Wait, did I say that Mute Math needed a light show? Because MGMT really needed a light show. That Bonnaroo show I caught back in 2008 was amazing. The darkness gave them such control over the atmosphere. But Lollapalooza? Eh. Fairly good musical performance with not much to look at. For years I’ve argued against friends who said that they can’t stand MGMT live. I don’t know that I’m done defending them just yet, but I’ll definitely concede that they’re much worse off in the daylight. I will say, however, that they’d definitely improved. I get the feeling that 2008 MGMT would have floundered out there on stage rather than entertained.

So what of the music? Well, they picked three great ones to open with. “Pieces of What” kicked things off a crowd singalong that was definitely unexpected by me. Apparently their diehards really dig that song. Then we went to “Brian Eno” off their newest record Congratulations before hitting “Electric Feel.” That one was a biggie for sure. As I walked away from MGMT to go join the photographer’s line for Soundgarden, I passed a few people who were running toward the stage, one of whom yelled back to their friends “come on! This song’s the jam!”