Mogwai @ Barrowlands, Glasgow, 18 May

The atmosphere is expectant at the Barras tonight, as a generation-spanning crowd piles in to welcome Mogwai home. Of course, it's their second night in a row playing the famous Barrowlands, and it's a Sunday night, so there's a certain calm excitement to the proceedings. For tonight's opening act – Kathryn Joseph, joined by long-time collaborator Lomond Campbell – it's the start to their tour, stretching across four months and 15 countries. They're playing songs from Joseph’s new record WE WERE MADE PREY., produced by Campbell and due via Mogwai's Rock Action label on 30 May. 

Their set starts out slow and atmospheric, Joseph's voice cutting hauntingly across the layers of synths the two are creating between them. There's a certain vulnerability in her songs, even as they rise in tempo towards the dance-infused end of the set. Joseph seems aware of this: the earnestness in her voice is palpable as she thanks the crowd for their kindness and introduces Mogwai. 

Image: Kathryn Joseph supporting Mogwai @ Barrowlands, Glasgow, 18 May by Laura Muraska-Ross

Mogwai don’t need much in the way of introduction, of course. While they're most certainly here to promote their latest album, The Bad Fire, there's a certain familiarity between band and crowd that goes without saying. “Our band has been going for a long time,” says frontman Stuart Braithwaite, and proceeds to thank the crowd for their unwavering support over the years. At this hometown show, this really means something: many in the audience will have seen Mogwai play before, some again and again. It feels like a homecoming for both band and audience. This is not just any crowd, and it becomes apparent in the carefully-curated setlist. 

Starting out with God Gets You Back, the opening track off their new album, the night brings a mix of new songs and cult classics. Joined by violinist Luke Sutherland, the tender beginnings of Take Me Somewhere Nice are enough to captivate a ballroom full of people. Rarely found on their setlists these days, the song feels almost like a gift to the audience, a token of appreciation from the band.

Moving through their set, classics like Christmas Steps (1998) and Hunted by a Freak (2003) seem just as fresh as new tunes like Fanzine Made of Flesh and Lion Rumpus, the band confident in doing what they do best: creating sonic tapestries that envelop the crowd, let them immerse themselves in the music and forget about everything else for just a moment. The audience are happy, content: they know what they came here for, and Mogwai reliably deliver.

In a way, tonight feels like an homage to the city and the people that made them. Like Glasgow, there are rough and gentle moments to Mogwai's music that go hand in hand. Sutherland’s tender yet determined violin moves along the force of the many guitars playing side by side, scooping up the audience in their force. 

Ending on the incredibly powerful crescendo of My Father, My King, Mogwai leave the crowd energised, sated, and seen: this feels like Glasgow music played for Glasgow people, in spite of the global success the band have enjoyed over the last few decades.