Of Montreal Gain Steam As Show Progresses

The Opera House

Toronto, ON

on Mar 13 2007

Pras Rajagopalan (CHARTattack)

03/16/2007 10:00am

Much is always made of Of Montreal's live show, and if early reports of their current tour were any indication, there was every reason to be optimistic that the Toronto stop would offer something out of the ordinary.

After all, it was said to be a psychedelic extravaganza, complete with visuals, costume changes and unexpected covers. Plus, there was that now infamous gig in Las Vegas where band maestro Kevin Barnes decided his jams would be best served in the nude.

So it wasn't surprising that the Opera House was buzzing with a healthy level of anticipation before Of Montreal took to the stage. This was helped no doubt by the fact that it was an all-ages show, which meant there were fewer stoic crossed arms and more spirited fist pumps, which is always a good thing.

So when the ridiculously costumed band took the stage to neo-psychedelic projections, they were given a hero's welcome. The show was theirs for the taking from the get go. What should have been a triumphant start, though, was deflated by a flat performance of their first song, "Heimdalsgate Like A Promethean Curse." The tinny sound of the Opera House didn't help one bit, and the programmed beats that served as percussion sounded thin and diluted. The faithful didn't seem to mind too much, and they gave the enthusiastic, if somewhat polite, applause through the first half-dozen songs.

It was at this point that things started to turn around though, driven by the band's inspired decision to play the first four songs off 2004's Satanic Panic In The Attic in sequence. Multi-instrumentalist James Huggins relieved himself of his duties on bass to man the drums, which was a welcome change from the sterile beats of the opening songs. The caffeinated synths of "Disconnect The Dots" and the twee charm of "Lysergic Bliss" were easily two of the best songs of the night. They were also responsible for the audience's transition from a loose collection of good natured shufflers to a full-on sea of frenzied pogoing bodies.

It's funny how, by that point, the mediocre sound quality didn't seem to be too much of a concern. The band, picking up on the increased fervour of the audience, stepped it up themselves. If they missed the odd note, no-one seemed to care, what with Barnes demonstrating his best diva strut and guitarist Bryan Poole bouncing around the stage with newfound vigour. On "Oslo In The Summertime," keyboardist Dottie Alexander, beaming ear to ear, passed a Norwegian flag out to eager hands in the front row. The kids then nearly took out Alexander's eye with some comically inept flag-waving.

But the cross-dressing, make-up wearing Barnes was the centre of attention, and as the night progressed, his natural inclination to be a performer was becoming more and more apparent. What appeared at first to be a businesslike set turned into a bit of a party, and he started to get more and more vocal in between songs.

"We tour a lot and sometimes we just like to watch TV after a show," said Barnes as the quintet returned to the stage for the encore. "But tonight we want to party! So if someone wants to hook us up with some party to go to it'll be great, especially because I'm on antidepressants and my inhibitions are lowered."

They then promptly launched into straight up power pop interpretations of three Ziggy Stardust favourites — "Starman," "Hang On To Yourself" and "Suffragette City," before concluding with a winning rendition of "The Party's Crashing Us," which prompted bouts of body surfing and a couple of stage invasions by overwhelmed fans.

"Thank you guys so much," exclaimed a giddy Barnes at the end of the set. "This is the most fun I've had in Toronto ever."

This was a show where audience and performer really did feed off each other to create a remarkable atmosphere that didn't require gossip-worthy incidents to be memorable. Besides, I didn't really need to see Kevin Barnes' kibbles and bits anyway.

Here's the set list:

"Heimdalsgate Like A Promethean Curse"
"So Begins Our Alabee"
"Suffer For Fashion"
"Sink The Seine"
"Cato As A Pun"
"Bunny Ain't No Kind Of Rider"
"Disconnect The Dots"
"Lysergic Bliss"
"Will You Come And Fetch Me"
"My British Tour Diary"
"Vegan In Furs"
"She's A Rejecter"
"I Was Never Young"
"Gronlandic Edit"
"Oslo In The Summertime"
"Rapture Rapes The Muses"
"Starman" (David Bowie cover)
"Hang On To Yourself" (David Bowie cover)
"Suffragette City" (David Bowie cover)
"The Party's Crashing Us"