The usual suspects, a hormonal mélange of indie scenesters and fratty-types (otherwise known as “the NYU crowd”), crammed into sold-out Webster Hall on Mischief Night to revel in the psychedelic rhythms of MGMT. Despite their contrasting styles, this collection of young music lovers were all fluent in the art of blazing, as a giant fog of marijuana smoke hovered above the crowd. What these modish hipsters weren’t prepared for was the nostalgic head-scratcher of an opening act.
For those familiar with the 1 970s and 80s post-punk scene, experimental no-wave duo Suicide are punk rock titans who wowed audiences with strange, feverish avant-garde “performances” that puzzled as much as they enthralled. Despite never catching on with the general public, their unique utilization of synthesizer and drum machines on their self-titled 1977 debut cemented their status as two of the founding fathers of the subsequent electroclash movement, which has seen a resurgence of late with acts like M.I.A. and Ladytron. But on this night, in front of an ill-informed crowd, the aging punk duo of Alan Vega (vocals) and a goggle-clad Martin Rev (synths/drum machines) were met with sardonicism. You couldn’t blame the kids however, since Suicide’s music was borderline unintelligible given the heavy distortion, and their fervent fist-pumping, rather than being galvanizing, made them look like two senile geezers in the John McCain mold.
Like Suicide, MGMT began as a duo, albeit in the dorm rooms and dining halls of Wesleyan University, where trustafarians Ben Goldwasser and Andrew VanWyngarden met their freshman year and started a band (then called ‘The Management’). The rest was history. They, like many of their indie counterparts, now reside in Brooklyn, and have fleshed out their live sound with a touring lineup consisting of Will Berman (drums), James Richardson (guitar) and Matthew Asti (bass). Their biggest coup came on May 19, 2008, when single “Time to Pretend” was featured during the season finale of CW series Gossip Girl, resulting in debut LP
Oracular Spectacular finding its way onto every teenage girls’ iPod.
Given the proximity to Halloween, the gang took the stage dressed like they just walked off the set of The Three Amigos, in full mariachi regalia, and were given the 21 beer salute, before bursting into album closer “4th Dimensional Transition.” The set didn’t really pick up un til four songs in with the imposing trifecta of calypso-pop tune “Weekend Wars,” catchy anthem “Time to Pretend” (cue shrieks), and The Jesus and Mary Chain cover “Teenage Lust.” Color us impressed. But then they dramatically downshifted with their new, overlong, masturbatory ballad “Metanoia.” This was followed by disco-stomper “Electric Feel” (upshift: cue self-conscious dancing); mellow ditty “The Handshake” (downshift: cue mild head-bobbing); and fan favorite “Kids” (full throttle: cue insanity). All these crazy mood swings are enough to give even the most brainwashed of teenyboppers music whiplash.
But then lead singer and guitarist VanWyngarden almost redeemed the entire set when he tossed his instrument aside, picked up a wireless mic, and performed a hilarious rendition of Cyndi Lauper’s “Girls Just Wanna Have Fun,” with his vocals reaching earth-shattering levels. Truth be told, the girls were probably going to have fun regardless, given the combination of booze/their Gossip Girl-induced infatuation with the bohemian Brooklynites. The more discerning concertgoers, however, were left un-awed.
--Marlow Stern [November 19, 2008]
