Live Review: Mogwai - Brighton Dome, 20/02/2026
Mogwai continue to celebrate their thirtieth anniversary as a band with a stellar run through of their legendary post-rock catalogue at the Brighton Dome.
There are few shows like a Mogwai show. Rarely does Stuart Braithwaite, Barry Burns, Dominic Aitchison and Martin Bullock, members of the Scottish post-rock outfit, take the stage to say any word at all beyond thanking the audience. Support act, Forest Swords, a dance-y, club-night energy of a vibe set, are even quieter on everything but the music. But when Mogwai take the stage, their silence speaks louder than words: the Palestine flag adorns the background for all to see making clear where the band’s loyalties lie; and their heart is very much in the right place.
I have seen Mogwai three times now, but this is the first in an indoor setting and they are incredibly majestic for it. They deploy the bulk of the setlist from 2025 release The Bad Fire but dip into the back catalogue; Happy Songs for Happy People fans are serviced the most but there’s also time to draw from As The Love Continues and Come on Die Young, Mogwai taking time to acknowledge how they got where they are with Ritchie Sacramento, pulled from of course, As The Love Continues, their era-defining album. It’s post-rock at its absolute finest, a loud sonic wall of sound that punctuates the atmosphere of the Dome that will deafen anyone without earplugs. It’s fitting that they are playing the same week as Spiritualized in London; both outfits headlined Arctangent festival back in 2024 and was my first exposure to both bands there. Since then, they’re appointment acts – I’ve got Mogwai again in the summer at Rock Werchter where they’re filling in as warm-up for The Cure.
The appeal of the band is incredible. God Gets You Back as an opener is a magnetic pull into Hi Chaos, launching strongly with the two strongest songs off The Bad Fire: the near-six-minute album opener building and building to a searing crescendo. It’s rich in emotions and able to say so much. Many of their records are film scores and it’s easy to see why – they’re operating like a composer would, dictating their audience to bask in the deep post-rock confines. They are an unexpected success – As The Love Continues topped charts upon release during the pandemic; and their extensive UK tour almost feels like a rarity: the 30th anniversary of Mogwai is a marvel. Most bands would be envious of their ability to endure this long; and arguably, give us one of the best records of their career thus to date. The Bad Fire is just them in peak form; and live, it’s some of the best material of the track. The emotional sound wash is just so cathartic and evolving throughout the length of the record it’s amazing that it sounds as cohesive as it does: masterfully orchestrated, and above all else LOUD. I couldn’t hear people talking loudly around me and eating popcorn with earplugs on and that’s no small feat from Mogwai; anyone without earplugs will be deafened. We saw some small children in the room: I really hope their parents were smart enough to give them loops. (BUT I also will never be as cool as the eight-year-old raised on Mogwai).
10:30 is the curfew, which meant the Brighton to London trip got me back at the same time as those leaving Deftones in the 02 – it seemed the entire city was at a gig that night in one shape or form: who says London night life is dead? Brighton’s was rowdy too. It still allows Mogwai to get through fourteen songs with their encore being May Nothing but Happiness Come Through Your Door, and Mogwai Fear Satan, a track from Young Team in 1997, and no wonder they only had time for a two-song encore because Mogwai Fear Satan is sixteen minutes! It’s a barnstormer of a track – you could hear it, reportedly, form outside of the venue – much like I’d imagine most of Mogwai’s set. Rarely has the Brighton Dome been shaken to its very core – so loud, cathartic – build and constant build; guitar-shredding chaos all round. Next level energy – the soundwash is just a sonic wave that threatens to consume even the bravest of souls, and few, if any in the audience, who were around at the bands’ debut, would have expected them to be where they were today. Their dominance in the post-rock scene took them almost 25 years, aided by chart rules that placed an emphasis on physical record purchasing. There was – believe it or not, a week where Mogwai outsold Harry Styles and Dua Lipa. If only it was always the case.
For everybody in the room at Brighton Dome, it’s easy to see why. Their growth in Glasgow’s rock scene with bands like Arab Strap and Teenage Fanclub has propelled them to new heights, and the impressionistic resurgence of Mogwai will surely no doubt inspire a new wave of Scottish artists that dare to look above and beyond the fake AI-endorsed music on Spotify. This is meticulous planning, with an entire discography to draw from. The sound design is impeccable; a real technological marvel at work – and the tour bus outside the venue is probably so big purely for the sheer amount of gear the band must always take with them, rather than the numbers of artists involved in Mogwai as an outfit.
Photography by Rhiannon Phillips
Words by Miles Milton Jefferies
