Of Montreal at the Avalon, 11-09-07
Of Montreal's performance last Friday night at the Avalon was a little disappointing to me because it was a short show in comparison to some of the others I've read about in this tour. Although the audience in front of us was as enthusiastic (some under the influence of illegal substances) as anyone could wish, the upper balcony was not full by any means.
On the other hand, I'm not sure I could have taken more of the sensory overload, and Indie Mom said she'd definitely had enough. It was as much like a three-ring circus as anything I've seen: wildly colorful and so much going on every minute that you can't possibly take it all in. Three screens broadcast enigmatic and ever-changing animations and several non-band characters crossed the stage and interacted with singer Kevin Barnes every few minutes. Cameras on long booms swooped over the crowd, and two costumed cameramen added to the chaos on stage.
I was surprised that the set started with the churning "The Past Is a Grotesque Animal," my favorite, but kind of a downer. Most of the songs were from Hissing Fauna, Are You the Destroyer, but a few new and old ones were mixed in. To tell the truth, the onstage shenanigans distracted so much from the music that I don't recall in particular how the songs sounded, although I do remember singing along to "Suffer For Fashion."
There were at least three staged fights during the course of the show, all of which end with Barnes the triumphant winner. The first was a sword fight between Barnes and a character in a fencing suit who I would guess represents the dark forces of the depression that Barnes chronicles on Hissing Fauna.
Another antagonist had a tiger's head, representing maybe natural or animalistic desires. In another confrontation, Barnes and the fencer, both in shoulder pads, passed a football back and forth. I imagine this to mean Barnes saying, "I may be wearing blue thigh-high stockings and glittery eye-shadow, but I'm still a man who can throw a pass!" The fencer ends up "dead" on the stage floor.
Near the end of the concert, the tiger-man and the fencer brought out long sticks holding large balloons and suspended them over the audience. When the balloons burst, confetti showered over the crowd. The sequence of photos for both this and the sword fight came out well enough that I turned them into animated GIF slideshows. Click the images below to view the slides.
A circus of color and movement
Like a spandex cowboy
Dottie Alexander and Kevin
BP Helium (Bryan Poole)
Dottie Alexander on the cowbell
Kevin goes crowd-surfing
A good time was had by all
Setlist:
1. The Past Is a Grotesque Animal
2. She's A Rejector
3. Oslo In the Summertime
4. Exquisite Confessions (new song)
5. Disconnect the Dots
6. We Were Born The Mutants Again With Leafling
7. October Is Eternal
8. Mingusings (recorded at Roseland, NYC, 10-13-07)
9. Gronlandic Edit
10. Cato As a Pun
11. Suffer For Fashion
12. Heimdalsgate Like a Promethean Curse (recorded at the Gypsy Tea Room, Dallas TX, 02-18-07)
13. Our Last Summer As Independents (new song)
14. Forecast Fascist Future (recorded at Roseland, NYC, 10-13-07)
15. Faberge Falls For Shuggie
MySpace | Website | Band Blog
5 comments:
You're not the only one who felt disappointed. Another blogger who'd seen the Thu Avalon show wrote:
http://rawkblog.blogspot.com/2007/11/live-of-montreal-avalon-hollywood.html
I saw the Fri Avalon show you're reviewing and felt the same. I also noticed the short set, especially since I have recordings of their other shows that go on for nearly twice as long (e.g. 28 songs). The Pomona set - which I'd decided to attend at the last minute - might have been a bit longer. The Pomona night would have been a wash were it not for meeting Bryan Poole.
For their sake, I hope that of Montreal goes easy on themselves the next time they tour. They've been on the road pretty all year day after day. When I saw their tour schedule, I was shocked and did anticipate burnout.
Oh, and thanks for the live mp3s. I've been enjoying such.
Thanks for your comments! I know what a treat it is to meet a member of a band you like. :)
I definitely agree with your review. The animation and acts going on around were interesting to look at but distracted me from actually hearing the music. I was up right in front and getting my back beaten by loads of screaming, drunk fans which also took away from the show, but the energy was exuberant. I actually got the honor of catching the set list at the end of the night which made it quite exciting. Hiding it in my pocket and making sure the coast was clear from insane fans, I unfolded it to realize I knew almost every song, but had no real recollection of when they played it or what it sounded like at the show. It was definitely hard to hear what they were playing and could only make out bits and pieces of certain songs.
Oh by the way, I met you both in line outside the Avalon!
Hi, Justin!
Thanks for finding our blog and this review! I still like Hissing Fauna a lot, and I expect it to be near the top of my Best of 2007 list.
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