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Of Montreal Review

  • Post Author
    by Web manager
  • Post Date
    Fri Sep 23 2016

You know that feeling where you're in the middle of a staring contest, and it's been well over a minute and the pressure's on. You HAVE to win, but your eyes are getting heavier and heavier. That was the feeling the audience had all of Tuesday night at the Majestic witnessing the grandeur of Kevin Barnes and Of Montreal.

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It's difficult for me to find words to explain everything that went down that night, but I'll do my best and start from the beginning.

Walking to the show with fellow WSUMer Rolands, we discussed how the night would go. He's a seasoned veteran when it comes to Of Montreal shows, so he walked me through the basics. He felt sorry that I was seeing him 2016, instead of any time before 2008's Skeletal Lamping was released. While I definitely would have given just about anything to see “I Can't Stop,” live, I was pumped for the night ahead.

We got to the venue with just a few minutes to spare. The audience was getting awfully routy waiting for the band to go on. The lights went dark. Several of the bandmates took their places on stage in hoods masking their faces. Kevin made his way out, also in full hood. A red pentagram was displayed on the back screen, and all sorts of noises were being made.

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Then in a flash of light Kevin shed his robe and revealed a white apron/dress, red thigh-high socks, and wig, as the band started playing “It's Different For Girls”. Colors. Everywhere. The audience was in shock. Everyone started dancing. And the tone was set for the evening. Things were definitely grooving.

The show happened in a series of 5 acts, each with Kevin in a different costume, and each accompanied by some sort of shenanigans on behalf of his dance crew. The songs seemed to flow seamlessly from one to another- although with a discography as prolific as Of Montreal's it makes sense some songs might start to bleed into each other. I can't fill in all the details, because the whole night was jam packed with greatness, but I will say this:

A Ginormous rodent…

Morphsuits with breasts…

Giant inflatable penis with a trump mask.

P.S. The encore was absolutely mindblowing, flowing from “The Man Who Sold the World,” into Prince's “1999,” into “Heimdalsgate Like A Promethean Curse.” Out.

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