The sold out crowd gathered at the Paradise Sunday night for the spectacle that is an Of Montreal show was treated to a high-energy, eclectic and overall wild performance. Prior to Sunday I had only read reviews, seen pictures and heard stories about the overwhelming audio and visual nature of a live Of Montreal show, and I was not disappointed.
The show kicked off around 8 P.M. with a couple of diverse openers; the first was former Berklee student Kishi Bashi, who was received extremely well by the already packed venue. Bashi’s obvious immense musical talent combined with his genius looping effects, reminiscent of Andrew Bird, provided the perfect start to the evening. Loney Dear hit the stage around 8:30, the Swedish duo was also received fairly well by the crowd but their lack of energy and stage presence provided a less exciting performance than the dynamic Kishi Bashi.
As 10:00 approached “Montreal, Montreal” chants began to fill the Paradise, as the anticipation of the crowd was clearly building. Finally, dressed as always in an elaborate array of costumes, the headliners hit the stage and the crowd exploded. As they began the show with material from their latest album “Paralytic Stalks” the 4 projector screens surrounding the stage displayed extremely psychedelic images to complement the music. The nature of the music combined with the imagery on the screens and costumes of the musicians already amazed me, however, this was only the beginning of the elaborate live performance the night had in store. Throughout the show a group of men dressed in full body suits with eye and mouth cut outs appeared on the stage to add to the experience. Whether they were hoisting lead singer Kevin Barnes on their shoulders, creating human projector screens, throwing props like balloons into the crowd or stage diving, their presence added an extra element of chaos and excitement to the show.
While some bands may create such an extravagant live experience to perhaps compensate for a lack of live musical ability, this could not be further from the truth in the case of Of Montreal. Despite the elaborate nature of the live show, Of Montreal’s unbelievably tight musical performance was impossible to overlook. Stunning harmonies, beautiful incorporation of wind instruments like the flute and saxophone as well as tight keyboard, guitar and percussion further complemented their stunning visual display.
After about 75 minutes of a crowd rocking show Of Montreal departed the stage, only to return shortly after for an even more epic encore. Their encore jam of hit song “Gronlandic Edit” was nothing short of incredible and equally as exhausting for the musicians and crowd alike. This was a show unlike any I have been to in the past and it is not one I will soon forget. Next time Of Montreal is in town I know I will be attending, and if you are a fan of a wild and fun live show experience, I recommend you do the same.
By: Taylor Chumas