Of Monsters and Men, Haim, & Half Moon Run at MPP on June 11, 2013

Of Monsters and Men, MPP, 6-11-13

I went to the Of Monsters and Men show (lawn tickets) with the Indie Concerts Meetup group at Merriweather Post Pavilion on Tuesday, June 11, 2013, and I had a great time.  First, I saw Sharon, but she and her friend had standing room floor tickets, so we just said hello and they went to try to get a good spot. Then I found Krystle and Scott(?), who were really fun to hang out with. Krystle I had met at an earlier Meetup. HJ, a new acquaintance, showed up late because of a trip to the emergency room for a bad cut, but she was just as music geeky as me, so we had fun chatting right before OMAM.  It was a fun social evening, in good weather, though the ground was a bit soggy from recent rain.
Half Moon Run are still cute Canadian boys, and they sounded really good, but the lighting was dim and they didn’t engage the audience much. They did mention that their album was only recently released State-side, so it’s no wonder I couldn’t find the couple songs I liked after the first time I saw them (last year, opening for Metric, I think).
Haim had a new boy-toy drummer. A brunette instead of the blond from the last show. Their energy was MUCH lower than the last time I saw them, and the state lighting was again very dim. I know they are supposed to be a great live show, but if I had only seen this performance, I would not believe it. The potty-mouthed sister was still potty-mouthed, despite the huge number of kids and tweens in the audience.
Of Monsters And Men put on a very good show, though I quickly realized that I really haven’t explored the majority of their music. Most of it was slow, and you know I am not a fan of slow music at concerts. They had much better stage lighting (and actual stage set), and their costumes were entertaining. They talked to the audience a few times, which was great – I love their accents.