Institute of Contemporary Arts

MGMT

Date: 5 March 2008

Jahan Nazeer

There had been a buzz around this gig all week, MGMT are tipped by many as being the next big thing and were gracing the ICA stage supported by Virgin Passages. Clearly I was by no means the only one who had picked up on the relevance of tonight's acts, there seemed to be quite a few people who had come down without tickets just in the hope of getting a last minute deal and now stood outside the ICA main doors shivering slightly. It definitely seemed to be the place to be tonight! Inside, however, was quieter than I had supposed, with the majority of the crowd expected later on in the evening, but the anticipation was certainly growing rapidly.

First up, Staffordshire's Virgin Passages. Numbering six tonight, they took the stage and readied their instruments. The group's appearance seemed mismatched and underplayed, their demeanour, concentrated and inhibited. Indeed, from their opening track, their music seemed strange and abstract. Keyboards, guitars, bass, a clarinet, and some percussion made up the instrumentation along with boy/girl vocals. Hypnotic, eerie, ethereal, their second tune ‘Who do you love' was a muffled, melancholy trip, a come down with pangs of sadness. Throughout their set, Virgin Passages used dynamics well and had some truly beautiful melodies and harmonies. The different tones of voice building folksy, spiritual chants and phrases. A stand-out track, for me, was ‘Distance' which begins with a hazy, Tarantino-esque guitar part and smoky female vocals, then opens out as waves of voices wash over us. Having bewildered and entertained the growing crowd, Virgin Passages left the stage. An intriguing live act, their recordings are equally interesting and worth a listen. 

A quick breather, and the ICA bar was now absolutely jamming. MGMT can sure pull a crowd! The air of expectancy was now at breaking point as drinks were ferried through to the main room where the main act were taking the stage. Jammed at the back of the room amongst the Kaiser Chiefs and Mark Ronson to name just a few, I slipped my pad out of my pocket as MGMT took the stage and began their set. Electro-glam rock could be a way to describe this band. Psychedelic 70s style pretenders alongside new wave synth ethics. Their concert arena style contains real epic qualities but without losing a sense of fun and irony. This is not just music to listen to, but an invitation to live a rockstar lifestyle from times gone by. ‘Time to Pretend' expressed this feeling perfectly and with its unmistakeable synth line and carefree lyrics it sent the audience crazy with excitement. Elements of funk were detectable as were prog rock influences as MGMT delighted the sell-out crowd. Feeding off the reaction, the boys from Brooklyn ran through a long set of great songs, extended guitar solos and punchy drums, bopping around the stage with a youthful intensity matched only by their ecstatic fans who went mad at every twist and turn, they were rewarded for their input with not one, but two encores by which point the front two or three rows had become near completely taken over by excitable, jumping, hollering, female fans... well it is rock ‘n roll you know! Definitely believe the hype on these lot, they are the real deal, even if they are just pretending. 

 

 

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