Mogwai @ The Bridgewater Hall, Manchester, 27 Jan

Sitting down to witness ferociously loud, almost entirely instrumental electric-guitar work can, potentially, be a bit odd. These types of gigs require expert care and attention to prevent the crowd feeling too far removed from the situation.

Tonight, Bridgewater Hall is decked out with the kind of kit usually reserved for arenas, and resplendent with strobes for the inevitably big crescendos. Yet this stage set – and the band's performance – lacks the intimacy sedentary shows often need; and while the focus may be on the more delicate aspects of the group's oeuvre, aside from a few words from Stuart Braithwaite between tracks there’s scant dialogue for the duration.

You wouldn’t talk during a film, though, and this is the closest anyone is going to get to a celluloid epic without an actual movie being involved. From the breathtaking opening rendition of Heard About You Last Night – the first cut on latest LP Rave Tapes – to the inescapable power of I’m Jim Morrison, I’m Dead (which sounds like humanity is fighting back), the beautiful cacophonies are impossibly arresting despite the concentrated and often motionless body language on display. Perhaps it's because Mogwai encourage imagery in the mind, like final offering We’re No Here, a city-eating monster that leaves half the audience standing in ovation. Perhaps not. Whatever the truth, it somehow works for us tonight, which, given the obvious potential to find fault, speaks volumes about the players who pulled it off, and their craftsmanship. [Martin Guttridge-Hewitt]