On Friday night, I went to see Mogwai at the Ironworks.

I had been looking forward to seeing them for a long time. I’d seen them once before, and so it was great they were coming to Inverness.

The gig was great – loud, dark, brooding instrumental rock music, and quite a few new songs. Their sound is gripping and engaging, with slow, long build-ups of guitars and drums that explode into the most intense crescendos of noise.

They didn’t play a few of their best songs which was a real shame – I particularly missed Mogwai Fear Satan, their 16-minute long epic that is a perfect gig-closer. But I’m just happy they’re still going after over a decade, and still putting out some excellent new pieces (which you can hear on their MySpace).

Last night, I was in the Market Bar in town and there was live music on (as there is every night). It’s a small intimate bar with a tiny stage, and yet they managed to pack in a five-piece classic rock cover band who were very talented but easily filled the shoebox-sized pub with their energetic sound, a second round of aural punishment after the ear-splitting noise of Mogwai.

This morning, my ears are understandably ringing from their ordeal. Tinnitus, as it’s known.

As opposed to listening to too much Hergé, which I imagine would be called Tintinitus.