 "Photo: Courtesy Photo")
Just when students were expecting another low-level hip-hop concert, SCOPE sent shockwaves through Durham with the announcement of their Spring Climax show: MGMT, the popular musical duo from Brooklyn consisting of Ben Goldwasser and Andrew VanWyngarden known for such hits as, "Time to Pretend," "Electric Feel" and "Kids."
The show will be Friday, April 30 at 8 p.m. in the Field House. Tickets go on sale tomorrow, March 10, at the MUB ticket office at 9:45 a.m. An opening act has not yet been announced.
"We had tons of requests all year for MGMT, and we battled with them and came out victorious," SCOPE's Publicity Director Krysty Pringle said. "They haven't toured in two or three years so we're very excited to have them for our Spring Climax.
"They [MGMT] wanted to play a smaller, intimate venue," Pringle said about the decision to have the concert in the Field House, as opposed to the larger Whittemore Center Arena. "They've been playing shows of 3,000 people or less on their tours so we tried to accommodate that."
Tickets will cost $15 for students and $36 for all others. Students may purchase up to three tickets at a time, but they must have student IDs for each student ticket they hope to purchase.
"MGMT brings a lot of hype, a lot of energy," Pringle said, "And they usually play three-day festivals so it's incredible to have MGMT for one night at $15 per student."
SCOPE will also have the student radio station, WUNH 91.3 Durham, playing while students wait in line tomorrow morning because the Morning Hangover show will be giving away two tickets live on the show from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m.
The band's only studio album, Oracular Spectacular, was released in January 2008 and immediately became popular in a variety of music circles. The concert in Durham will be one of MGMT's first shows after their anticipated second studio album, Congratulations, is released on April 13.
Their psychedelic rock anthems and synthesizing pop songs attract a diverse audience, which is exactly what SCOPE was looking for when they signed them.
Jared Dobson, executive director of SCOPE, said that after the Akon show in the fall, SCOPE was trying to hit another genre of music in order to connect with the biggest cross-section of the student body as possible.
So far, the feedback has been mostly positive.
"I'm so excited," senior Rebecca Misra said. "They're such a fun band to listen to and I feel like a lot of people from all different genres like MGMT. It's not just for the hipsters or other specific groups of people."
Pringle also said there have been many encouraging comments on SCOPE's Facebook page and the organization's website.
"To be honest, I didn't know who they were but my roommate and I Googled them and found that we actually like a bunch of their songs," sophomore foreign language major Athina Simolaris said.
However, not all students are excited.
"I don't really know them," senior English teaching major Chantel Sheets said of MGMT. "I went to Brand New but that's about the only [SCOPE] show I've been to."
Pringle said SCOPE always expects some disappointment from students though, and they aren't deterred by negativity.
"We know we can't please 12,000 people with every show," Pringle said, "But we've had a lot of good feedback [about MGMT] on our Facebook page and our website."
Pringle said SCOPE might have enough money left in their budget to bring one final performer to campus, but that possibility still has yet to be determined.
MGMT was nominated for two Grammy awards this year, one for Best New Artist and another for Best Pop Performance for their song, "Kids," and their songs have been featured in popular movies and TV shows including "21," "Whip It" and "Gossip Girl."
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