asked to describe how epic their show was, we would be having a hard time to create a line to describe it, since the show was pretty mindblowing and beyond our expectation.

Hostess Asia/Dominic Phua

Guess we all should give some shout-out ‘Thanks’ to Hostess Asia for bringing the new experience to the Singaporeans, it really was a great time to experience the annual event which is also held in Japan.

Leading pan-Asian independent music company Hostess Entertainment Unlimited (Hostess) has launched its unique live series “Hostess Club Weekender” (HCW) in Singapore!

HCW for the past 2 years has become a permanent and hugely popular fixture in the Japanese live calendar, and has so far presented Hostess artists established and new of the calibre of Vampire Weekend, Dirty Projectors, Travis, Bloc Party, Hot Chip, Spiritualized, Dinosaur Jr, Toro Y Moi, Youth Lagoon, Deap Valley and Perfume Genius.

As part of Hostess’s continuing regional expansion, HCW will land in Fort Canning Park on Saturday February 22nd next year. The inaugural show in Singapore will feature critics’ darlings The National, Mogwai as well as up-and-comers King Krule, Asgeir and Buke & Gase to make the most compelling, irresistible and fresh lineup.

“It’s been amazing watching HCW grow with its audience and gradually start to matter in other countries as well. It’s made with us as fans of the music in mind, and we’re excited to be able to now properly introduce the unique Weekender vibes to Singapore.” Andrew Lazonby, Hostess Founder & CEO

Tickets on sale now!

Advance: 118 SGD
Door: 150 SGD
https://tickets.eventclique.com/weekender

Keep your eyes peeled at their FB Page  for ticketing details and the latest greatest news!