Our brilliant guest blogger, Britt Lundborg, attended last night’s gig and offers a full report! MGMT played a semi-secret gig last night at Mercury Lounge. The whole business was password protected so when you received your confirmation e-mail for the ticket, it read that you’d bought the opportunity to hear the fine vocal stylings of ‘The Smirking Worm’. Believe me, anyone who managed to score a ticket surely had every reason to smirk. Every gig at Mercury is intimate. And here was MGMT fresh off their trip to the Grammys debuting new tunes from their upcoming release, Congratulations. When I walked in, the room was a quarter full and the boys were rolling around the room, mixing with well-wishers and mates. The room quickly packed and after a rather odd opening act consisting of a foul-mouthed ventriloquist dummy (is there any other kind?) and his human partner, MGMT took the stage to huge cheers. Andrew VanWyngarden, cutie that he is, pulled an awe-shucks move when he said to the rapt crowd, ‘We just really like to play music’. Bless. Seamlessly shuffling between new material and tracks the entire audience could sing back to them, MGMT look, feel and sound like polished pros. They seemed comfortable and confident and didn’t grimace once when playing crowd-pleasing favorites, like ‘Weekend…’ & ‘Electric Feel’. And when they played ‘Flash…’ & ‘Congratulations’, two songs that have just barely begun banging around the blogosphere, the crowd knew just how to sing along. Congratulations, indeed.
More photos, the setlist & an MGMT tune AFTER THE JUMP…
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Both acts performed outrageously brilliant sets. TMS Rating: 9/10. All photos courtesy of Santiago Felipe. Be sure to catch Washed Out on his NA trek. Washed Out was recently crowned with NPR’s Song Of The Day.
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Our photographer, Santiago Felipe, attended last week’s sensational Black Apple curated gig. Be certain to visit Japanther at their MySpace page.
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A rousing set from the Philly based indie-pop troupe. TMS Rating: 7/10. Ashes Grammar is out now. Watch their official video for ‘So…’ here.
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Every time I catch a performance by Acrylics, I fall deeper & deeper in love with ‘em. Last night’s set featured the bulk of their debut EP, a few new tunes & ‘Molly’s Vertigo’. Official TMS Rating: 9/10. Visit Acrylics on MySpace.
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On Friday evening, Santiago Felipe captured a swarm of incredible shots before, during & after the mind-boggling performance. He assures us that this gig was the equivalent of an aural orgasm. We don’t doubt him! TMS Rating: 10/10. Be sure to visit Leslie & The Lys on MySpace as soon as possible.
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Our brilliant guest blogger, Britt Lundborg, attended last night’s gig and offers a full report! No one inside Mercury Lounge last night seemed in the least concerned that they were missing the State of the Union. Politics can be TiVOed – Bear In Heaven playing the late show wasn’t to be missed. Before the set even began, they lit dozens of incense sticks and the scented smoke wafted around them before pouring into the audience. With this, coupled with their intensely rhythmic music, Bear In Heaven hopes to promise a ‘fully immersive’ concert experience. At first sight, I wondered whether these Brooklyn boys had spent a smidge too much time at Burning Man and had come away with some hoaky notion of music as spirit guide. But perhaps that’s just my adverse reaction to patchouli. In any case, it fucking worked and they made some magic. Listening to Bear In Heaven’s LP, Beast Rest Forth Mouth, is a far more electronic experience than their live show when the music really grows some teeth. Obviously, that has to do with putting a face to a bleep-bloop, but, seeing that the percussion emanates from a man with a drum-set instead of a machine brings a raw tumult to the music as a whole. And, man, can Joe Stickey man those sticks. He propelled their glorious tribal anthem, ‘Beast In Peace’, into Mercury Lounge’s intimate corners and beckoned everyone into the beat. Though sometimes reedy, lead singer Jon Philpot’s voice cuts through the music’s grand furor. When they played ‘You Do You’, its psychedelically-painted prog caused the room to swoon. Categorizing BIH is problematic – they reside in the same space as Yeasayer but sometimes have sleep-overs at Secret Machines’ house. So, why categorize at all? Just do yourself some good & dwell in the expansive drone.
MP3: Bear In Heaven - Lovesick Teenagers
TMS photographer, Alexis Maindrault, assures us that last night’s gig was downright remarkable. Watch Savoir Adore’s official video for ‘Merp’ here. L hearts Savoir Adore. Be certain to visit Savoir Adore on MySpace.
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Intimate & incredible! TMS Rating: 9/10. The Fountain is out now.
More photos, the setlist & an Echo selection AFTER THE JUMP…
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