The Week in Gigs

By Samir Mathur
Contributing writer
Staff page


Starting today, every Monday I’ll be posting a preview of the Orlando gigs coming up in the next seven days that I’m particularly excited about. Hopefully you’ll dig the new format!

Monday – Oct 25

MGMT at Hard Rock Live (info & tickets)

Before MGMT’s second album came out earlier this year, the advance buzz was that it was a resolutely uncommercial screw-you to the fans, a complete 180 from their breakthrough ‘Oracular Spectacular’. It wasn’t. ‘Congratulations’ may lack a couple of TV/radio-friendly enormo-hits in the ‘Electric Feel’ or ‘Time to Pretend’ mould, but it’s not exactly ‘Metal Machine Music’, is it? In fact, ‘Congratulations’ is not all that different from its predecessor at all: there’s a few meandering, spacey-tunes; a couple of super-catchy, ultra-fun songs (I adore ‘Brian Eno’) and at least one slow and pretty song (‘Congratulations’ the title track). Live, expect some silly costumes, plenty of weird jamming, everyone getting confused during ‘Siberian Breaks’, and everyone – even those folks all the way back in the balcony – losing their marbles and screaming “Take only what you ne-eeeed from it” when they play ‘Kids’.



Tuesday – Oct 26

Phoenix/Wavves at the House of Blues (info & tickets)

How embarrassing. I appear to have already written about this, here.

Fake Problems at BackBooth (info & tickets) and Park Ave CDs (info)

This is the probably the only time I'll ever get to say this, but I've actually shared a stage with Fake Problems. A few years ago, my college improv troupe did a big show for charity, and we invited our pals Look Mexico to come and play with us, and they invited Naples' Fake Problems along too. How they've grown since then! Last month they put out their third record, 'Real Ghosts Caught On Tape', which is excellent and features Anne from Arrested Development on backing vocals (?). There's a folky influence, but it's still fairly straightforward, high-energy rock and roll. If you like a good bargain, go and see them earlier in the night at Park Ave CDs, buy the new album, and get a free live CD AND a free ticket to the show at BackBooth. Two CDs and two live shows for the price of one CD. Do that.

UPDATE: The show at Park Ave CDs is off, but you can still buy the band’s CD and get a free ticket for BackBooth. Still a pretty great deal.



Wednesday – Oct 27

Massive Attack/Thievery Corporation/Martina Topley-Bird at Hard Rock Live (info & tickets)

This is a power line up for dance music fans, although none of the three acts are especially danceable. Weird, that. You’ll definitely want to get there early to catch Martina Topley-Bird, whose voice has graced songs by Common, Gorillaz, Massive Attack, as well as three excellent solo albums. Then there’s the DC-based Thievery Corporation, who have been doing their thing for ages, but are mostly known for downtempo electronica, so I’m curious to see what they do in a live setting to raise the energy.

Headlining a very rare Florida date are Bristol’s Lords of Darkness themselves, Massive Attack. I’ve not followed them too closely since their album ‘Mezzanine’ blew me away when I was 15, but that album alone has earned them a lifetime pass from me. Their subsequent records, including this year’s ‘Heligoland,’ have been well-received, and judging from the guest vocalists on display on that album – Damon Albarn, Tunde Adebimpe, Guy Garvey – they still have the respect of the right people in the biz. Like I said, don’t expect too much dancing: they will bring the dark and ominous vibes to the Hard Rock. Often breathtakingly gorgeous, and accompanied by an incredible lights and visual display, but dark and ominous nonetheless. It'll be fantastic.



Saturday - Oct 30

Bad Religion at the House of Blues

I admit: I don't know much about Bad Religion, but this month's SPIN Magazine had a nice little feature on them, and more importantly, got a bunch of bands to cover Bad Religion songs. You can go here to download the compilation, which features among many others Ted Leo, Fake Problems, Tegan & Sara. At the show, expect giant riffs, lots of people in leather jackets, big singalong choruses, and a moshpit that is terrifying.