southeast

And hey and hallo, the rest of you! How are you doing? Long time no hear.

Did you like the recent remixes? I liked Siberian Breaks, but not so much the "Congratulations" one.

*bumps in*

with influences of you ppl here, i think i'm going to their hk show nxt month

(99% possibility)

Yeah, do! They are great! Not so much of a dancy kind of gig though, more the stand-around-listen-and-have-a-beer-kind of thing. (at least here in Munich) I LOVED it.

Yeah, this thread will live forevah!

Here's another pic.

I thought mixing different denim colours in kinda fashionable at the moment? But I am not a fan of denim shirts, it's very 80ies style, isn't it?

And James's hair: very samurai like . Perhaps it was just windy and they needed something to keep their hair outa their faces?

Apparently there were 45.000 fans on that beach. Amazing.

I don't think I read this article about recording Congratulations before http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/aug10/articles/mgmt.htm

How cool, thank you, Vanessa! I don't think I understand much of it, because of the whole technical stuff, but it really gives you an impression of how they work, how hard they work, how much they think about it all and how much they know about music. And apparently they are really glad to talk about this a lot. Makes me want to look up all this technical stuff they are talking about somewhere.

And lol about James playing horn at 4 in the morning. And Andrew standing on a chair and singing...

Haven't been here in a while..so HAPPY NEW YEAR to the coolest non-Mika thread on MFC

Yeah, HAPPY NEW YEAR people!

I have posted this on Tw. as well, but since I know some of you only from MFC:

Listen to some psychadelic Thai disco music: "The Sound of Siam" http://www.soundwayrecords.com/

 

That sounds like a lovely letter! I don't think they would laugh, they all seem like such great guys and I'm sure they appreciate genuine compliments.

 

Oops, I meant to say Andrew and Matt. I love watching them in interviews, I think they are completely endearing.

Ahhhh! Must. Stop. Being. Fangirly.

 

Anyway, sounds like you had a great time, and thanks for your report.

Thank you. I hope they'll like it.

I know what you mean about the two of them. I like the way they don't care what people would think when f.e. Andrew sits in Matt's lap. They are so cool about it. And indeed "endearing" is the right word for them...

 

Okay what I mean is it's really nice to see how everyone can have her own special moments with the band in the gig/M&G. That's why I love reading reports! Thank you so much!!

 

So, 7p.m.? To be honest I was a bit shocked about the time Dunno if it's just Hong Kong or what but people here start lining up for a show really early! Last time I went to MIKA's, MFCer friends went to the venue in the morning (I was at school) in order to get the front-row... I know this cannot be applied to MGMT of course but I was planning to arrive in late afternoon. Now it sounds so ridiculous

 

But hey, I love the Dan part! Hope to see ya in the documentary

 

It seems to me you were really calm, and this is so good! (Actually everyone here seems so) I hope I won't be too fangirly and do silly things when it comes to my turn I'm feeling even more unsure about what I should be expecting... you know, y'all have met them. I think I will be disappointed if I can't, which is so wrong. Urghhh what I'm talking about here... at least I'm guaranteed for great music!

I dunno how early you should go to the venue. MGMT aren't Mika, they don't have this fan-club that follows them around. And they book smaller venues. So I don't think it's gonna be a problem. Late afternoon sounds good to me.

Try to find the backstage after the gig, they come out pretty quick. And since that's the last gig of the tour there sure's gonna be a party afterwards. And Ben's birthday is one day before that. So if you are lucky it's gonna be a great evening.

You told me you were pretty cool with Mika. So I don't think that would be a problem for you.

What didn't they do ?

Mind Games by John Lennon ?

They sang it on that day cause 30 years ago John was murdered on the 8th of December.

Yes, I know this.

You should read the report of one of the girls later on this page: Will went out and gave the girls from the M&G VIP passorts and let them in the dressing rooms of the boys to chat with them. And after that they all went to a club where MGMT spend 3 more hours talking to different fans.

Dammit, they are so nice, they can't really be true.

Now I am jealous too: http://mgmtforum.com/index.php?PHPSESSID=timepkriq44g8q98bubci9tpk4&topic=8379.0

Why didn't they do this in Munich, for Christ's sake.

Thanks SE for the report, it's brilliant! I'm so glad you enjoyed it, and got to say that stuff to Dan/on camera for the record (although I understand what you mean about wishing you'd saved it for Ben, but hindsight is a frustrating thing!).

 

I'm pleased you met Ben. I'm still a bit upset I didn't, when I went, but of course I met Andrew instead whereas you didn't, so between us we have the set .

I thought about you as I saw Ben. I was so surprised to see him going out to meet some fans. I can understand you so good, that you wanted to meet him, really!

Sometimes I imagine they draw lots for who's doing the M&G. The one who loses has to go out.

I think, for me it was important to say how good they were to anyone from the band, they all deserve to hear it. I really try to see them as MGMT, the band, not be fangirly for one of them.

^^Awesome video

 

They appeared in Q mag !Thanks to the one who posted these scans on their forum.

http://img522.imageshack.us/img522/8049/scan0002uaq.jpg

http://img404.imageshack.us/img404/5286/scan0001uq.jpg

Thank you so much! I really love some of the bands they talk about. And I really have to listen to Bob Dylan and Neil Young very soon. So much to catch up with...

Ahhhh! SE, I'm glad you had so much fun! It sounded like a great show! And so I'm jealous you go to meet Ben AND Will. If you don't mind me asking, what did you write about in your letter? (If that's to personal, don't feel the need to answer )

You should do a psychoanalysis of Will and Andrew's relationship. I love the way they interact in interviews!

No, nothing personal, just a naked pic of myself.

I wrote them how I became their fan, the reasons why I love their music and their performances. And that I want a live album. Pronto. I am already mad at myself, because they'll sure laugh at me. But I hope at least one of them understands it. It was adressed to all of them.

Will and Andrew? I haven't noticed that yet. Andrew and Matt are doing hilarious stuff at inteviews. They are so funny. And I really think they are very smart guys and though I love their music I don't always understand them. They are kind of elusive. Which is good. So I don't really want to analyze them. I have some male friends in my real life who act like that. And who I love, because they are really special and very decent and honest. The guys from MGMT remind me of them.

Please guys, I really don't want you to be jealous.

We're MGMT fans, right? We are special. I have the feeling a MGMT gig is always a good experience, something is always happening there and I am sure you will meet some of them at one of the next gigs. They are really very relaxed and approachable.

I love this, especially because you can hear Andrew playing the guitar.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GWawd9Vvpb8&feature=related

The setlist:

Hi, people.

I am still half-deaf and half-sleeping, since I didn’t get tons of sleep last night and spend 3 hours directly in front of the boxes. But I would like to write this down before I get out of the MGMT trip and find myself back in reality…

I still can't believe it really happened.

It was a brilliant evening, everything was pretty much perfect and at the same time relaxed. The security, the fans, the band, the M&G afterwards. With exception of me(). What happened was this:

Arriving at the venue and getting inside was as easy as last time as we saw VW. We arrived at 7 and were let inside at 7:30 and since the evening was really warm, we didn’t even freeze while waiting. I took a quick look at the back side of the venue, where the tour busses were waiting and saw Dan T., who’s the official filming guy, inside, talking to some security people. I knew it was him, because I have seen pictures of him on the Internet. The crowd was really young and everybody was drinking wine directly out of the bottles. People pushed a lot and some came later and made their way directly to the venue doors. But hey, this was an MGMT gig, so nobody said anything to them. People just laughed. After getting in we strolled to the right side of stage and were lucky that the 1st row was still empty there, perhaps because it was directly in front of the boxes. I wanted to go to the left side, because I wanted to have a better look at Ben, but the sight was much better on the right side. So we bought some beer, I took a look at the merch but didn’t find anything nice for myself. As we stood in the 1st row and waited for the Smith Westerns to come on stage I suddenly saw Dan walking down the front line with a girl with a camera. So I waved at him.

I still don’t know why I did this, I don’t really know him but I guess I was excited to see a face I knew. And he saw me and came up to us and asked me if I was waving at him. I said, yes and if he’s Dan. He was surprised that I knew him and I explained. So he started filming and asking questions: Are we big MGMT fans? What song would we like to hear tonight? How are our names and what are we doing for a living? As he heard I come from Bulgaria he asked me to say something in Bulgarian to the band. And as he heard I am a psychologist he asked me to analyze MGMT’s music, f.e. Siberian Breaks. Ugh. I didn’t really know what to answer to this, I’ve never tried this. So I answered why I love their music instead. I also told him that we really appreciate “Congratulations” and that the boys should know that many fans come to gigs because of that, that I love the whole album, that they should go on writing music like this, that I love their jam sessions on stage etc. The whole thing. He told me that they have a good feeling about the reception of “Congratulations”, people sing along the lyrics at gigs, shout “Brian Eno” as a wish and that their sound checks are really the best jam sessions of all. So if you can, go to that sound check next time you see them. And that the Berlin gig was good but that the Munich gig will be even better, because they don’t have any time limits this time. He told me the whole stuff is being filmed, the band watching everything he films (which made me even more nervous than I already was), and that if they make use of the interview they would ask me before doing it, so I have to give him some kind of address. Hehe, if I were standing alone there, I would have thought this is some kind of come on. So I told him my Twittername. I also told him I had something for the band and he told me to pass it to him, he’ll give to the band. And he told me I should send him a Tweet, we could talk on Twitter and that he answers people (but he doesn’t ever, really.)

Yeah.

I was so excited. It was so cool. He was so nice. I ran out of the venue, took my stuff out of the car, ran inside again and asked the security guy to pass it over to him since he had already moved on. He took it and assured me again he’ll give it to them.

I wrote them the letter I told you about. And I translated a German review of “Congratulations” that made me listen to their music for the first time. It is a pretty good one, in a very important newspaper, so I thought they would like to know what the German press writes about their music. So this was what I gave them.

I really, really hope I didn’t say anything stupid in that camera or write anything totally idiotic in my letter.

Gulp.

Of course now I remember all the funny, intelligent stuff I actually wanted to say to him and to write them, but it’s too late anyway. And I wasn’t prepared to talk to someone for such a long time and answer questions about their music and stuff like that. So Huikings, be prepared for everything!

So you can imagine that after this experience I was really speechless for a long while. My guy told me: “Ok, so now we’re finished here, right? You got what you wanted, now we can go home.”

The Smith Westerns were pretty good, very young. I saw Ben and Will listening to them for a while backstage. MGMT started playing at about 9:45 p.m. I am sorry, I don’t remember the exact setlist but they started with Congratulations, then Time to Pretend, after that, random list: Electric Feel, The Youth, Of Birds, Moons and Monsters, Brian Eno, Dan Tracy, I found a whistle, It’s working, Siberian Breaks and directly after that Kids, Flash Delirium. They did a cover of a song I don’t know. I must look it up yet. 2 songs for an encore, Destrokk and The Handshake with jam at the end… What can I say, they are such good musicians live, it’s amazing. Andrew was talking random stuff: “I wanna see you guys smile, I want to see you smile, but oh, well, I guess one can’t HEAR a smile”. “You are beautiful”. People hurled headbands on stage and he hung them on the micro. I didn’t see much of Will and Matt, a bit of Ben. Who I watched a lot was James. He’s crazy. He danced like mad, he was, you know, enjoying himself, saying mad stuff to the audience, drinking beer, dancing wildly around the stage, while Kids were being played he sat down on the box right in front of me, put his arm around the security and hugged him and wanted to share his beer with him. He was really on some kind of stuff, and yet he played well. Only at the end he just played random stuff and swayed around. Andrew looked at him and laughed. But I had the feeling he was watching him pretty closely most of the time. Perhaps he wasn’t quite sure if James is going to make it through the whole gig… I dunno, only my stupid interpretation.

The gig was so good, because I really could concentrate on the music, watch them communicate, see them smile at each other. There was a lot of dancing and screaming going on, but also lots of fans enjoying the music, singing along, listening, being quiet and calm. I was happy about that! Happy to know they have nice fans. I really start to think musicians attract the same kind of people as they are.

The crowd was clearly enjoying it all. People danced a lot, sang along, were having a party. But they were mostly very nice. The girl next to me shouted: “Boogie Down” a few times.

About jamming: they didn’t do it A LOT. Just at the end, with Handshake and Of Birds, Moons and Monsters. I wish they would have done it a lot more, f.e. at Brian Eno or Sib. Breaks. But I guess they’re just tired now, they have a new gig every single night and seem to party in between, so…

The gig ended at about 11:15 p.m. Dan was filming all the time and after the gig he came to us and made high ten (you know, clapping both hands against mine) with me and asked us how we liked it. After that he walked through the venue to talk to other people.

We got our coats, walked to the back side of the venue and Will and Ben already waited. Some girls were already attacking them, asking for autographs and talking to them, but there were only like 10 people all in all. Will was drinking a beer and they were both very patient, took pictures with the fans, signed stuff and so on. So I could have talked to them for some time. But I didn’t. I don’t know, I gave them the letter, I said what I wanted in that camera, so I had the feeling this is enough. I went to Will and thanked him for the gig, told him they did a brilliant job and that the Handshake is getting better every time I listen to it. So he asked if I have seen them live more than once and I explained that I’ve seen lots of livestreams. Then I went to Ben and also thanked him for the gig, said that it’s a real pleasure to listen to their music. He smiled real nice and looked at me and said “Well, thank you!” And he signed my CD. (Of course I was thinking: “Oh, if I had known I would meet him afterwards as well, I could have given my letter to HIM instead to Dan and explained about the article and talked to him for some more time, grumble, grumble…” Fans, or should I say women are never satisfied, right?). I was really happy to see Ben! Even more than seeing Andrew, tbh. Cause Andrew would intimidate me, I suppose. Ben looked nice, Will too. Ben even talked on stage a few times but I didn’t understand him, as I was standing too far away. And at the M&G he was smiling and quiet and patient.

And then I went away. I didn’t want a pic. I am not such a big picture fan. They were taking pictures all the time, but for me it was more important to thank them for the gig and to say it in a non fangirly way. While walking to the car, I thought about turning around and talking to them again, but somehow I didn’t want to disturb them any further. I could have wished them a nice time in Europe, asked stuff about the 3rd album, asked them about a live DVD, told them to come back soon… But, you know, what will be, will be. If Dan’s filming that much, I am optimistic about them bringing some sort of documentary at some point. And they will write some new songs soon and will tour again. I can wait for that.

That’s it. I still hear strange noises in my ears and can’t hear properly. But it was worth it. They really are a brilliant, brilliant band.

Oh, yes, I forgot, my guy liked them very much as well and really enjoyed himself. Actually he has a much better music taste then me, so I am really happy about that.

 

On the other hand someone on mgmt forum posted this interview with James

 

Thanks for posting! Very interesting to hear about the band and how they play music...Now I like them even more!

 

So it's less than a week now!!!!! As far as I am aware, are you going to quit MGMT music for the time being??

 

And don't worry, you are completely understood for the high expectation part BECAUSE YOU KNOW WHAT, I AM GOING TO THE LISBON GIG!!!!!!!

 

Actually I bought the tix weeks ago but due to some OCD moments of mine, I dared not say it out for fear of ruining the whole thing. But now since everything is decided, I can't help sharing my excitement with you girls! I'm going to London on 14th Dec where my friend is studying and then we'll go to Portugal for the gig on 18th and travel around Spain after that. Everything still sounds soooooo surreal as it'll be my first time to be in Europe, which I've been longing for years!

 

I am sharing every of your concern SE because I'm expecting A LOT from them too. Actually there won't be this trip if it's not for MGMT... I'm literally pushing myself to death in order to finish all the college essays before departure....

Oh, wow, I am SOOOO happy for you! Just take it easy in Europe, have fun and get some warm clothes with you - it is ******* freezing here at the moment.

Not long now!! I'm sure you won't be disappointed. Wish I was coming with you

 

I really wish you girls were coming with me. I'll write a report. Hopefully with an M&G to report about after the gig.

One week till "my" gig on the 7th.

On the one hand I am happy to see them. On the other hand - what if I am disappointed? I have never seen them live before. After Vampire Weekend's gig I was disappointed - too short, too unpersonal... It would be horrible. My expectations are so high, because I love their music so much that I really hope I like the music as well when I hear it live.

I don't know if this makes sense. I am so exited.

As promised weeks ago...

 

 

 

Me (left), ewokwicket (Karen), and some bloke out of an American band we met in Manchester...

 

I look insanely and disproportionately excited.

 

*runs away*

Hey, nice pic! And Andrew looks like he's having fun, not just the usual fan photo, ugh.

Right now, MGMT's third album title is listed as "Applesauce" on wikipedia.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MGMT

I think it is the MGMT fourm's doing.

Haha! Love that.

So here’s my report on the Vampire Weekend gig I went to on Saturday.

The gig was sold out but we got in at 7 pm and at that time there were like 30 people in the queue in front of us.

Pretty relaxed and very nice people there. So we had time to get a drink and sit on the floor and talk to some guys we met. I tried to find a set list, but only found a time table so I knew they would start playing at 9:15 pm. The opening band was “Jenny & Johnny” from Cal-i-fornia maaaaan. They had some nice songs though and played for 45 minutes.

Till then everything was fine, we were in the 2nd row, directly in front of the micro of Ezra. But in the break btw. Jenny & Johnny and VW people started pushing from behind like mad so I had to hold on to the bars not to get trodden on or get pushed away. There were also some very drunk guys who just pushed their way to the front rows in a very unpleasant way. And as VW walked in people went really mad. They started pushing so hard I thought I would lose my shoes and taking pictures or filming was impossible. I couldn’t really listen to the music either, too busy trying not to fall. And it was terribly hot.

So after the first song we pushed our way out to the right and found a good spot near the medical staff – they had to pull out some people from the middle of the crowd who had fainted and take care of them. But they enjoyed the gig as well, were dancing and singing as well. We still were in the second row so it was ok. I stood near Chris Baio, the bassist, he’s such a charming guy – smiling all the time in a boyish way, he was really enjoying himself. And his way of dancing is just hilarious. They played the well known songs like Horchata, Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa, A-Punk, Diplomat’s son, Taxi cab, Walcott, Mansard Roof, Holiday, White Sky, Campus, Cousins. 3 encores. I don’t remember the exact set list, sorry. As the fast songs were played I was really glad we went out of the middle of that crowd – people went crazy, were jumping, screaming, pushing… After the gig we went out, people coming from the inside of the crowd were lying on the floor, gasping for breath. We got our coats and waited for a while on the back door where the tour bus was parked but after a while we got really cold and since I am taking my guy to the MGMT gig on the 7th as well and I really want to wait for the M&G then I thought it would be a good idea to skip that one (if there ever was one ) – he hates M&Gs. So we went home.

About the music: They play the songs in exactly the same way as on the album, nothing experimental, new, improvised at the gig. So I think for me it is enough to listen to the albums. If you want to have a party and a rave and a mad time – go! It is fun. But if you want to listen to the music and watch them - better watch some vids on utube.

Don’t get me wrong – they are very good live performers! Ezra sang beautifully, great voice. Had his usual stuff on: jeans, boat shoes, blue white checked shirt. Rostam was the conductor – you really could see how he carefully listens to the rest of the band and how it is really important for him to know if they are playing “his” songs right. I think he’s an extremely talented person. Hope to hear more music from him in the future. They were smiling and nice, but didn’t interact with the audience a lot. Ezra just said some Hellos, Thank yous and “Our next song is…” “We have to come again, you are a great crowd” bla bla the usual stuff in English. I wonder sometimes how tired musicians must be of that sort of talk…

Also something else about them performing live…I didn’t feel some special kind of vibe or atmosphere at the gig. I don’t know how to explain it better, it was kind of too well rehearsed or too smooth to be very emotional. I really want to hear MGMT live and feel something else there.

The best thing about that gig: MGMT are playing at that venue on the 7th as well. So now I know where to stand at their gig

So that’s it. I made three vids with my iPhone but the sound is terrible – next time I’ll use my camera instead…

Have any of you heard Rostam's band called Discovery? Its a side project he did with Wes from Ra Ra Riot. Its a lot different than VW, much more electronic, but oddly catchy. Anyway, what do you all think of it??

(You can stream the album on their website http://dscvry.net/ )

Will listen to it! Thanks for posting the information!

We're ridiculous .We posted the same link at the same time

Hehe, we are such a helpful lot here...

Did anyone hear Andrew on WFMU-FM 91.1? I think I just missed it.

I didn't watch it too. No time. But here's a link: http://bit.ly/9AUoZh

I saw that.

Wonder how it happened. Silly boy.

It happened while he was doing his Pilates exercises.

sorry for the wait, i needed to find the perfect time to write my report...

in case anyone doesn't know, rufus was premiering 5 shakespeare sonnets with the san francisco symphony.

 

OMG, i had such a great time! it all was so perfect, that i didn't even want to come back the next night anymore because i didn't want to spoil my perfect experience... (didn't have a ticket anyway)

 

sorry, this might get long (i'm still )...........

Thanks for your report! Sounds really interesting. I like the combination of a concert and an interview after that - great idea. I would love some of my fav. musicians in an interview directly after a gig...

 

Enjoy the afterglow!

:roftl: I love that expression + smilie....

Andrew has dislocated his shoulder. Ouch! Poor guy.

Does someone of you ladies by any chance like Imogen Heap as well? I listened to her today after forgetting about her for the past few months. She's pretty trippy as well, makes me want to fly when I listen to her. Great music, great lyrics, would love to hear some kind of Imogen Heap - MGMT cooperation.

Some pictures of MGMT in Nashville http://bit.ly/bT56Z4 (cc @tennislala) Some very nice one of Ben there.

And I think on one of them is Mr. VW sen.