Bands like Mercury Rev are always a good excuse for music journalists to flex their well-honed vocabulary stock (or use a thesaurus) and tonight’s show lends itself to all manner of beautiful words.
Their first show in Scotland since 2005’s gig at the Barrowlands and it was highly anticipated. The atmosphere was intimate as most people seemed to opt for Kasabian. More fool them. You couldn’t get a more beautiful setting to watch them play. Their music is made in the isolated Catskill Mountains area of New York and seems like its home at Inverary Castle. New song “Snowflake In A Hot World” opens tonight’s proceedings – a driving, powerful mini-epic which swoons seamlessly into the majestic opening of “Holes” and its gentle pulsating piano.
It sways into the crowd and hangs blissfully over them. A muscular version of “Opus 40” follows and prompts a chorus from the crowd. “Tides Of The Moon” from 2001’s “All Is Dream” album showcases Jonathan Donahue’s distinctive voice – it sounds incredibly exposed and vulnerable. They throw in another new song, “People Are So Unpredictable” – an explosive, electro number and the grand ‘The Dark Is Rising’ is perfectly complimented by the light show as Donahue emerges like a spectre from the smoke. A swift encore sees a beautifully pared-down rendition of “Goddess On A Hiway.”
Jonathan Donahue is as magnetic as ever but can only keep up the mysterious façade for so long before he breaks into a huge smile. At one point he crawls along the stage hiding behind his monitors casting a twinkling eye over the crowd and smiling mischievously while Grasshopper makes his guitar sound like everything except a guitar. Mercury Rev were, are, out of this world. It’s a well-balanced set list and the new songs are received well by the crowd and judging by the smiles on their faces it won’t be long until they are back.
