Photo: Press
MGMT are a band that have never done what is expected of them, and tonight’s show at the Forum is an abstruse and remarkable performance - the type of which we’ve come to expect from the Connecticutioans.
They could have played it safe, after all. They could have produced a stellar set that culminated with an encore of 'Time to Pretend', 'Kids' and 'Electric Feel'. They could have - but it’s to their eternal credit that they didn’t.
Against an awe-inspiring visual backdrop of random mesmerising swirls and patterns, the band keep their heads down and rattle through the highlights of first album Orcaular Spectacular as well as those from their subsequent two records, Congratulations and their eponymous third offering.
Visually the seven-piece band recalls the nonchalant air of cool that surrounded The Strokes circa Is This It, although the music being played is far more exigent. Perhaps unsurprisingly it becomes obvious that a large proportion of those congregated in The Forum (80%) are only familiar with the material from Oracular Specactular; the rather muted reception that Congratulations receives during the encore and how a large portion of the venue empties following Kids (the penultimate number of the main set) is testament to this. However, even those only familiar with the “hits” will have been enthralled by tonight’s performance.
There is one particular landmark moment that will remain etched in the memory: against a backdrop of revolving outer space imagery, during the coda for '4th Dimensional Transition', Andrew VanWyngarden launches into a guitar solo that elevates the whole performance into the stratosphere. It is at this point that you realise that you are witnessing something very special.
On tonight’s evidence MGMT are clearly a band with the talent, if not necessarily the inclination, to follow any music path they choose. This is not “indie-tronica”, this is not a “scene”, this is full on psychedelic prog-rock. It’s esoteric, eccentric and intergalactic.
