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MGMT’s Halloween ‘Spectacular’

No matter how you celebrate Halloween, it’s definitely a freakshow. Last night (Oct. 31), townies and students were one in the same,showing off spooky standards (witches, zombies, and monsters, oh my!) and pop culture cornerstones ranging from PacMan to Flight of the Conchords(as robots of course) and enough dead-on celebrity train-wreckimpersonators like Brit-Brit and Wino that’d put Los Angeles to shame.Fanfare aside, the ‘kids’ really came out to cheer on MGMT at the popular college dwelling, the 40 Watt.

Despitehaving a heavy underground following in the Classic City, MGMT reliedmostly on tunes from their forthcoming Columbia label debut Oracular Spectacular.The high-spirited duo, who were just as decked out in costume as thededicated concertgoers flocked to the front, donned a less expectedpsychedelic bent, playing standouts like “Weekend Wars” and “TheYouth.” Stage-to-ceiling screens showcasing images by Athens visionaryEddie Whelan also flanked their near 40-minute set.

While theysaid very little, their dance-tastic tunes spoke volumes, surprisingthe enthusiastic array of fans with less electro-psych shuffle and moreguitar graces flowered by falsetto. That was until MGMT finally forayedwith their first single, “Time to Pretend” — an understated anthemamong inhabitants of Athens. Principal songwriters Ben Goldwasser andAndrew Vanwyngarden sang, “I’m feeling rough / I’m feeling raw / I’m inthe prime of my life,” followed by screams and an eruption of energy onthe 40 Watt floor. It was an outrageous occasion to kick off theircross-country cavorting with Of Montreal — and while MGMT is stillslowly shaping their stage craft, their vision is clear — now let’shave some fun.

We asked: On their Time to Pretend EP, MGMT shines on the track “Kids.” What was your favorite Halloween costume as a kid?