Psych pop bands, like MGMT, can go two ways live: too caught up in their insular noodling, forgetting the audience (see the Flaming lips show from earlier this year), or embracing the potential for stadium-sized reach. The Brooklyn band, fortunately, opted for the latter tact Friday night at Old National Centre.
The sold out crowd filled the room with a buzzy ecstasy — along with a healthy dose of weed — and the band seized the energy, going big from the start. The sound was expansive, and the hooks benefited. New tracks like Introspection and Your Life is a Lie were stickier and more driving than on record.
Alien Days opened the set and laid the foundation for the night. Trippy images flashing on the screen behind the band added to the vibe. The first big roar of the night came with the third song of the evening, Oracular Spectacular’s Time to Pretend. The songs from that album still drew the biggest reactions.
MGMT delivered a nice balance from all three albums, surprisingly not playing as much from the new record as expected. The band may still be figuring out which ones have legs. By incorporating more older songs, the band did a nice job keeping the audience engaged.
The big guns, as expected, came toward the end. Electric Feel, Congratulations, and closer, Kids, were saved for the final third of the set.
Next-gen hippy dippyness is alive and well. Except for the wobbly bunches getting blotto early, I suspect most of the kids went home happy.