MGMT Mania!!!

In June 2008 my mate Kyle and I tried to get tickets to our favourite band MGMT. Knowing how popular they were, we knew our chances of getting tickets through Ticketmaster was going to be tough. It was, they sold out in about 120 seconds, we missed out. We were quite devastated, but knew that there were other ways to go out about it. So the next day we went on EBAY to see there were two tickets on there for $180 each. Without thinking twice we snapped them up. The next day our mates Mitchy and Joey did the same thing. So now it was the count-down till Wednesday December 10 when we get to see MGMT's electro-beats.



The day finally arrived, I went and got Mitchy at about 11:30am, then went to pick up Joey from work. We decided to go to the Dicky Beach Surf Club to have a few pre-drinks while we were waiting for Kyle. It was about 3 o'clock when I got a phone call from him asking if I could go get him from work. I was planning on being down in Brisbane by 4 o'clock so I had plenty of time to drink, since I was driving down. I asked him where he was and he said just past Gympie, which was atleast an hour away. I was really annoyed but had no choice to go get him because he had my ticket, so be-grudgent I hopped in Mario, stopped at the petrol station and put fifty dollars in him then sat on about 130 km/h the whole way there and back. There was not much said on the trip back, Kyle knew how angry I was at him. We flew back and picked up Joey and Mitchy then we were finally on the way to see the band I had been waiting months to see.



We found our way to our mates Blaine's apartment in the city at about 7 o'clock, this was when the first support act Tame Impala started. We scoffed down some beers then jumped in a taxi and arrived at The Tivoli at about 8 o'clock. Luke Steele (from Empire of the Sun) was warming up the crowd for the main act of the night. I took this oppurtunity to down as many vodka raspberries as I could. As it got closer to the end of Steele's set Mitchy and I got as close to the stage as possible. We were right up the front in a really good position.



They came on and it was the best live performance I have seen to this date, there sound was so raw and original. I looked around to see everyone there in awe. The second last song of their set was one of their most well known numbers, 'Electric Feel'. About half way through their song I seen someone out of the corner my jump up on the other side of the stage, it was Kyle, he had eluded one security guard and positioned himself centre stage next to the singer Andrew VanWyngarden, another security guard came on to grab him and he fended him off with an extended arm then another security guard come from the other side and escorted him off stage. This ended up being a blessing in disguise for Kyle as he watched their last song 'Kids' from side stage.

We met back up with Joey and he said that we were a chance to get into the after party as one of his friends were DJ'ing there. So Joey and I went to the Lime Hotel where it was. We explained to security that we knew the DJ, but he didnt grant us access, as we were trying everything we could to get in a white bus rocked up, it was the MGMT bus. About 10 people jumped out including the two band members VanWyngarden and Ben Goldwasser. We went to greet them as they walked towards the door, and had a little chat to them. The all went upstairs besides Goldwasser, he was standing against the wall having a cigarette, I saw this as an oppurtunity to talk to him, so I went up to him and talked to him for about five minutes, then when he went to go upstairs he asked us if we wanted to go up with him, of course we said yes. We walked in behind him giving the security a pretty rye smile. When we got through the door the cue for the elevator was very long, so Goldwasser turned to Joey and I and asked if we wanted to take the stairs. When we got to the top of the third flight we entered the outdoor rooftop party, it was like the party stopped, everyone turned and looked because Goldwasser had arrived. There were only about fifty people there, so it was pretty intimate.

The night went on and he ended up drinking Mahita's off MGMT's tab, smoking a joint with Tame Impala, we also got to meet all of the touring party and they were all great people. This was definetly the best night I have had out and probably the most surreal.