Mogwai @ Avalon

Was opened for by Torche, who're a bizarrely sucky hardcore metal band more interested in being headbanging badasses than making, y'know, good music. Their drummer reminded me of nothing so much as Animal, and watching bald guys headbang is an experience. Too bad Mogwai didn't bring their own opener--Torche was a total waste of time and molecule vibrations.

The fun thing about a Mogwai show is that you don't have to be on drugs to be on drugs--the music brings its own. Trippy and wandering, slow-moving and abstract, it's like a sensory deprivation tank all by itself, even on the CDs, and in concert it's that much more overwhelming, so that much more trip-inducing. Good show. Glad I saw 'em, even if they didn't play any of my favorites.