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ACL review: MGMT
When New York-based psych-rock outfit MGMT took the stage for their 5:30 set on the AT&T Blue Room stage, the crowd was already packed in all the way back to the bar across the way. Like the higher-profile Vampire Weekend, who played Friday, the duo formed while attending a northeastern liberal arts university and are touring on a well-recieved album, “Oracular Spectacular,” which was released earlier this year.
Lead singer and guitarist Andrew Vanwyngarden and keyboardist Ben Goldwasser added a three member band for their tour; it was a good move, as the live versions of the songs are bigger and more suited for a festival audience. This was by far one of the most excited crowds of the weekend so far, with people singing along to every song, and even crowd surfing when the band jumped into “Time to Pretend.”
At times Vanwyngarden seemed to be channeling Jack White as the band took somewhat restrained songs from the album and turned them into epic rockers, complete with Hendrix-esque guitar solos. “Electric Feel” had the entire crowd pumping their fists, and “Weekend Wars” sounded vaguley similar to something off a Yes or ELO record. On “Kids,” Goldwasser came out from behind the keyboard to sing side by side with Vanwyngarden. The two looked a little awkward dancing without their instruments, but it didn’t matter to the audience, who were loving every minute.
Photo: Jay Janner AMERICAN-STATESMAN
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Permalink | Comments (2) | Categories: ACL 2008: Saturday, ACL Festival
Comments
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By Adia
September 28, 2008 11:36 AM | Link to this
MGMT was at Lambert’s Saturday night and there was a buzz in the air all night long. Much like SXSW!
By Kat
September 29, 2008 4:26 PM | Link to this
Are you kidding me? MGMT’s ACL performance was terrible! It was so low energy and boring, as if they didn’t want to be there. I could barely hear for all the people in the crowd who were gabbing instead of listening. Only a couple of songs were any good.
I saw MGMT at SXSW, and that performance was infinitely supereor to ACL.