It’s been six months since I had the pleasure of speaking with James Richardson, lead guitarist for MGMT. Since our brief chat at the Bottom of the Hill a few things have changed. One is obvious – he no longer plays the drums. Perhaps his impromptu performance of Zeppelin’s “The Ocean” caught founding members Ben Goldwasser and Andrew VanWyngarden’s eyes. Who knows – I didn’t pry, I was just trying not to get kicked out of BFD 2008’s backstage, lest someone find out I had no press pass and was only there because I had the dumb luck of being in the same high school jazz band as James.

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The lineup for Lollapolooza has been confirmed, and it looks like Perry Ferrel & Co. have thrown down the gauntlet, basically taking the Outside Lands Festival lineup, trimming some of the MoR-friendly fat, and mixing in more talent.

Word that Radiohead, Nine Inch Nails, Rage Against the Machine, The Raconteurs, Wilco and Kanye West would headline the six-day festival in Chicago’s Grant Park came a few days ago. The full lineup was announced today after being leaked by Jim DeRogatis of the Chicago Sun-Times (who Ferrell has since dubbed “Pepe le Pew”).

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The Vague Panther attended the MGMT show at Bottom of the Hill for three reasons:

1. Sex
2. Drugs
3. Rock n Roll

Yeah, it was a night of great expectations. Not to mention the fact that the Vague Pather’s old friend, the musical genius that is James Richardson, plays drums for MGMT. Ok maybe the term “friend” is a little misleading, but we used to jam all the time in high school jazz band. And, after a couple hours of stalking on facebook it was official – we were friends (qualifier: played in jazz band together) again.

Sure, it’s a little shameless. But never have I felt more in the know then when I stepped squarely up to the front of the line at Bottom of the Hill, passed the obligatory hipsters with tight black jeans, and confidently stated “I’m on the list.” Plus, I was pretty sure that in less than an hour I would be called up on stage to play rhythm guitar during the Electric Feel and subsequently asked about my availability for the rest of the tour.

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