The Phoenix Nights-esque sports bar yards from Edinburgh's Corn Exchange was home to quite a few disgruntled punters at about 8pm on Tuesday night. It would seem that gremlins were running amok inside the hall – nothing was working and one of the most highly anticipated Edinburgh gigs of 2008 was about to be ruined.

Problems eventually solved, proceedings kicked off with effervescent electronic entertainers, The Errors, a band whose only let down (albeit a major one) was that they lacked a vocalist. One more eccentric support act later and the headliners were set to wrest themselves away from Sky Sports and make an appearance.

Seconds after Manchester United’s punishing victory over Celtic, Mogwai took to the stage – half to tell us the scoreline, half to promote their critically acclaimed new album, The Hawk Is Howling. That said, having truly broken through the tricky arty/commercial barrier with their previous work, this evening was going to be less of a PR job and more of a masterclass in epic, post rock soundscapes. Drifting effortlessly from one distorted, anthemic, electronic effort to the next, their set was gloriously accomplished and offered both newcomer and long time fan more than just a glimpse of their prodigious talent. All this without even having been afforded the luxury of a soundcheck.

However, despite an impeccable, frenetic, pitch perfect show, it has to be said that tonight's performance was undermined by the slightly lethargic, limp wristed applause of a curiously quiet crowd. Apparently Edinburgh's reputation for conservative audiences lives on, but Mogwai won't be phased by that.