Friday, February 1, 2008

Live Review: MGMT, Yeasayer @ Holocene

It was a sold out show. I had been listening to Yeasayer's "All Hour Cymbals" daily and eagerly anticipating seeing how they would pull off the album's rich textures and vocal harmonies in a live show. MGMT, on the other hand, has one single that's caught my ears, a lackluster performance on David Letterman, and a bit of blog-buzz to back them up.

Although Yeasayer was orignally slated to headline, something changed and I ended up missing half of their set. It didn't help that EVERYONE kept saying "Dude, were you here for '2080'? It was amazing!" And yeah, I missed it. Why was Yeasayer, who are a better band both on record and live, swapping slots with MGMT?

According to Holocene's booker, the show was originally booked to get Yeasayer to Portland. Later on, however, it seems MGMT made plans to tour with Yeasayer as their opener. As far as gig-politics goes, I guess the band who's signed to Columbia records is gonna have to headline.

Yeasayer live was predictably impressive, and the hazy, dense songs from "All Hour Cymbals" were imbued with the fun, ragged spontaneity one would expect from a live show. Little of the band's talent that is evident on the record was lost, either.

MGMT, on the other hand, while also a talented group, had very little energy and seemed to be as bored as their songs are boring. Instant comparisons to mid nineties altertative rock became apparent as the set dragged on.


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In other news, the legendary BOREDOMS are coming to Portland!!!!!

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