Management Conspiracy?
Written by hKWAP on Sunday, 21 of September , 2008 at 10:54 am
Last night, I attended the Beck/Spoon/MGMT performance at the Bowl. And although Beck gave the most noteworthy performance out of the three, I would like to focus on the MGMT portion of the show. In the weeks leading up to the show, I admittedly viewed MGMT with a sort of hipper than the hipsters mentality. This was in no way related to the quality of their music, but more as a result of their tragically indy vibe and the people who buy into that. In all honesty, it wasn’t until the day of the show that I really gave some of their deep tracks a closer listen and to my utter surprise, I really dug their sound. It wasn’t anything revolutionary but it was catchy songs with funky lines-not much to dislike there. Therefore, I went into last nights concert with a much more forgiving view on MGMT. Within a few songs it was clear that they weren’t going to disappoint. Their sound was crisp and tight in contrast to the last opener which i saw at the bowl(LIARS). It was strange to hear a band who had little experience at huge venues have their sound translate so well to a new environment. However I didn’t read into this at the time. Their set came to a close with Kids. Strangely, only two members took the stage, and without instruments and did a sort of karaoke version of the song. Not only was this a deeply disappointing but had even deeper implications. I found it very curious that the sound quality and tone of Kids was exactly the same as their previous songs and all of the tracks sounded exactly the same as the album. One friend and avid MGMT fan pointed out that I am weary of MGMT because they are too good and have honed their sound, which would indeed be absurd. However I can’t help theorizing why some recent Wesleyan grads with one album and an EP had a crisper sound the Beck, who is undoubtedly a music god and has been “honing” his sound for 10+ albums and numerous tours. I hope this is taken as honest skepticism rather than a hate post, because I have come to dig MGMT’s music. It seems that this odd turn of events has turned me from a blindly hateful MGMT critic, to a slightly skeptical MGMT fan.
Check back soon for a full concert review and if you are interested to hear precisely what they sounded like at the Bowl, here are some tracks from their recent album Oracular Spectacular as well as a favorite remix…
Category: hKWAP
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Comment by Allan
Made Sunday, 21 of September , 2008 at 12:03 pm
A lot of the press of late that I’ve heard was quite positive though before their major success, a lot of the reviews of their live concerts…well sucked. A lot of people were disappointed with their concerts but it seems people like them now.
Comment by Astara
Made Monday, 22 of September , 2008 at 11:59 am
Watching their live show on KCRW should answer your question:)
