Review: MGMT at Mountain Park 8/11

Compared to the Flaming Lips show last month at Mountain Park, which left behind globs of confetti, MGMT was a much smaller, less festive occasion. It might have felt smaller because of the smaller and younger crowd, and because we could still see those globs of confetti, but it was very fitting. Not counting the 15-year-olds trying to mosh next to me during MGMT's more popular dance hits "Electric Feel" and "Time To Pretend," this concert atmosphere was a bit more relaxed, perfect for MGMT's newer, dreamier, songs, where we could just stand back and enjoy the sound. They started with "The Youth," which was a very good choice, and went into a more upbeat, surfier "Flash Delirium." They alternated between the slower, more ambient songs we could sway to and the fast-paced songs we could dance to, playing pretty much everything off Oracular Spectacular and Congratulations. We even got "Kids" at the end of their set.

Seeing a band when they only have two full albums out is the perfect time to see them. Think about it. You know a lot of their songs, and you know they'll play your favorites. And you know they'll have a longer set than when there was only one album out (cough, Ting Tings with their 40-minute album when I saw them last year, cough). MGMT gave us two fake endings, saying that "Kids" was the last song then leaving us with "Congratulations" and coming back with "The Handshake" and ending finally with "I Found a Whistle."

I tried to keep track of the set list so I could make set lists a regular part of my blog, but there were some lyrics that were difficult to hear or understand, and it's pretty much imperative that bands jam during live performances, so some songs kind of blended together. The blending together was very MGMT, though, so the crowd kept swaying and dancing. I included what I think is a complete set list at the bottom of this post, so if you see any mistakes, please let me know. I think it's mostly complete because we got most of Oracular Spectacular and Congratulations on this list.


The Violens opened and met everyone at the merch table after their set with handouts for a download of "Summer Mixtape," which is literally a mixtape, on their website: http://violens.net/. I actually just downloaded it and am listening to it as we speak. Definitely give it a listen. The Violens were really fun to watch, and I was able to recognize some songs from their Myspace page including "Acid Reign and "Already Over." They're an excellent band to pair with MGMT on a tour because you kind of get that MGMT psychedelic dance feel with their stuff. There's lots of cool sound effects, dreamy backup and leading vocals and interesting piano overtures. And they're really nice guys. Violens: A group of pretty nice guys.

Here's what I think is a complete set list for MGMT since I'm trying to post set lists now. If I missed something, please let me know. (I'm trying to keep track of songs, but bands jam out when they perform live, and songs blend together, so it's kind of hard. If you can help, please do!)

"The Youth"
"Flash Delirium"
"Of Moons, Birds & Monsters"
"Weekend Wars"
"Song for Dan Treacy"
"Time to Pretend"
"It's Working"
"Future Reflections" (I think)
"Something's Missing"
"Electric Feel"
"Brian Eno"
"Pieces of What"
"Siberian Breaks"
"Destrokk"
"Kids"
"Congratulations"
Encore:
"The Handshake"
"I Found a Whistle"

Cool things in our area this week - MGMT tonight, John Williams and the Boston Pops do Film Night Saturday and Tom Petty next Tuesday

Figured I'd do a refresher post for some cool things coming up. (Also, some reviews we have to look forward to this week.)

First, there's MGMT tonight. This post is probably dated 8/10 because that's when I hit "New Post", but because I'm finally writing it after midnight, it's already 8/11, and that's when MGMT is playing at Mountain Park in Holyoke, Mass. Tickets are $30 plus fees still available, and I've heard lots of radio ads for it as of late. Show starts at 7. Here is the Mountain Park link: http://www.iheg.com/mountain_park_main.asp.

Next, we've got John Williams and the Boston Pops performing a Film Night on Saturday at Tanglewood in Lenox, Mass. I went to a Film Night two years ago and Spielberg showed up and gave commentary on the music and how it related to his movies. It was super cool. This will be John Williams' 30th summer at Tanglewood, so it's bound to be good. I'm willing to bet that we'll get some surprise guest appearances too. Tickets range from $21 to $121 (we got the $21 lawn seats), and the show starts at 8:30 p.m. The info and ticket link are on this page: http://www.bso.org/bso/mods/content1.jsp?id=42700020.

Then on Tuesday, Aug. 17, I'm going to see Tom Petty with Crosby, Stills and Nash at the Meadows, or Comcast Theater in Hartford. Ticket prices range from $29 to $119 (we got lawn). I saw Tom Petty with Steve Winwood a few summers ago, and it was a lot of Fun. Petty played all his hits, and there's a lot of them - more than you'd think, actually. Also, getting Crosby, Stills and Nash on the ticket is quite the deal. The show starts at 7 p.m., and I'd recommend getting there on time to see Crosby, Stills and Nash since Train started right at 7:30, if not before then, this past Sunday when I saw them with John Mayer. A lot of people were still walking in during Train's set.

MGMT coming to Mountain Park - 8/11

I've never been to Mountain Park before, but this summer I'm going twice in less than a month. For two of my favorite bands!

As you may know from an older post, The Flaming Lips are going to be there July 24, and that's pretty incredible because they never come around this area.

And now it gets better - MGMT is going to be there August 11!

That's a Wednesday night at 7 p.m. at Mountain Park, which is located off Mountain Park Access Road on Route 5 in Holyoke, MA. Tickets are $30 plus fees and can be purchased here: http://www.nbotickets.com/auto_choose_ga.asp?area=241.

And here's how the Mountain Park website describes the band:

MGMT is blowing up. Their new album “Congratulations” debuted at #2 on last week’s Billboard Top 200 Album Chart. They appeared on Saturday Night Live this past weekend and are booked for Letterman on May 11th. The electro-pop duo (Ben Goldwasser and Andrew VanWyngarden) and their band from Brooklyn (though drummer Will Berman is a Northampton native) rapidly rose from college-radio mainstay to Grammy-nominated international sensation, blowing up huge after the release of their 2007 major debut, "Oracular Spectacular, " named by Rolling Stone as the 18th best album of the decade, and best album of 2008 by NME magazine.

And we're seeing them for $30? Wow! I have a feeling this might sell out because the only other performances MGMT had planned for my area were Bamboozle, which was this weekend, and a festival in Burlington, VT for Aug. 12. (Both are pretty far and part of festivals, and that has a different feel.)

Check out the rest of Mountain Park's show schedule here: http://www.iheg.com/mountain_park_main.asp

Also, if you bought "Congratulations" and still aren't sure about scratching off the cover, I had a post on that too: MGMT Congratulations - It's OK to scratch off the cover!

(Photo from boston.com)

MGMT Congratulations - It's OK to scratch off the cover!

EVERYONE! RELAX! IT'S OK!

The new MGMT album, "Congratulations," which drops tomorrow, April 13, comes with a limited-edition scratch-off cover, and while you may be nervous about scratching it, it's OK to! I was nervous about ruining the cover, but I compare this to eating something the way a chef intends it to be eaten. The album has a scratch cover, which means it should be scratched. Note: My album had a sticker on the plastic wrap saying that it was a special scratch-off cover. If yours doesn't say that, I would maybe try scratching it with my fingernail to make sure it is a scratch-off cover.

Here's the hilarious preview video for the limited-edition scratch-off cover: MGMT Congratulations Scratch Off Cover Preview.

Spoiler alert: If you want to be surprised on what the cover looks like underneath the psychedelic purple-and-magenta checker print, DO NOT SCROLL DOWN. I'm posting a photo of the end results. However, if you need to see what it looks like to decide whether or not to scratch, scroll down! It's cool, I promise!


First, some of the scratch-off editions come with a really cool coin to use for your scratching. It has tiny numbers and a fork on one side and crazy cat/creatures on the back that match the front cover.

If you're lucky enough to have one of these coins, start scratching. If not, I'll give you a minute to find a penny or something.


Tip: The scratch-off part is only the purple and magenta. I read in the preview video comments that someone screwed up their cover. I think they might have tried to scratch the cat wave/surfer picture on the side too hard.

Once you're done, congratulations! You now have a cool, kind of avant-garde cover with the crazy animation surrounded by a black-and-white landscape of band members, a picnic, one guy looking through a telescope, etc. while both outdoors and inside a room:


"Congratulations" is pretty great, by the way. It's classic MGMT with their psychedelic dance pop, but it feels a bit deeper and more mature, maybe even more creative than their 2007 debut, "Oracular Spectacular." I'm not sure which style I like better, but I do know that I'm totally feeling "Congratulations" right now. I've been listening to it stream online for a few weeks now, so I'm glad to have a hard copy of the CD, especially because of this cool coin/scratch-cover promo.