Of Montreal

Ariel Pink

El Rey - January 26, 2007

Live Review by Adam McKibbin

With a brilliant new album fresh on fans’ speakers and a sold-out crowd awaiting the first of three nights of grand unveiling in L.A., Of Montreal seemed to have momentum on their side.  But by the time they took the stage at the El Rey, they were facing an uphill climb—and their first few songs just slid them further backwards.

The initial problem was never discussed—on stage, at least (there was plenty of grumbling out in the audience).  Left short-handed after Enon pulled out of their opening slot, Of Montreal were preceded by an awkward, amateurish set from DJ Franky Chan and an intermittently terrible performance from Ariel Pink, who was answered with a resounding “No!” from the crowd when he mentioned playing for ten more minutes.  He and his band looked and played like they didn’t give a shit, and, lo and behold, they mostly sounded like shit.  They also looked like they thought they were pretty cool and avant-garde; lo and behold, they were not.  One discussion in the audience centered around means of improving the set; desperate suggestions included handing out glowsticks (“I’ve sure never wished for that before”) and adding the dancing Bosstone to the band.

By the time Kevin Barnes and Of Montreal took the stage, the audience was low on energy and starved for melody and entertainment.  The waters were choppy to start, but things got better once Barnes copped to the problem, apologizing for the slow start by explaining that he “took too much.”  Ah.  All was easily forgiven once the band began hitting its stride, showcasing the bulk of the new Hissing Fauna, Are You The Destroyer?, as well as most of the expected selections from their past two records, Satanic Panic in the Attack and The Sunlandic Twins.  The sole break in the party jams came with an abbreviated and well-placed cover of Neil Young’s “Harvest Moon.”

While the past two albums produced the most euphoria, Hissing Fauna was very received for an album that had only come out a few days earlier.  They played through most of the album (among the omissions: the 12-minute voyage “The Past is a Grotesque Animal”), and “Heimdalsgate Like a Promethean Curse” and “Suffer for Fashion,” which have been getting some early airplay, both seemed like instant staples.  A more surprise pleaser was “She’s a Rejector,” which actually made more of an impression live than on record, thanks to a bigger climax that featured Barnes getting wild with the guitar riff that anchors the song.

After his stumble out of the gates, Barnes gave the sort of star performance that Of Montreal fans have come to expect—easily gliding along his ample vocal range, and showcasing his increasingly impressive collection of masterful melodies and ludicrous outfits.  If The Flaming Lips decide to stop throwing Everybody’s Favorite Party each night on tour, Of Montreal—with a little more attention to stagecraft—would be a natural successor to the throne (and are currently writing better songs by a substantial margin).  Both Barnes and Wayne Coyne have ulterior motives with their impossibly bright and festive songs; Coyne is more universal with his themes, but even when Barnes is at his most specific—singing about some very personal trying times throughout Hissing Fauna—he engages the audience in such a way that the music provides a needed release for performer and observer alike.