Image by Natasha Ryan
Of Montreal bring glam, glitter, and a horse to New York City
October 10, 2008 at Roseland Ballroom
By Eleanor Whitney
Published: October 13th, 2008 | 12:00pm
Athens, Georgia–based Of Montreal turned the cavernous Roseland Ballroom into the site of an epic, disco-fueled glam rock spectacle. After an energetic opening set by Swedish pop-rockers Love Is All, the stage was prepared for rock theatrics with two drum platforms, two platforms for the guitar and keyboard players, and amplifiers covered with pink shag.
And theatrics were what Of Montreal delivered. Backed by a pulsing electronic beat, a gold, curtained sarcophagus appeared on stage, borne by four mask-clad figures draped in gold lamé. Kevin Barnes, Of Montreal’s charismatic lead singer, nonchalantly emerged from the box wearing a mariachi-turned-matador outfit. The sarcophagus bearers morphed into black clad, writhing ninjas complete with gold facemasks, as the band began “Id Engager” from its new release, Skeletal Lamping (Polyvinyl). The rest of the band was also costume-clad, most notably the keyboard player in a tutu and one of the drummers in a cowboy outfit.
Throughout the set there seemed to be two distinct activities taking place on stage: the band played straightforward, high energy, indie-rock-infused dance music, while the dancers presented frenetic pieces of Broadway-inflected performance art. During different songs, the dancers acted out an Old West saloon scene, morphed into camouflaged guerilla fighters, sprinkled the stage with glitter, donned animal costumes, and sported oversized papier-mâché limbs. Barnes was often impervious to the contortions, dramas, and costume changes of the dancers and concentrated on the delivery of his fast paced and often quirky lyrics.
Of Montreal played crowd favorites from its release Hissing Fauna, Are You the Destroyer? (Polyvinyl), including “Heimsdalsgate Like a Promethean Curse,” which prompted the audience to sing along raucously before bursting into wild applause. Throughout the set, Barnes methodically stripped off his costume, finally trading his cherry red shoes for gold sandals and a red, pope-like robe. The robe, however, soon came off, revealing Barnes in nothing more than gold hot pants and an iridescent purple belt, which became his preferred outfit for the remainder of the set.
In the midst of the electronic-infused “St. Exquisite’s Confessions,” a bewildered, but calm white horse was lead on stage. Barnes mounted the horse and sensuously stroked its mane while crooning, “You better keep my secrets.” No one could quite believe their eyes.
The overloaded, glam-infused spectacle continued, and even included a mock execution, after which Barnes was revived, and a Dionysian-style revelry featured Barnes as a centaur. While most of the crowd followed enthusiastically, others shook their heads in disbelief. Indeed, the band was strongest during the songs that were unfettered by complex and tangential theatrics. The musicians were confident and collected throughout the set and the songs were catchy enough to stand on their own without props and backup dancers.
The hour-and-a-half set felt overly long by the time Of Montreal, in its grand finale, brought out spangled leaf blowers that showered the crowd with feathers and glitter while Barnes writhed onstage, covered in a shaving cream–like substance. As an encore, the band traded glitter for grunge and played a very glammed-up version of “Smells Like Teen Spirit,” followed by the disco-funk-influenced “Gronlandic Edit.” Barnes struck one more dramatic pose looking back at the crowd as the set ended. It only lacked the closing of a velvet curtain.
Issue #33
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