Of Montreal Ogden Theatre Sunday, November 16, 2008 Better than: Fellini's Satyricon
It's one thing to see photos and videos from Of Montreal's Skeletal Lamping tour. It's another thing entirely to witness the spectacle firsthand. Even if they released a 3-D tour film complete with scratch-and-sniff Oderama cards, it still wouldn't do it justice. The surreal factor just wouldn't be as prominent as being part of this barrage of audio/visual mind fuckery.
Photo: Jon SolomonThe bizarreness manifested itself early in the set with dancing golden buddhas and the ninjas with sparkling gold masks. A couple songs later, a few guys and gals dressed as cowboys acted out a saloon scene while the band played "She's a Rejecter." Next thing you know, a guy wearing a white tux jacket and a tiger mask ambled on stage carrying a gal wearing a bikini and pig mask, and then a dude in a tiger head got a in a fight with one of the ninjas.
The theatrics didn't play out on every song, which was good, as you needed time to digest whatever scene you'd just witnessed. The Of Montreal "players" came out every few songs dressed in different costumes, including bikinis, nude suits, animals, or wearing camouflage and ski masks and carrying machine guns. Every time the revolving platform with the screen turned around, new characters would appear. As the show went on each scene gradually got more bizarre.
Photo: Jon SolomonAbout half way through the show, Kevin Barnes sang "St. Exquisite Confessions" in a cardinal's robe, while a nun wearing fishnets strapped some girly shoes on the singer. Dude flung off the robe and sang the next few songs in his gold lame hot pants. On "And I've Seen A Bloody Shadow," Barnes and a few of the performers staged a mock hanging.
Photo: Jon SolomonDuring "Plastis Wafers," Barnes was smeared with red body paint, while his cohorts dealt out paint to some of the people near the stage. After he came out as a minotaur-type character on "Beware Our Nubile Miscreants," Barnes, covered in shaving cream, stepped out of a coffin and sang "A Sentence Of Sorts In Kongsvinger," one of the most energetic cuts of the night. A few pig heads blasted a ton of feathers into the air during the song as the buddhas danced.
Photo: Jon SolomonEveryone in the band kept the momentum flowing throughout the two-hour set by going from one song to the next without any breaks. They did stellar takes on nearly every song from Skeletal Lamping, five cuts from Hissing Fauna, Are You the Destroyer?, and knocked out killer versions of Franz Ferdinand's "Take Me Out" and Nirvana's "Smells Like Teen Spirit" for the encore.
- Jon Solomon
Critic's Notebook Personal bias: Some of that imagery is going to stick in my head for a long time. Random notes: The bassist played part of a song in crowd. By the way: The last time Of Montreal played at the Ogden was exactly a year ago. Well, almost: November 17, 2008.
Set list
Introduction Id Engager So Begins Our Alabee Triphallus, To Punctuate! She's a Rejecter For Our Elegant Caste Touched Something's Hollow An Eluardian Instance Heimdalsgate Like a Promethean Curse Gallery Piece Wraith Pinned To The Mist (And Other Games) Women's Studies Victims St. Exquisite Confessions Eros' Entropic Tundra Nonpareil Of Favor October is Eternal Wicked Wisdom Bunny Ain't No Kind of Rider Knight Rider And I've Seen A Bloody Shadow Plastis Wafers Beware Our Nubile Miscreants Mingusings A Sentence Of Sorts In Kongsvinger
Encore:
Gronlandic Edit Take Me Out Smells Like Teen Spirit