Previews and reviews of L.A.'s cultural events

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Night TripPosted By: Shayna Rose Arnold · 7/23/2010 5:46:00 PM

Last Friday night, the Greek Theatre, enclosed by a grove of trees aglow withgreen and orange lights, looked like an enchanting storybook alcove. Threepanels adorned the stage, serving as screens upon which kaleidoscopicimages were projected. One had the hooked form of a wave, mirroringMGMT’s “Congratulations” album cover, and the stage was bathed in blueand green lights. A plush toy duck with a mohawk sat perched on top anorgan.

And yet, for all its staging, MGMT’s concert seemed less a performance thana jam session. The group seemed a little lost in their own world and hardlyacknowledged the throngs of admiring fans before them when they took thestage. Lead vocalist Andrew VanWyngarden offered a few tired jokes intothe microphone between songs, but otherwise kept his focus on the music. Many of the tracks were extended intowarped aural explorations; “Siberian Breaks” lapsed into a sprawling pastiche of ‘60s and ‘70s rock.

Played live, grooves like “The Handshake” and “Pieces of What” had a certain brightness. The keyboard trilled, thereverb flickered, and the drum beat bounced forward in heavy bounds.

When “Time to Pretend” began, everyone stood up to cheer. Hundreds of glowing camera screens dotted the crowdlike stars. Bubbles floated up from the front rows, each spurt followed by a plume of smoke rising from elsewhere inthe theatre, and a pink light swept across the bobbing heads, illuminating clusters of people dancing.

At one point, a crazed girl ran onstage, blowing kisses and playing an air guitar with excess enthusiasm. It tookawhile before security guided her away. Only then did the band slap hands with the fans in the first few rows.

“This is the last song,” VanWyngarden announced before launching into “Kids.” The band left the stage amidst aswell of cheers—then finally reemerged for a few last tunes, concluding with “Congratulations.” Like their latestalbum, MGMT’s show was paced according to their artistic whims, the just took an audience along for the ride.

­Taylor Soppe

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