On average, I’d say I see about 3-4 concerts a year, which is to say, not that many. So on the rare occasion when I do get to see a show, whether it’s in a big arena or a packed, tiny club, I’m too geeked up to effectively record information, do real analysis, and report back the next day with some brilliant review.
So to paraphrase Chris Farley, you know that MGMT show last night at the Paradise in Boston? That was ummm…awesome! This isn’t the first time I’ve written about MGMT at JK.com. I’ve already expressed my admiration for the excellent “Time to Pretend” EP, which at less than 6 bucks on iTunes is a steal.
But like any band worth its salt, these guys are 10 times better in concert. The obscenely catchy “Electric Feel” triggered a glow stick-ridden dance party, with Jon, Steph and I crammed in with the masses, no more than three feet from the stage. The band’s breakthrough hit “Time to Pretend” was great to experience live: More than just a boppy, computer synth-driven hit, this version featured deft keyboard work, drum ferocity, and some legitimate guitar wails, with the original two-man band expanded to five (as it was for most of the show).
That was the biggest surprise of the night, actually. I expected the original two-man group on stage, playing beats in the background, looking moody and delivering vocals you could dance to. But the band’s guitarist, a 70s-looking dude who was wearing ratty sweatpants and some kind of crazy Technicolor muumuu, was terrific, belting out some ear-splitting riffs, so much so that Jon reached for his earplugs almost immediately. Next to him, the bassist rocked baseball pants and either an excellent Jew-fro, or at least a well-coiffed Gentile-fro–and he could really play, too. This was a real rock show, with moments that sounded like Black Sabbath every bit as much as indie synth-pop 21st century band du jour.
SEGUE
The second-biggest surprise was meeting the band’s founders Andrew VanWyngarden and Ben Goldwasser during the course of the night. Andrew was standing in a hallway near the men’s room doing nothing in particular when he recognized Jon (or possibly Jon’s twin brother, a good friend from college), slapped a hug on him, then chatted the two of us up for a while. Beno was, as it turned out, standing with his girlfriend next to us during one of the opening acts. Also recognized Jon (and didn’t think he was someone else) and chatted with us between songs. It was thanks to Beno’s largesse, with an assist from our mutual buddy Seth that I’d gotten into the very sold out show.
It was all a little jarring. These guys opened for Radiohead earlier this year in England. They’re touring with Beck in the fall, playing mega-venues like the Hollywood Bowl. They’ve been featured in any and all music mags you can imagine, and have impressed the likes of Conan and Letterman on stage. And yet–good guys, both. Here’s hoping they keep their heads once their lifestyles inevitably change to include “becoming junkies in Paris, and manning an island full of cocaine and elegant cars.”
/SEGUE
With all of that said, the highlight of the night for me, and the rest of the crowd, had to be MGMT’s anthem Kids, possibly the danciest song of the past five years, and one that had us doing the weatherman partly cloudy and breezy shuffle. Just before the song started, the rest of the band exited the stage. That left only Kids’ trademark background music, two mics, and the two Wesleyan guys who started a little group a few years ago and figured they’d see where it goes from there.
Mayhem. Delirious, dancy fun, the kind that everyone should get to experience on a random rainy Wednesday night, to break up their work week and push away life’s pressures, if only for a little while.
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Not really a concert review
On average, I’d say I see about 3-4 concerts a year, which is to say, not that many. So on the rare occasion when I do get to see a show, whether it’s in a big arena or a packed, tiny club, I’m too geeked up to effectively record information, do real analysis, and report back the next day with some brilliant review.
So to paraphrase Chris Farley, you know that MGMT show last night at the Paradise in Boston? That was ummm…awesome! This isn’t the first time I’ve written about MGMT at JK.com. I’ve already expressed my admiration for the excellent “Time to Pretend” EP, which at less than 6 bucks on iTunes is a steal.
But like any band worth its salt, these guys are 10 times better in concert. The obscenely catchy “Electric Feel” triggered a glow stick-ridden dance party, with Jon, Steph and I crammed in with the masses, no more than three feet from the stage. The band’s breakthrough hit “Time to Pretend” was great to experience live: More than just a boppy, computer synth-driven hit, this version featured deft keyboard work, drum ferocity, and some legitimate guitar wails, with the original two-man band expanded to five (as it was for most of the show).
That was the biggest surprise of the night, actually. I expected the original two-man group on stage, playing beats in the background, looking moody and delivering vocals you could dance to. But the band’s guitarist, a 70s-looking dude who was wearing ratty sweatpants and some kind of crazy Technicolor muumuu, was terrific, belting out some ear-splitting riffs, so much so that Jon reached for his earplugs almost immediately. Next to him, the bassist rocked baseball pants and either an excellent Jew-fro, or at least a well-coiffed Gentile-fro–and he could really play, too. This was a real rock show, with moments that sounded like Black Sabbath every bit as much as indie synth-pop 21st century band du jour.
SEGUE
The second-biggest surprise was meeting the band’s founders Andrew VanWyngarden and Ben Goldwasser during the course of the night. Andrew was standing in a hallway near the men’s room doing nothing in particular when he recognized Jon (or possibly Jon’s twin brother, a good friend from college), slapped a hug on him, then chatted the two of us up for a while. Beno was, as it turned out, standing with his girlfriend next to us during one of the opening acts. Also recognized Jon (and didn’t think he was someone else) and chatted with us between songs. It was thanks to Beno’s largesse, with an assist from our mutual buddy Seth that I’d gotten into the very sold out show.
It was all a little jarring. These guys opened for Radiohead earlier this year in England. They’re touring with Beck in the fall, playing mega-venues like the Hollywood Bowl. They’ve been featured in any and all music mags you can imagine, and have impressed the likes of Conan and Letterman on stage. And yet–good guys, both. Here’s hoping they keep their heads once their lifestyles inevitably change to include “becoming junkies in Paris, and manning an island full of cocaine and elegant cars.”
/SEGUE
With all of that said, the highlight of the night for me, and the rest of the crowd, had to be MGMT’s anthem Kids, possibly the danciest song of the past five years, and one that had us doing the weatherman partly cloudy and breezy shuffle. Just before the song started, the rest of the band exited the stage. That left only Kids’ trademark background music, two mics, and the two Wesleyan guys who started a little group a few years ago and figured they’d see where it goes from there.
Mayhem. Delirious, dancy fun, the kind that everyone should get to experience on a random rainy Wednesday night, to break up their work week and push away life’s pressures, if only for a little while.
Like this: