MGMT @ Belvoir Amphitheatre,Perth (6/12/08)

Sun 7th Dec, 2008 in Gig Reviews

Check out all the photos from the show here.

Punters outside the gates of Belvoir Amphitheatre on Saturday held on tightly to the hottest ticket this summer. While only a week ago, Bloc Party relocated from the Amphitheatre to the Parklands for more space, MGMT tickets were limited to those lucky enough to snap them up in the few minutes they were available.

Adorned in headbands and feathers, leather pants and satin shirts, animal masks but fortunately not too much fluoro and flannel, the audience came in their finest. A caveman, Cleopatra, posers in loud velvet suits, a brigade of chemical jumpsuits and many a twee hat were paraded in the open with at least four sightings of leotards threatening that this could be the new cringe-worthy festival fashion for 2009.

A stream of bubbles glistened in shards of afternoon sun cast through the trees. The imagery of dancing with drumming bears was not far from the mind. Anticipation was there in every breath, although the gathering crowd remained relaxed, either sitting or dancing in alcoves large enough for flailing limbs. Many spent their time running up and down the tiered platforms and a dance party feel united friendly bohemians. Death Disco DJs Anton & Andrei Maz, lured the crowd towards them with dance favourites from The Bee Gees, The Rasmus, Daft Punk and The Cure.

Perth lads Tame Impala invited the excited crowd forward saying, “we’re your first band for the night, don’t mind us just come up and dance”. Standing in front of zebra print amplifiers the four onstage got off to a false start with a defective drum but quickly recovered, launching into psychedelic guitar.

Onstage, the band members kept their heads bowed over instruments, making it difficult for the multi level audience to connect, although drummer Jay Watson entertained by using his whole body to keep a tight rein on the band. A regularly performed cover of Blue Boy’s Remember Me encouraged an impromptu sing-along. Playing percussion on the ground at times, Tame Impala’s trippy instrumentalism and languid phrasing suited the environment. An overall lack of excitement on stage might have taken away from the experience, but their snappy 5 song set had the crowd hanging on the end of the rotating whammy bar.

A recorded introduction that included a guitar altercation with a roadie, saw the chameleon of Australian music, Luke Steele enter from backstage. Having as diverse a repertoire as they come, from The Sleepy Jackson to the Monkey magic themed Empire of the Sun, it was anyone’s guess what this show would bring.

On stage solo with a guitar and crisp harmonica, Steele was backed by a drum machine and recorded keys. As the hippy haze descended, Steele’s unearthly vocals ranged from screaming to Princesque ohs and ahs to a country rock twang. At one point, the crowd became so friendly that he had to stop and wait for them to take a step back. The set included covers, rehashed songs, and a lilting Sleepy Jackson medley of This Day and Good Dancers.

Red flares in the sky and rainbow lights dancing in the trees; the growing crush at the front of the stage had people pulled from the crowd. With two spotlights now on the front of the crowd and security flashing torches at offenders, Steele finished off his set as the showman he is, with brutal twangs and thrusts ripping at the guitar strings with his fingers.

Crowd control went into overdrive as punters clawed to get closer to the headliners with growing impatience. Plywood cacti and succulents were positioned on stage with the natural eucalypt vegetation adding to the ambience. A smoke machine blew intensely as the crowd began singing the musical intros to favourite songs while they waited for the band’s arrival. Eager clapping and whistling met the technicians and security who lodged cargo boxes between stage and audience to fortify the barrier.

Andrew VanWyngarden, keyboardist partner Ben Goldwasser and touring band entered to rapturous applause through a purple haze. VanWyngarden spoke in all his crowd controlling wisdom, giving a message to the crowd – œbe excellent to each other, and rock out’.
Before the audience’s eyes and ears, Future Reflections became a rock anthem showing a prog rock depth to MGMT’s usual synth-pop placement. Amidst a jam of heavier sounds than anticipated, the band eagerly jumped all over the stage as the crowd imitated, jumping over stairs and spinning across the lawn.

4th Dimensional Transition took psychedelic pop into a rock bassline but still supported a high range vocal and dreamy musical texture. Pieces of What saw the mellow green, blue and purple lights change to a vivid green and orange. The vocals clear in delivery and sound low on synth sustained the crowd levels of excitement into Of Moons, Birds & Monsters.

Weekend Wars thrust the viewing into an almost out of body experience, the only reminder of the outside world was a plane crossing in front of the moon. The Youth initiated a sea of arms swaying and a guy pulled out of the crush took advantage of the opportunity to traverse the stage until he was quickly detained by security. Time to Pretend had the amphitheatre “singing yeah yeah yeah” and new song Metanoia from the upcoming album, pulled ears inwards to a mad guitar riff and spoken word.

At encore, MGMT got out the synth and percussion for Kids and descended into a wicked guitar solo, with spiralling, splintered light shooting through the trees. As the crowd leapt back up sleepers and crossed fields to transport with a buzzing still in their ears it was clear they had found MGMT impressive beyond expectation; a live experience of psychedelia in the bush.

Gallery by shanebutler