Let’s see… Kevin Barnes nearly naked, painted red, covered in shaving cream – check. Prancing Buddhas, minotaurs and mythical creatures – check. A feather-cannon, wild west barfight complete with shattering bottles landing in my cleavage- check. It was everything I had hoped for at Of Montreals whimsical and wonderfully theatrical performance at the Regency Grand Ballroom in San Francisco. As fellow photographer Todd Owyoung put it, “I could compare their show to a kaleidoscopic acid trip or some other liminal space of perception. However, there are really no words that can adequately describe what Of Montreal is doing on stage these days.”
I was especially appreciative that the band had a photo pit, and also that they allowed the photographers to shoot throughout the entire show with it’s dozen or so costume changes and different scenes. One thing that struck me was how much the band was enjoying themselves; It clearly was a joy for the band to work closely with the half-dozen performance artists (including Kevin’s brother David) that made the show the looney circus that it was.
There is a fantastic photoset on flickr capturing many irreverent and joyful backstage shots from the tour. My wish for you this holiday season is for just a tiny pinch of this kind of “Of Montreal” camaraderie and joy to make it’s way into your workplace. Can you imagine?
