In October, Of Montreal put on one of the wildest – and best – shows I have ever seen. The Georgia band played the Paramount Theater, a venue in Seattle that can really show off a theatrical, musical event. It was a great location for the spectacle Of Montreal threw at me.
I had been hearing there were puppets in the show, and I had no idea what form these puppets might take. Would they be marionettes? Would they be hand puppets? What would they be? Turns out they took the form of futuristic, evil looking giant mosquitoes with guns, strange pajama-clad beings with oversized heads, and dancing pigs who were eaten or cavorted with. The whole performance was an original, eye-opening work of art.
Of Montreal is loveable, talented and also photogenic. Most of the band members wore white outfits of varying themes, though it seemed a nautical theme was the predominant choice. Singer Kevin Barnes initially came out onstage in nylons, polka dotted apron, blue top and striped jacket. Barnes has great legs, and pulled this outfit off with no problem – as he accomplished in his mini skirt he wore later in the show. As a live band, Of Montreal kept the energy high and bouncy through their danceable songs, and when they brought things down for the gorgeous “Casualty of You” (You’ve ruined me/You’re a terrorist) it was just as compelling. Other songs I really got into, and the rest of the audience hopped along during, were “For Our Elegant Castle” (We can do it softcore if you want/But you should know I take it both ways), “She’s a Rejecter” (There’s the girl that left me bitter/Want to pay some other girl/To just walk up to her and hit her), “Suffer for Fashion” (with its exquisite bass and lyrics, if we got to burn out let’s do it together), “Girl Named Hello,” “Plastic Wafers” (I want you to be my pleasure puss), “Heimdalsgate Like a Promethean Curse,” “Gronlandic Edit,” “A Sentence of Sorts in Konsgvinger” (I spent the winter on the verge of a total breakdown/While living in Norway), “Our Riotous Defects,” “Coquet Coquette,” “Like a Tourist” and “Sex Karma”. Also included was “The Party’s Crashing Us” – one I am not sure I’d want to live without.
The music and performance combined as an exotic cavalcade of depth and glory. Of Montreal ended the show with a Michael Jackson medley including “Thriller,” “Wanna Be Startin’ Something” and “P.Y.T.” – amazing. My photos are mostly in sequence, as the show happened, except the first shot:
Of Montreal – all photos by Dagmar
