As is typical with a band supporting a new album, MGMT took to The Late Show With Stephen Colbert last night to perform a song from it on TV. They opted for single “Me And Michael” and gave the tune a trippy, retro VHS vibe with loads of pink smoke and camera effects. On its own it would have been a solid performance in service to a solid album, a move that bands on a comparable level do on a daily basis across the handful of nighttime talk shows that populate the major networks.
And then MGMT did something not typical. In a bonus performance, they offered up one of their all-timers, the ubiquitous radio smash “Electric Feel.” Colbert gave the song an intro explaining that on his old Comedy Central show, The Colbert Report, “Electric Feel” was one of the tunes that he played nightly between commercial breaks to entertain his audience, making the performance particularly special for him. The band was joined by Jon Batiste and Stay Human on the rendition, and came across as particularly generous for the action. The group has publicly grappled with their popularity since it was one of the song that propelled them to the spotlight, but appears to be more at peace with it now.
Check out MGMT performing “Me And Michael” from their latest album Little Dark Age above, and “Electric Feel” from their stone-cold classic Oracular Spectacular below.
