MuchMusic.com | Blog

Do you ever have those nights when you have something all planned out, only for it to change dramatically on a whim? I should start whimming more often, because this past Saturday night proved to be one of the most exciting nights I have ever had!

The condensed version goes like this: I was at home downloading music by buzz band MGMT from iTunes. I liked what I heard, so I checked out Ticketmaster to see when they were coming to town, I realized that it was THAT NIGHT, and that they were playing with fellow Brooklyn buzz band Yeasayer. I altered the plans I had and scrambled down to the El Mocambo to try and make the show. Once in line I realized the show was sold out, and with only minutes before Yeasayer were set to go on, a random girl came outside and offered up a free ticket! I jumped at the chance, and entered the venue just as Yeasayer were about to perform. Whew!

Once the show started, I was treated to an intense sonic journey with Yeasayer, as their rhythms pulsated and pounded off the intimate El Mocambo walls, never settling in any one place, shifting and hustling all over the joint, playing with muscle, all on point. When you listen to a Yeasayer song, it has this sort of off kilter dynamic that seems a bit strange at first. Upon further review, it’s just that they are different than almost every band you know. In a live setting, their uniqueness simply blossoms. 2080 and Sunrise were simply majestic, and the smallish crowd was feeding off the band and returning their energy in spades. I didn’t know much about Yeasayer, but after seeing them, I can only tell you that I say yea and I want to know more - much, much more.

I actually knew a little bit more about MGMT and their awesomely titled debut LP Oracular Spectacular, mainly because of their fan-bloody-tastic track Time to Pretend. The other songs were tight with delight, though it was hard for them to match the energy and enthusiasm of Yeasayer. The drummer did his best, looking and acting a helluva lot like Andrew WK, highlighted by his wicked guitar dubbing of the pre-recorded Kids.

Overall it was an amazing experience, and you could tell these bands were hip-to-the-drip as members of Metric and Finger Eleven were in attendance. For comparison’s sake, I would say that right now Yeasayer has a leg up on MGMT in the performance and cohesiveness area, while MGMT have songs that would seem to have better hit potential.

Either way, both of these bands have great potential, and one would expect to hear a lot more from these fellow Brooklyn-ites. Most of all though, I learned that random, spontaneous Saturday nights are the way to go…

Posted on Monday, February 11th, 2008 at 11:30 am by Chrissy and is filed under Concerts & Events.

Related Articles:

• MGMT and Jay-Z?!
• MGMT + Bjork Videos In 3D
• Video Spotlight: MGMT - Time To Pretend
• Best Wedge-Worthy Videos Of 2008!
• Katy Perry And The MGMT Cover (OF DEATH)