OF MONTREAL [Jan. 21, 2007 - San Antonio, TX]

I was planning on posting a review of this show and some pics. Unfortunately, for me, my camera is a piece and the pics turned out crappy; failing to do any justice of the spectacle known as Of Montreal's live show. Fortunately, for you, the gatekeepers of cool over at pitchfork posted some photos that manage to capture the insanity.

To say that they go "all out" live is a gross understatement. I'd heard stories of their over-the-top antics and, honestly, I had low expectations going into the show. As it turned out, they friggin' killed it. Costume-changes, enormous lobster claw, dudes wearing make up, projection screens, singer Kevin Barnes coming out on a 10ft ladder wearing a robe to cover it all up so he looked like some sort of enormous indie-rock goddess aside, Of Montreal seriously delivered the goods.

Anyone who's heard their albums can vouch for the layers upon layers of swirling sound, dizzying vocal harmonies, and caffeinated disco beats. I figured this would be nearly impossible to effectively transpose in a live setting. Not the case whatsoever. The band pranced through an hour and a half of new and older material alike; completely tearing the roof off of San Antonio's White Rabbit. They even busted out a cover of Bowie's "Moonage Daydream."

Opening the show was some D.J. whose name I can't recall but he had that 90's mash-up thing going; similar to Pittsburgh's Girl Talk. He was alright. Following that dude was New Mexico's A Hawk and a Hacksaw. This 3-piece freaked-out-folk-gypsy revival featured a dude on the accordian, a woman rockin' the fiddle, and another dude holding down the beat with a marching band style, over-the-shoulder drum "set." All their songs were instrumentals, which usually bores me a bit in the live setting. Not the case here though. They played just long enough to loosen up the indie-pop fashionistas that make up the Of Montreal fanbase.

I'd definitely reccommend checking out this show when it hits your town. I'm confident they'll stop in your area soon. They just embarked on a 3 month tour that pretty much covers every city in North America.

Of Montreal - disconnect the dots

[from Satanic Panic in the Attic - Polyvinyl Records]

Of Montreal - heimdalsgate like a promethean curse

[from (their most recent release) Hissing Fauna, You are the Destroyer - Polyvinyl Records]

[Photos courtesy of Zach Vowell @ Pitchfork. Go check out some more over here]