Those Crazy Kids

Of Montreal arrived with quite the Kapow! this weekend at a venue cavernous enough to accompany their newfound hugeness. The Roseland Ballroom may not be known for its awesomeness, but that didn’t stop this event from becoming the packed, ecstatic frenzy that it was. Indeed, these guys have enjoyed quite the spurt in popularity since the release of their latest album Hissing Fauna, Are You the Destroyer? Of Montreal’s fine catalog of full-lengths, eight to be exact, is packed with excellent work of all sorts, so I could say that it’s funny that their last was the one that pushed them to that next level of band bigness. Then again, despite its often somber and downright depressing subject matter, Hissing Fauna is an album so upbeat and dancey that during most of it you can’t help but bop around like a carefree teenager. Which may help to explain the strong presence of such folk at this here concert. There were tons of cute little music fans dressed up all fancy in sparkly attire, masks, and face paint. This all marks a notable difference in how one might categorize this band: back in March at Irving Plaza they were just off their latest release and played mostly these new songs to a crowd happy for their good ‘ol pals for making such a sweet record. This time at Roseland they played to a much larger throng that truly represented the spectrum of possible music fans, and they showered them all proudly with tunes from their entire catalog. These guys are psyched to be where they are, as rightly they should be.

Leader Kevin Barnes was certainly in good spirits. He’s definitely one to enjoy the spectacle, and he lost not a moment of time in dazzling the crowd with his showy flamboyance. His first outfit (oh yes, there was a costume change) involved shockingly tight red pants and a matching blouse that had some pretty, pretty ruffles dipping down the chest. Fashionable I’m sure, but that was nothing compared to the even tighter skin colored pants he later donned with simple suspenders and a heavy-looking chain necklace. The other band members were also dressed in their finest, sporting winning accessories such as angel wings and fringy cowboy booties. And the stage was their playground. Of Montreal’s new giantness allowed for a bit of fun set-wise, and so there were multiple tiers for prancing around on, and three huge screens projecting animated madness behind it all. Furthermore to this entertainment, there were also numerous moments of tomfoolery going on behind the band members themselves, including crazy ninjas fighting, a tall man in a tiger mask causing general mischief, and a bunch of other dancing crazies. It might be an odd thing to see a band such as this ascend another rung in the music world, and to then learn to share them with a whole new slew of fans, but I admire the blast they’re having and the joy they exuded to all those present. It was all good fun, and, as Barnes put it “Ninjas fucking rule!”