Digital, 24th January 2009
A friend affiliated with Digital – the venue set for these American sensations – told me that when Of Montreal’s tour manager came to the club his initial words were: “No, no, no. This isn’t big enough for them, we’ll just have to extend the stage somehow!” This comes as no surprise from a band who have notoriously taken to entering on horseback alongside many other outlandish guises. I would soon learn that this Saturday night would be like any other for them, fantastical, over-dressed and quite possibly intoxicated.
The band, unlike many, introduced us straight into the heart of their elongated psychedelia with a song scaling all of six minutes accompanied by masked men of the eel and tiger sort. Their sound hopscotched around at such a random pace that they were catching out any audience member who tried to mime words they secretly didn’t know. The crowd seemed tranquilised rather than despondent, unsure when to dance and when to get another drink, acting like rabbits in some surrealist juggernaut’s headlights.
Subtle time changes and muscled rhythms that reeked of a group of people that have played together for quite some time and have nurtured an agreed sound of their own. Frontman Kevin Barnes – whilst oblivious to his surroundings – caught the most rapturous of tones that rang out over his equally mismatched accompaniment like some medicated choirboy at a Flaming Lips concert. With dubbed dance tracks like “Wraith Pinned to the Mist and Other Games” alongside the pop-strung “Grondalic Edit”, diversity was their ace card.
They represent all the cursedly talented music students that never quite left their graduation party, original but not hung up on their potential. This refreshingly self-assured presence is a genuine spectacle on stage and as their show only ceased after a man-pig vs man-tiger battle (backed by Nirvana’s “Smells Like Teen Spirit”), I’m sure there’s more to come.
Words by Tom sergeant
Photography by Sam Hiscox
