In 2003, MGMT’s Andrew VanWyngarden and Benjamin Goldwasser were still calling their musical project The Management, and were years away from commercial acclaim. But on an April afternoon at Wesleyan University, the two friends set up on campus and performed a set for their peers, which included live radio sampling, a cover of Talking Heads, and an early rendition of their 2007 classic, “Kids.”
Now, footage of that performance has been posted online for the first time, giving viewers a fascinating peek into indie rock history. This past week, six previously-unseen videos of the set were uploaded to YouTube by user Rad Scientist, who said they found the footage “on an old drive” that they thought was “gone forever.”
Donning matching white shirts and silly smiles in the videos, VanWyngarden and Goldwasser really seem to be having fun with each other and the music. On “Kids,” the chorus hook and signature synth riff are present, even if the arrangement isn’t quite as worked-out as the official version that came out nearly half a decade later. A highlight moment comes during an extended instrumental break, when the two hop off the stage to have a sword-fighting-type match with large tree branch props.
Other songs in the set included: “Money to Burn,” which was later featured on their 2005 demo album Climbing to New Lows; “Funky Legal Beats,” a mash-up of radio samples and a dialysis report; “I Am One of the Smartest Apes in the World,” sung by their friend Mike; and a cover of Talking Heads’ “This Must Be the Place,” complete with Goldwasser replicating the song’s pitch-bending synth melody.
Watch the videos of the 2003 performance below.
In other MGMT news, the duo released their fifth studio album, Loss of Life, this past February. For more, revisit their conversation with Kyle Meredith about the album, old songs taking on new life, and more.