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[title]As far as career trajectories go, it's hard to get more unconventional than MGMT. After its debut, Oracular Spectacular, made the band a chart sensation, it retreated from the special hell of having to craft a hit sophomore album by withdrawing to the left field with Congratulations, a self-consciously arty effort that elaborated upon the experimentalist tendencies of its debut while all but abandoning its commercial instincts. Those expecting rehashes of hits such as "Kids" and "Electric Feel" were instead treated to Flaming Lips--style psych odes, recalling luminaries of the genre such as Pink Floyd and Brian Eno (sample song titles: "Lady Dada's Nightmare," "I Found a Whistle," "Brian Eno").
The set at the Guggenheim last night was informed very much by the Congratulations aesthetic, with a 45-minute set that functioned as more or less an extended jam. Our photographer Loren Wohl was there to capture the weirdness. Check the photos for shots of the new Maurizio Cattelan exhibit that features a gigantic dangling horse.