MGMT gig in Leeds...[1] [2]
[3] [4]
MGMT
at Leeds Academy
Just why MGMT had chosen this venue to play besides
others in Leeds was a wonder, since it was much too small to contain
the hundreds of people crammed onto the tiny dance floor. But maybe
they just hadn’t seen ahead to the level of success they’d
have. On releasing their debut album ‘Oracular Spectacular’ in
January 2008, perhaps they hadn’t imagined the degree of fame
they’d be at on the new music circuit in just a few months’ time.
Certainly by this night, November 5th 2008, they had gained enough
success from playing Glastonbury, Carling Reading and Leeds Festivals,
Oxegen and T in the Park, that they needed much bigger venues. But
O2 Leeds Academy would prove a better venue than anywhere else for
them.
The O2 Leeds Academy has to contend
with The Cockpit, one of Leeds’s bigger and better known live
music venues, attracting the likes of Mystery Jets, Amy Winehouse,
Queens of the Stone Age and Franz Ferdinand. Leeds Academy has recently
been refurbished and whilst MGMT is one of its first acts to appear
after this refurbishment, the venue is still little known. Not for
long though: bands such as Pet Sounds, The Enemy and Basement Jaxx
are set to play here early this year [2009], as well as the famous
Lilly Allen, and even Primal Scream played here in December 2008.
They’ll all
be following in MGMT’s footsteps.
So, hundreds
of people are standing waiting for MGMT to appear on the stage in thirty minutes’ time.
More and more are entering the venue, heading straight to the bar to get their
first drinks of the night. Several are heading straight to the dance floor,
trying to gain a place amongst the crowd and a good view of the stage. All
this will change soon enough when the band takes to the stage and people cram
forward together, desperate to see the band play.
First
up are Amazing Baby, a little known band who, like MGMT, hail from Brooklyn,
NY. The Brooklyn music scene is certainly up and coming, with bands such as
Chairlift also making their mark in the mainstream. With tons of energy and
enough catchy guitar riffs and melodies, Amazing Baby manage to grab the attention
of the crowd, who soon begin singing and dancing along to the songs that just
a few minutes ago were all the more mysterious and unknown to them. Taking
into account that NME are mentioning Amazing Baby more and more, witnessing
them live only confirms guesses that they’ll
be a big name in 2009, following fast in the footsteps of their peers.
Amazing
Baby play their last song, thank the audience, and head off backstage. There
are only five minutes left before MGMT are due to play, and the technicians
are back on stage making sure everything is arranged correctly. In the balconies
above the dance floor people are sitting and waiting anxiously for when the
band appear.
Then the room grows dark except for
a few blue laser beams and lilac fluorescent lights, and the screams
shoot into the air as MGMT take to the stage. After a few seconds’ greetings,
they break into ‘Future Reflections’. Ironically, this
is the last song on their debut album, but it’s the opening track
tonight, and it works. As it reaches the end, the song picks up speed
and it’s a flourish of ...
Gallivanting in the Lake District >