Wrapping things up on the Green Stage, MGMT made for a fittingly feel-good end to the festival's first night, rolling through a set alternating between bubbly radio favourites and lolling deep cuts. Jumping into their second number, "It's Working," the duo of Andrew VanWyngarden and Ben Goldwasser prompted the audience to approvingly launch a host of benign projectiles -- hats, flip-flops and toilet paper rolls -- into the night. Backed up by three additional members, and a light show infused with a Lisa Frank colour palette, the pair chatted amiably throughout the set, VanWyngarden's chirpy outbursts tempered by Goldwasser's comparative baritone.
The band moved into hit territory with their third song, the mid-aughts staple "Time to Pretend," as neon versions of their members were projected against a backdrop of throbbing technicolour eyes and undulating waves. The visuals, replete with spirograph-esque patterns, complemented MGMT's math-geek sensibility, and were punctuated by well-timed fireworks (a fortunate coincident) during a particularly inspired finale to "Weekend Wars."
Soon after, VanWyngarden picked up an acoustic guitar, leading the group in an eerily faithful cover of the Rolling Stones' "Angie," before moving into a decidedly mellow rendition of 2008's "Electric Feel." The tune earned appreciative applause and enthusiastic swaying, sentiments that the band reciprocated, thanking the masses for a warm reception at their first show since March.
MGMT closed with "Alien Days," from their forthcoming third album. VanWyngarden's announcement of the final song was met with a collective groan, most likely due to the notable absence of crowd pleaser "Kids." Still, the initially pensive number, which once again saw the singer wielding an acoustic, was accompanied by laser-beam synths and an escalating fireworks show beyond the trees, making for an appropriate close to one of the most warm and fuzzy sets of the night.
The band moved into hit territory with their third song, the mid-aughts staple "Time to Pretend," as neon versions of their members were projected against a backdrop of throbbing technicolour eyes and undulating waves. The visuals, replete with spirograph-esque patterns, complemented MGMT's math-geek sensibility, and were punctuated by well-timed fireworks (a fortunate coincident) during a particularly inspired finale to "Weekend Wars."
Soon after, VanWyngarden picked up an acoustic guitar, leading the group in an eerily faithful cover of the Rolling Stones' "Angie," before moving into a decidedly mellow rendition of 2008's "Electric Feel." The tune earned appreciative applause and enthusiastic swaying, sentiments that the band reciprocated, thanking the masses for a warm reception at their first show since March.
MGMT closed with "Alien Days," from their forthcoming third album. VanWyngarden's announcement of the final song was met with a collective groan, most likely due to the notable absence of crowd pleaser "Kids." Still, the initially pensive number, which once again saw the singer wielding an acoustic, was accompanied by laser-beam synths and an escalating fireworks show beyond the trees, making for an appropriate close to one of the most warm and fuzzy sets of the night.
