The MFNW kicked off nicely with the pairing of British acts Fuck Buttons and Mogwai.  They played the roseland theater in downtown portland to a house packed with white people…and a white guy with a bag on his head.  

‘The buttons’ came in high on my list, after receiving much praise from their SXSW performance this spring.  I definitely tip my hat to their ability to stand alone, creatively, but they failed to win me over after seeing a short set of their music.  Frankly, the set should be shorter.  By the third song, I really felt like the formula wasn’t going to change.  It didn’t.  It wasn’t all that bad though, considering the unique quality of the sound, the loudness that 2 guys can make, and the interesting approach they have to layering freakishly haunting noise over subtle beat patterns.  

 
Fuck Buttons from Travis Puckett on Vimeo.

Then came Mogwai.  The house was packed by the time the first note rang, and the crowd was in for a treat.  I liked Mogwai most this night because of the diversity in arrangements that the band presents.  The keyboard player also plays guitar, they have songs with 2 bass players, and they don’t use the same arrangement twice.  Oh, and they have some sweet guitars.  I love a good telecaster, and on a few of the songs, two of the guitars were telecasters.  The bass player also has a beautiful Rickenbacker 4000 series bass.  They all had great sound.  


Mogwai 2 from Travis Puckett on Vimeo. 

At the end of the night, we were treated to some quality hobo percussion, which I have since discovered to be a highly competitive market in Portland.  


hobo drums from Travis Puckett on Vimeo. 

stay tuned for more from the festival!