Gatagordinha

Oh go on then, you've twisted my arm. Put me on. Lovely as his skin is, sometimes I'd just like to see a little pimple or a blackhead on those huge close up pics, because I have a bit of a kink for that sort of thing Not full on skin breakouts, just the odd spot that looks like it needs to be gently squeezed.. *thinks that might be TMI*

I can believe it! Was it in Amsterdam by any chance??

I think so, yes. It'd be great if we could all go to a gig together (and sing along to Siberian Breaks ). I love that Who is the beardy dude?? It's just begging for a caption, but I can't think of one!! btw, did anyone else see Bruce's tweets this evening?

I liked the NME article too. I hadn't read it before this afternoon, so I'm pleased to see that what I was saying in my post earlier about me feeling like there are two MGMTs seems to be what Ben and Andrew themselves are thinking - and no doubt many serious fans too! The idea of two different kinds of show is just . Brilliant. I'd go to both and enjoy both equally, on totally different levels. Is it any wonder the media can't get a handle on MGMT, if they admit themselves they have a split personality as a band and a concept? . But to me it's what makes them so interesting. As for Congratulations, yeah, what they say is so true. Part of me wishes sometimes they would not take the piss so much and risk being massively misquoted, but on the other hand I love their attitude, and why should they rein in the bulls*** just to please the likes of the NME?? I don't think you can watch it back. I haven't seen anything yet on the forum about recordings There is another one on Friday I think, from Paris, starting at 9pm Paris time, but I don't know any more details. The time difference makes it very difficult for you though doesn't it . Son is getting a drumkit for Christmas..he shows promise, and I'm proud of that and want to encourage him, but.... MY POOR EARS Daughter is self-teaching guitar (acoustic and electric) and having keyboard tuition.

My son, in fact both my kids, are massive fans of the Beatles. Proper fans, by which I mean they love The White Album . My son also really likes Radiohead and Kraftwerk , and they both like MGMT. I hope they'll grow up with diverse musical taste, although I expect at some point they'll rebel against the music we've brought them up on, as all teenagers do . I totally agree with you about a live version of Congratulations! It would be They should play it in the album order too, as it flows so well. I do really love Kids and TTP and EF but (and this is hard to explain) somehow they sound to me like a different MGMT, as if they are two different bands: one who do Kids, and get the masses up dancing, and one who do for example 4th Dimensional Transition or Siberian Breaks and put us more discerning (yes, I will say that ) fans into a trance, where we don't want to dance, we just want to listen and soak it up. Does that make sense? I think I did say in my gig report that as much as I love 'the hits', it annoyed me that I felt a significant percentage of the audience were only really there for those three songs. But I guess that happens with a lot of bands/artists. Even with Mika to a large extent .

It was great wasn't it? I managed to see it all. My son (he's 8) watched most of it with me too and he LOVED it, he kept saying "this is better than the CD Mum!" and asking me all about the band, what instruments they play, etc, it was lovely! They sounded fantastic. Loved the ending of Brian Eno. It was weird, knowing that exactly a week ago I was watching them in person, and talking to Andrew . I was annoyed how little they showed of Ben, too . FFS, he is half of the band!!!! And utterly essential and irreplaceable. I confess that last week at the gig I kept shouting out 'We love you Ben!!" when things went quiet , I wanted him to hear and realise he is loved . I was quite gutted that we didn't get to see him after the gig.

That Jedward pic is giving me nightmares, seriously They only answered 3 questions on the Vevo thing? Bit of a waste of time or what. Anyone tuning into the live streamed gig from Brussels tonight? I'm going to do my best, but it's an awkward time for me. Will try though.

He's got a very sarcastic/p***-taking sense of humour, but in a good way. Lots of people (mostly journalists ) don't seem to get it, though! I'm glad you do! You went?? *jealous *. Yeah they are really good live. They used to be a bit hit and miss, mainly I think because they were learning how to make their sound work as a live five-piece band,and it took time. but they've hit on a great line-up I think and it's all coming together now. Andrew is cute? Can't say I'd noticed:mf_rosetinted: I didn't actually read the article until now, and yes, it does clearly say he's a vet. It was just that when lolli posted that he was a college professor (?) I got confused. And I must have read the same article as you, too, as I remember the thing with his Mum and gardening too.

Where did I get the idea from that Ben's father is a vet?? I could absolutely swear I read that somewhere I must be getting him mixed up with someone else. About Andrew's chin. OMG That made me laugh so much because Karen has a really funny pic of me from Sunday, of me standing with Andrew, on which she cut off most of our hero's lovely face (I know I know, how dare she!!?) so it looks like.... a photo of me with Andrew's chin. Having both commented on his prominent chin in the past, needless to say we found thus pic very amusing. I'll get her to post it too (she should be able to soon )

He hasn't aged a day He's a vet, isn't he? But no, not a public person. I can't imagine that he tweets . Yes I have . It hit me last night, when I realized they were playing at Brixton Academy in London and I wasn't there It must be tough for Andrew being away in Europe while his grandfather passed away, and the funeral, and everything. When I met him on Sunday I couldn't help thinking about that. It must have been a sad weekend for him

Violens are a great band, one of my very favourites at the moment. They're friends with MGMT. They have an album coming out next week- I highly recommend it. They are playing in Manchester on Friday but I can't go, which I'm quite upset about But as I'm still on a total high from Sunday's MGMT experience, I'll survive! Oh and Bruce is a cool guy isn't he? I enjoy his tweets; he seems to have a similar sense of humour to Andrew. and although he doesn't go on about his son all the time, when he does mention him it's with such a sense of quiet but fierce pride that it makes me go all teary-eyed, LOL.

Yeah I know. I have gone right off Perez (well actually, I went off him ages ago ). I know I know Andrew, you are a legend . I've been thinking about this this morning. I really think certain sections of the blogosphere and the music press have a problem with MGMT for similar reasons they have a problem with Mika: they just don't know where to pigeonhole them. They can't get a handle on them or label them accurately, and so what do they do? They diss, or they dismiss, or they invent (i.e lie) and twist the truth. Like Mika, MGMT just don't and I suspect never will fit into a neat little labelled box: 'Pop', 'Indie', 'Prog', 'Psych-rock', 'Dance', 'Synth'. They are a bit of everything, they can't be pigeonholed and they refuse to pigeonhole themselves. They can turn their hand to so many different styles of music and still sound effortlessly cool, and I honestly think this both confuses and irks music journalists. Andrew and Ben are also intelligent, educated, middle class, unstarry and self-effacing guys who whilst not seeking the trappings of fame, manage to inspire adoration in fans of both sexes and all orientations. All this sounds very familiar doesn't it .

Hahaha! I've built *THE pic* up to be something amazing I think... I do hope you all won't be disappointed, it's really only a nice ordinary photo of two giggly women and a good looking young rock star.

Yeah 18 songs was a lot! And of course some of the songs are very long, not just Siberian Breaks but also the extended versions of, for example, The Handshake. They were on stage for around 1 hr 45 minutes. Andrew's not very tall, no. I'd say about 1.72m max. He really does have a baby face, too. One girl there was saying how he looks about 12 and she felt old enough to be his mother - she was 30. When we told her he's 27, she couldn't believe it! We said to her, if YOU feel old enough to be his mother, how do you think WE feel??

Oh dear. How to explain the horror that is Jedward...? They are a pair of Irish twins (John and Edward) who were on the X Factor talent show here in Britain last year. They can't sing a note between them and just do bad comedy cover versions of songs, they're just awful, but in a way I can see what Andrew means when he says they remind him of how he and Ben were when they started out. Except that Jedward really have no talent at all . Perhaps it's the Ghostbusters connection that amuses Andrew!! Compare and contrast The Management doing Ghostbusters http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rZ7_Ynyzabc Jedward doing Ghostbusters Yeah come on Andrew...produce that album!!!!

Thanks girls for the nice words about my report..it is a bit higgledy piggledy as I was so tired last night, and I know I have a few details mixed up in my mind, but unless you sit there taking notes like a journalist it's impossible to get facts completely straight after the event isn't it . I'm annoyed at that contactmusic article saying they didn't do an encore, though, REALLY annoyed. They did take a while to come back on, we can only guess why , but they DID come back and it was greatly appreciated, and in some ways it was the best part of the gig because of what had gone on before, and the real fans appreciated it etc. I wish now I had told Andrew how much I love Congratulations. I get tongue-tied around people I admire, and I was amazed I even managed to say a few coherent words to him actually, but with hindsight I do wish I'd said that. Although I like to think he registered the fact that he was signing the lyric-sheet for Congratulations and so he could see I own it! . Not to sound like a smug "I'm a bigger fan than all these guys around me" type of person but honestly...I wanted to grab a few people by the throat during the gig and shake them and say WHY DON'T YOU DANCE TO THIS AS WELL, NOT JUST KIDS!!??? ...but I guess you will all appreciate how I felt there. That is some comfort!! I also really hope they don't bow to the record company pressure and go back to do OS#2 for the next album. Unless that's truly what they want to do, I suppose. I'd sooner see them ditch their record company or quit altogether rather than sell out. On a lighter note - or do I mean a deeply worrying note?? - no, I'm sure Andrew is just having a joke here *crosses fingers and prays to God* http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/music/news/a279043/mgmt-want-to-perform-with-jedward.html

Part Two So anyway, gig over, we made our way straight round to the stage door where there were only about fifteen to twenty people waiting..surprising when you're more used to the Mika hoardes , although a few more did come a bit later. We sat down on the bench outside the little pub there, expecting a long wait, but no sooner had we sat down than Andrew appeared on the other side of the barrier! We were really surprised how quickly he'd come out. He signed various things, was very smiley and chilled, in his little woolly hat: he even signed some guy's trainer and various arms and body parts! After patiently waiting our turn, he came to sign our tickets/Cds, and I told him we were his Oldie Fanclub He looked at us, grinned, but diplomatically said nothing . I asked if Ben was coming out too, as I really wanted to see him, but he just shrugged and said he didn't know. Then we got our picture taken with him (he put his arms round our shoulders ) and was so sweet. He's really obliging, serene, smiley, softly spoken etc. I got a very nice vibe from him. Not dissimilar to how Mika makes you feel actually. He was in no rush to get away either, in fact when most of the others had gone we went back up to him and he signed something else of mine. When he handed it back to me he looked me straight in the eye and smiled...OMG, those eyes!!! Sorry but just allow me to use this smiley once more: None of the rest of the band appeared although I did get a glimpse of Will in the backstage area through the door. We were left with a (probably wrong) feeling that just maybe they were still annoyed about the bottle-throwing thing. I was really sad not to see Ben. . but all in all we were so pleased at having met Andrew that we just counted ourselves lucky, I think. Then it was taxi home and that was that! Once again, sorry for the lack of *THE* pic, but Karen will post it as soon as she can. We've been laughing at it all day as I look so silly and fangirly on it . ETA: Just found this article, which claims that will was hit (?? debatable) with a bottle of urine (quite possible) and that he stormed off stage (if he did, I missed that) and refused to return (WRONG!) and that they didn't do an encore (WRONG!). http://www.contactmusic.com/news.nsf/story/mgmt-drummer-quits-gig-after-urine-attack_1168162 But whatever the details, I do think they were shook up and annoyed by the incident. There are some real idiots and thugs that just want to spoil things for the majority...

Report Part 1 I'm here at last! I've had to do all sorts of Mum stuff tonight so haven't had time to be here and give you the details of last night's gig, sorry about that. Also, you'll have to wait a few days for the pic of Andrew with Karen and me because it's on Karen's camera, and she hasn't got internet at home at the moment, nor could she download the pic onto my laptop while she was at my house, as we didn't have the correct USB. But it is a nice pic (even though I look like a grinning buffoon on it ) and it's worth the wait . ANYWAY.............the gig! It was brilliant, I loved every second. We were about six rows from the front, on the left side, with a really great view of Ben , not such a great view of Andrew due to this gigantic man in the front row blocking our view..he was seriously about seven feet tall . But half way through he moved, so the view improved. The audience was mostly young. Late teens and twenties, a good mix of male and female, not so many oldies like Karen and me , the atmosphere was fairly chilled, apart from just a few rowdy guys further back (more on that later ). Anyway..setlist. Brilliant set. Can't remember the exact order but it was something like this: Indie Rokkers The Youth Electric Feel Flash Delirium It's Working Of Moons Birds & Monsters Song For Dan Treacy Anything Could Happen () Weekend Wars Time To Pretend 4th Dimensional Transition Siberian Breaks The Handshake Destrokk Kids Congratulations Future Reflections Brian Eno Really not sure of that order but it's near enough. Standouts for me were OMB&M, 4th Dimensional Transition (brilliant..sounded really different and translates so well live), and Siberian Breaks, but to be honest, everything sounded great. The psychedelic images running on the large backdrop screen, and the lighting, was all very effective too. It complimented the music really well. In fact they were much much better than I thought they were going to be; there's no doubt they've improved loads as a live band. Every song they did sounded at least as good as the CD, and most were better, either because of the arrangements, crazily extended instrumental bits at the end of songs, or just because of the emotion Andrew was putting into his performance. True, he's not Mika . He doesn't connect in the same way with an audience as many frontmen but he has a kind of quiet charisma on stage, and to be honest I wasn't expecting that so much. It was a lovely surprise. For many of the songs - and Siberian Breaks in particular - I could really sense his love for the music coming through. I could also REALLY feel the whole band willing the audience to connect with the Congratulations material .It's a pity that a LOT of the audience were just there for Kids, Electric Feel and Time To Pretend, and that annoyed me as I knew it would but I just tried to zone out and focus on the stage and not the mild indifference around me. At one point, just after Siberian Breaks, Andrew was talking the the audience and saying hello to the people at the front, the people at the back, the people in the gallery etc, and then he said 'and hi to the people in the bathroom too..it's ok, we've finished playing Siberian Breaks, you can come back now" . It was all typical Andrew tongue-in-cheek jokiness,but at the same time, that kind of summed the evening up... However it was a particular incident that did mar the show: about three quarters of the way through, some idiot decided to launch a full bottle of water onto the stage, with real force, which narrowly missed Will. It landed just in front of the drumkit. They played on for a couple of songs but then they did stop and mention it, half-joking saying the drummer had been killed and it wasn't cool to throw bottles onto the stage, and that they'd have to do the next song (Congratulations) without a drummer, which they did!! This kind of got the audience more on their side, as it really was just a small minority of idiots, but I felt so bad for them.... Will came back on for the encores, which were really great because a few people had left, and us remaining ones really appreciated it and the atmosphere was brilliant. Part Two to follow...

Yeeaaah!! ewokwicket (Karen) is here at my house, and in a minute we're gonna get ready to go into Manchester for the gig. Can't wait! Absolutely no idea how queuing will work for this, and it's really cold here, so we aren't going to queue too early. It'd be nice to think we'll get fairly near the front but to be honest we have no idea and are just gonna go with the flow . I will try to text to Twitter tonight so those who follow me, keep your eyes peeled . See ya later!

We Care. The lyrics are great. Thought-provoking! edit: btw I don't agree with some of the lyrics as transcribed by the person who posted that video.. Ok ok, add 4th Dimensional Transition! See below . I don't know if you can still get hold of Climbing To New Lows. I think We Care is by far the best track on there, though. I just know it from Youtube. And..I do love Congratulations too! But as I said, I would ideally love them to play all their songs because there seriously isn't one single one I don't like..

I just want them to play every song I want Indie Rokkers AND Destrokk. I am very demanding . Ok so I know they can't do every song, so this would be my dream setlist: (in no particular order) Weekend Wars Electric Feel Of M, B & M The Handshake Future Reflections Metanoia It's Working S. F. Dan Treacy Destrokk Indie Rokkers We Care Siberian Breaks Flash Delirium Brian Eno Encore: TTP Kids (if they must ) Second Encore: Boogie Down Third Encore: Love Always Remains (with live autotune vocoder thingy) Let's see how many of those I can tick off, after Sunday night .

There are indeed many levels on which to appreciate this show . I'm a Merlin girl myself rather than Arthur, but yes, he's not unnattractive . Keep watching!

I'm enjoying the new series so far, on the whole. Merlin and Arthur's relationship seems to be maturing, and their scenes are great. I also loved the Merlin/Morgana scene in the crypt..I was dying for Merlin to reveal his magic to her (yes I've been dying to use the kind and fine smiley too ). However I am a bit worried about the show's ratings. Going up against X Factor is very dangerous . It would be a great shame if it wasn't recomissioned after this series because of falling ratings, because it's a great show and I would miss it. Time for a few gratuitous pics.

OMGGGG!!! One week to go! This time next week, the gig will be over and with a little bit of luck I might even have managed to meet the band. I'm not getting my hopes up for that really, I'm just really excited about the gig itself. I haven't watched any footage from Dublin yet, but I might not be able to resist watching a bit from the UK venues this week to get me in the mood I can promise a full report, but perhaps not many good pictures, as my camera is OLD and rubbish. If Karen (ewokwicket) gets any good ones I'm sure she'll post them here though. So excited!

It's well worth catching up!