The appeal of psychedelic pop gods MGMT is diverse. So much so that when they played Belvoir Amphitheatre on Saturday December 6, it wasn’t just the usual free flowing Fremantle suspects who appeared there: no, it was as though the entire Western suburbs had suddenly appeared. And with just cause too. MGMT were and are incredible to watch.
Mind you, the excitement of the crowd was such that even before they appeared on stage, the security barrier had been compromised. It was with no surprise then that when Ben Goldwasser and Andrew Van Wyngarden appeared the crowd erupted. As the boys opened with Future Reflections, the audience chanted along to this brand of incredibly infectious falsetto pop.
Tracks such as The Youth got the audience going as Ben and Andy bathed in and amongst electric blue and larger than life cut-out American Cacti, crooning their tunes. And yes, everyone was won over and dancing when Time To Pretend was played. But what was perhaps a little disconcerting was that when the lads broke out what was apparently newer material the audience’s attention waned and moved to two guys who were climbing trees. The shift must have been noticeable because out came Electric Feel and everyone was back in the room… or amphitheatre as the case may be.
MGMT is post-modern psychedelic electro pop at its finest. The Belvoir surrounds seemed to suit their special brand of sonic lullabies and the night was a feast for the ears. One could even say it was an ‘oracular spectacular’.
James Donkin
