it was a good show, but not excellent. can't say they're high on my will-see-again list, but with the right pairing i'll be there. at least the tickets were cheap this time 'round.
MGMT sound way better on record. when their vocals were in sync last night it was beautiful but there was also some clashing going on. and generally they need to learn how to turn it up on stage. they have some fun rocking tunes, but they were barely rocking up there. it was fine performance but they were wasting an opportunity to really do something special with the material. i felt like i was watching the world's best MGMT cover band.
reminded me of a recent interview with ben gibbard, when he was asked what he thought of the internet's ability to have band surface seemingly out of nowhere. he pointed out how good this is for access but also noted that it means certain bands hit the big stage before they are ready. MGMT have been around for a while so they're not new to the stage, but i got the feeling they're still learning how to perform in larger venues.
violens (sp?) started off strong. a few songs sounded like a mix of the cure and mother's milk-era rhcp. but they didn't keep my interest for the duration of their set, kinda same-y.
