Gig review: Mogwai performing Zidane, Glasgow

A still from the film 'Zidane: A 21st Century Portrait'. Picture: Complimentary

Following two performances at the Manchester International Festival, Mogwai’s live rendering of their soundtrack to the Douglas Gordon/Philippe Parreno documentary Zidane: A 21st Century Portrait is coming home – specifically to a patch of wasteground by the Clydeside run by those enterprising folks at the SWG3 venue.

Mogwai Performing Live To Zidane - 220 Broomielaw, Glasgow

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The Glasgow band are currently creeping into the living rooms of the nation every Sunday night by virtue of their eerie soundtrack to creepy French zombie drama The Returned, but Zidane was their first attempt at a score back in 2006.

It is neither as nuanced nor as integrated as The Returned, soundtrack, mainly comprising a steady diet of ringing guitars at a dirgey pace – not what you might automatically choose to document the excitement of Spanish premier league football.

But at least it solves the issue of Mogwai’s lack of visual presence. Eyes could lock instead on the film screening behind them, with its multiple cameras stalking the charismatic Zinedine Zidane over the course of one match.

Cumulatively functioning, like the film, as a hymn to Zidane, the music modulated to a latently menacing drone as he remonstrated with the referee, then rose in volume and intensity to an almost punishing degree, reflecting the urgency of the closing minutes of the first half and again as the match/film/gig drew to a conclusion. Zidane was sent off.

Mogwai, however, completed the fixture to admiring applause before returning to play some extra time.