LIVE: Yeasayers Beat MGMT In Blogger Band War
Monday February 11, 2008 @ 02:30 PM
By: ChartAttack.com Staff

Yeasayer Photo by John Papamarko

February, 9, 2008
El Mocambo
Toronto, Ontario
By Erik Missio

It used to be music writers were the gatekeepers, the arbiters of what was cool. Sure, every once in a while, the people would step forth and christen an artist or group as the next big thing in a grassroots, groundswell kind of way. More often than not, however, it was the magazine writers and newspaper critics who'd pick their favourites early, promote and hype the hell out of them, and then let nature take its course.

The emergence of the blogosphere has changed the game, though. Increasingly, the middleman's being cut out and music fans are directly learning of artists from other music fans, posting photos and mp3s of local acts way before the media would normally get a hold of them. In most respects, this is good. MySpace becomes the great equalizer, and people can hear musicians across the continent without the group needing to secure a label, distributor or three years' worth of constant touring. On the other hand, it also means some bands get thrust in the spotlight before having a chance to properly season and can already face a backlash before releasing an album.

Currently co-headlining a string of North American dates, Yeasayer and the MGMT have both been anointed by the online music community as must-see acts. Having downloaded their singles countless times through Blogger and Blogspot, there was a healthy crowd packed into the El Mocambo. At the same time, a good portion was there to see what the fuss was all about. In other words, neither band were playing to the overwhelmingly converted. Instead, this was their chance to make good on sneak previews and win people over completely to the cause.

Having signed to Columbia, MGMT are probably the higher profile act, but on this night, the stage was owned by Yeasayer.

Taking the El mo stage at about 11, the Brooklyn-based quartet commanded attention the minute they started playing (i.e. after a long discussion with the sound guy over how much of what to have for each monitor). It's a sound that's not really TV On The Radiohead-meets-chanting, jam-outs, and Indian/Celtic sounds, but that'll do in terms of setting some sort of context.

Frontman Chris Keating sang like a man possessed, tweaking keys and knobs as his voice soared and his veins popped. Unlike many other "indie" acts, Yeasayer keeps the vocals up-front (which makes sense given that all four members contribute harmonies. You could clearly hear Keating deliver the optimism-in-the-face-of-our-planet-going-to-hell lyrics with conviction, singing like it was a matter of life or death — which, of course, it is.

Stage right, Heidi-haired guitarist Anand Wilder sounded extremely comfortable on stage. His use of a sitar emulator and various sleight of hand moves evoked tones and riffs both familiar and alien. On the other side, fretless bassist Ira Wolf Tuton (inexplicably decked out in a flowing white shirt that, with his long hair and moustache, gave the appearance of him being straight out of Nazareth) made his contribution more than competently, really cementing how tight these guys are as instrumentalists. Rounding things out, Luke Fasano's drum beats were controlled abandon, adding rhythms to pop-rock songs "Sunrise," "2080" and "No Need To Worry," and drive to the downright Sabbath-esque "Wait For The Winter."

Long story short? They're really, really good, and they're only going to get really, really better.

MGMT were by no means bad, but unable to match their opener. The band proper are Andrew Vanwyngarden (guitars, vocals) and Ben Goldwasser (keyboards), but they've wisely augmented their lineup with a touring bassist, guitarist and drummer. The move has really bolstered the band's organic sound with the drummer in particular adding a sense of urgency to the psychedelica.

Taking cues from Bowie, Bolan, Beatles and Bee Gees, MGMT's set list drew from their Oracular Spectacular debut. The highlight? "Time To Pretend," a standout, stay-in-your-head-forever single (and either the band's origin myth or mission statement, depending on your level of irony) — the type of song for which most other groups would kill. Other pieces evoked the same sort of big-time feel, but any moment a song veered a little too close to anthemic, it felt like the band self-consciously sabotaged its accessibility with extended jams.

Unlike Yeasayer's performance, lyrics were often obscured by the music, which meant the set kind of blurred together without dragging in or engaging you. It also meant the ending came as a bit of a shock. One second they were there, the next they were kind of shuffling off the stage without a goodbye (the drummer stayed for a bit to do some mic tricks and a guitar solo, but at that point, I think he was entertaining himself more than the audience).

Purposeful anti-climax to confront concert cliches? Frustration with technical difficulties? Yeah, those are the likeliest reasons for the abrupt exit. Of course, there's always a chance MGMT just realized nothing they could do that night would touch Yeasayer's performance anyway. Either way, it'll be interesting to see what the blogs say.

MGMT Photo by John Papamarko