Concert season has finally commenced for 2019 and I couldn’t be more excited! And that fact that it started off with one of my bucket list shows, MGMT made it even better!
Sole opener for the show was the all-female band, Warpaint. I had never heard of them before and I think naturally skeptical if they’d be any good, but dang were their songs catchy! Every song featured nuanced guitar riffs or really strong bass. Nothing was overpowering, and all of their vocals mixed well together. There was a slightly surfer vibe to some of their music, but it was all very smooth and relaxed, but very intricate. I was highly impressed with the two opening tracks performed, “Krimson” and “Heads Up.” My friend and I both agreed we’d be checking out what else they’ve got!
With great anticipation, MGMT finally took the stage, and they rocked from the minute they started until the very end of a 2 hour set! To get the hype up they started early with “Me and Michael” and ended their three song encore with the mellow “Congratulations.” Everything in between pleased all fans, as they played early breakout hits “Electric Feel” and “Kids,” but also played a lot from last year’s album, Little Dark Age. My favorites made the cut, including “One Thing Left to Try” and ‘When You Die.” Some others were accompanied by really strange graphics, like dancing feathered poop emoji girls(?) for “She Works Out Too Much” and an inflatable that resembled the cover art for the title track “Little Dark Age.”
There was minimal crowd interaction except for the occasional “thank you” and sometimes I just like it that way, especially if we get more great songs! Not a lot of movement on stage from Ben, Andrew, or any of the touring members, but they had very elaborate, albeit random, graphics for all songs, my favorite being the Pac-man/Mario Kart Rudolph visuals for “Time to Pretend.” I know it sounds weird and confusing, and it was, but I’d expect nothing less. Andrew’s singing was flawless and everything went off without a hitch. If you get the opportunity to check MGMT out, definitely make the time!
