There was good and bad news with arriving early to the Of Montreal at the Troubadour. The good news is we were able to secure a prime seat for great viewing of the extra sold-out show. But, the bad news was that we had to sit through the opener, The Blow, whose name proved to be a self-fulfilling prophecy.
The Blow, is not a band, but a waif-like, seemingly fragile girl, Khaela Maricich, singing and very often rambling to beats on a DAT track, that apparently were created by a mysterious man, Jona Bechtolt, also known as the other half of The Blow, who she doesn’t perform live with. If it sounds weird, it’s because it is. Maricich for half the set sings her indie girl pop-rap, into a microphone (her only visible instrument, if you can call it that) and for the other half tells the audience stories of her woes and why she wrote the songs she did. This, instead of endearing her to audience, makes the audience feel like they are her therapist and this is one big free session. The backing tracks and beats were the best thing about The Blow, so it’s too bad Bechtolt doesn’t at least get to soak up the limelight during the live set.
Of Montreal followed with an almost 2 hour set. Eric J. Lawrence, of KCRW, appropriately introduced the band to the audience by telling them, “I hope you brought your spare mind, because it’s about to be blown.” Lawrence’s description proved to be true of the band’s set, which transported the audience through an almost rock opera like experience, except without the set story per se.
Of Montreal’s live show just gets better and better. Their performances and stage theatrics are constantly one upping their last show, and this almost seems like what the band as a whole is trying to achieve. I now expect, lead singer, Kevin Barnes, to have at least one costume change during the set, but not four, the last of which at the Troubadour ended with Barnes standing on a ladder with a silver dress fitted over the ladder, making him look like a deranged wizard casting spells. The band’s set, this time, also featured screens on either side of the stage projecting odd slides, which looked like they had been discarded by their original owners and later purchased at a garage sale by a voyeuristic scavenger. The center of stage featured another larger screen showing live video of the band’s set, being filmed by camcorders operated by the guitar tech, which gave the whole set-up a very D.I.Y. feel.
As for the music. Of Montreal began the set playing songs mostly off of their new album Hissing Fauna, Are You The Destroyer? Much of the material on the newest album has a late 70s to early 80s new wave throwback sound because of the heavy synthesizers and danceability, reminding me slightly of Elvis Costello meets Roxy Music. This is a stark contrast to the 70s Psychedelia of past albums, but proves to be a welcome departure.
The first track off Hissing Fauna, “Suffer For Fashion” was by far the best new live song. It has an infectiously catchy beat and chorus that made me want to snap my fingers and dance like I was straight out of a bad 80s movie high school party scene (think Valley Girl). “She’s a Rejecter” and “Heimdalsgate Like a Promethean Curse,” the two other strongest tracks off of “Hissing Fauna” proved to be great live as well. Yet the tried and true songs, like “The Party’s Crashing Us,” “Wraith Pinned To The Mist And Other Games” and “Forecast Fascist Future” off of the last album, Sunlandic Twins still proved to be my favorite of the set. Yet, I think that the “Hissing Fauna” songs will grow on me, just give me a few more album listens and live shows.
