MGMT, DECEMBER 11TH, FESTIVAL HALL (MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA)

So, in previous blogs, I mentioned I was attending the Melbourne MGMT show on the 11th of December and was kind of worried due to the negative reviews regarding their live shows. Well, turns out I was worrying over nothing - it was simply amazing and I couldn't have asked for a better show!

MGMT setlist:
*=My personal favoirtes.

OF MOONS, BIRDS AND MONSTERS*
FUTURE REFLECTIONS*
4TH DIMENSIONAL TRANSITION*
PIECES OF WHAT
WEEKEND WARS
THE YOUTH
TIME TO PRETEND
METANOIA
ELECTRIC FEEL
THE HANDSHAKE*
>>>ENCORE<<<
KIDS

I'm pretty sure the setlist is accurate. I wrote it down at 3am Friday morning, so it was pretty fresh in my mind so to speak.

TAME IMPALA:
These Perth psychedelic-rock boys were amazing and did a great performance, even though most people weren't watching them/listening to them. They could only squeeze about 5 songs into their set, due to the long jams they did inbetween songs and all. Being a spectator from the side of the stage (due to being underage, I was unable to buy General Admission tickets), I thought their positioning on stage wasn't the greatest. However, amazing performance once again, a band to keep your eye on.
7.5/10

LUKE STEELE:
Following Tame Impala, Luke Steele (Sleepy Jackson/one-half of Empire of the Sun) took to the stage with an acoustic guitar in hand and some pre-programmed beats. I really thought he did a wonderful performance, however he didn't receive an amazing response from the audience. Prehaps they thought he'd perform an Empire of the Sun tune or two and Nick Littlemore would magically appear? Maybe the crowd just wanted MGMT? Who knows.
8/10

MGMT:
The band of the night, MGMT (pronounced 'em-gee-em-tea' or 'management' or even 'mig-mnt' for all you tools) took to the stage at around 10.05ish. They opened up with 'Of Moons, Birds and Monsters', my favorite song on 'Oracular Spectacular' after a little artistic jam session. 'Weekend Wars' was an obvious crowd winner, as was 'Time to Pretend' and 'Electric Feel'. I personally felt a little embarassed (not sure if thats the right term) when the crowd began singing the tune to 'Time to Pretend' (they later did it to 'Kids'). The band then closed with 'The Handshake' (another personal favorite of mine), before comming back onstage for an encore, performing 'Kids.'

Here is a list of things I really liked about MGMT's performance:
-Andrew's amazement at the fact there were so many people there to see them and the fact it was a sold out crowd. ("Wow, there’s people over there and people over there...and over there...”).

-How short-looking they are!
-The crowd. Aside from a few people, the crowd was amazing. Not many fangirls, teenyboppers or muzzas. There was some random guy a few rows infront with some crazy and outrages dance moves. Supplied many laughs.

-Andrew sitting on James' (or was it Matt's? Can't recall) shoulders. Human totumn pole.

-The jams. Need I say more.

The things I sort of disliked:
-The people who sat down during Metanoia. Serious mood killer.

-The fact no songs from their previous EP's were played.

-The girls who came down just to dance to 'Kids'.

Overall, it was amazing!!
I'd love to see them again.
I regret not hanging back to 'try' and meet them (aye, it's worth a shot) or have some sort of fake id. Oh well, always next time!

10/10

PS: The merch sold out before MGMT were even onstage! I ended up buying a bag with some sort of duck/crayon/marshmellow on it. Very cute.