MGMT played Sony Hall's Grand Opening (pics, review, setlist, video)
New Times Square venue Sony Hall opened its doors for the first time on Tuesday night (3/27) for a Grand Opening party with musical guest MGMT. Booked by the Blue Note, they’ve aimed to bring back some of the art deco grandeur from the venue’s days as Jazz Age era club the Diamond Horseshoe — albeit with state-of-the-art sound and projection screens (see the “Sony” in Sony Hall) and lots of neon. It definitely feels like an old school ballroom, with rows of tables (Tuesday night full of VIPs) flanking the large dancefloor where folks waited for the headliners to go on.
Following a welcome from the club’s owners and a videotaped message from Sony’s president, MGMT took the stage. Well, initially just guitarist/keyboardist James Richardson took the stage, wearing a cloak and armor and playing some harpsichord/moog piece that seemed very Rick Wakeman. (Playing up the whole fantasy thing throughout, Richardson was my favorite part of the night.) When that crescendoed, the rest of the group came out and launched into the title track from their new album Little Dark Age.
MGMT’s set, very similar to the three big Brooklyn shows they’d just played, was full of theatrical moments. Andrew Vanwyngarden sang atop an exercise bike on “She Works Out Too Much,” and on “When You’re Small,” he and Ben Goldwasser sat at the edge of the stage and played mini guitars and keyboards. Fans seemed to be pretty into the new record, as they sang along to “Me and Michael” and “When You Die,”
The crowd really lit up, though, with the Oracular Spectacular jams: “Time to Pretend” (played surprisingly early in the set), “Electric Feel” and main set-closer “Kids.” The latter got an extra extended workout as Vanwyngarden, sowing his last-show-of-the-tour oats, tried to get the whole crowd to clap along (he spent what felt like five minutes attempting this), crawled around the floor and through the gear, and had people by the stage sing along. That song then morphed into a full-on cover of Limahl’s The Neverending Story theme, and then back into “Kids” for a few more choruses. While they had “Hand it Over” printed on the playlist for the encore, they actually played Oracular Spectacular deep cut “Weekend Wars.” Setlist and video from MGMT’s Sony Hall show are below and pictures from the night are in the gallery above.
If you want to check out Sony Hall this week, Mura Masa DJ’s on Friday (3/30, tickets) and the next scheduled concert is Ace Frehley on May 4. Check out the full announced schedule here.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a7o6PKrMwXk
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N0HTiMy4VuM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=llfSSBYrRSk
SETLIST: MGMT @ Sony Hall 3/27/2018
Intro
Little Dark Age
When You Die
Time to Pretend
She Works Out Too Much
Alien Days
When You’re Small
Electric Feel
James
TSLAMP
Congratulations
Me and Michael
Kids / The Never Ending Story (Limahl) / Kids
Encore:
Weekend Wars
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photos by P Squared
