Photo by preamble
Who’d win in a fight between a tiger and a cockatoo? It’s the type of conversation you might hear down the pub after a few too many beers. However, this and many more questions are answered in technicolour style by Kevin Barnes and Of Montreal at Koko. The evening began in contrasting drab fashion, with Eugene McGuinness twanging away on Koko’s grandiose stage. I was expecting more given the hype, but the set seemed to consist of sub-Arctics quick-slow musings.
Following a cracking little set from the inter-band DJ (Roxy, Tom Tom Club, OMD) Of Montreal took to the stage, Barnes looking like a cross between Adam Ant and the genie from Aladdin. Better still was the guitarist, bedecked like a long-overdue extra from The Flintstones. Sadly there was no Godiva-esque entrance on a white horse, but there were theatrics aplenty to come.
Shooting off with Id Engager, the band got through most of Skeletal Lamping before the night was out. Unfortunately the live show mirrored the problems of the record. By the second half things were dragging, the band seeming to lose the focus and drive that propelled them through the first half-dozen songs. Some of this must be attributed to the ever-present theatrics. On the one hand, a welcome respite from the standard band-instruments-audience triumvirate; on the other frustratingly disrupting the flow of the band.
There were however, some interesting set pieces. The pose-able quartet, manipulated into position by Barnes was particularly effective. Most are lost on me though, halfway back from the stage I simply can’t see the floor of the stage! Too many of the songs had been spun out into long instrumental sections whilst Barnes went through another costume change. Of course, there were spots of pure inspiration.
Heimdalsgate… and Women’s Studies Victims are particularly good, and the band has a talent for overlaying melody on top of hypnotic groove. But, as the band headed off between set and encore I’m left feeling that something special was going to be needed to elevate the performance beyond the patchy showing so far. In the main the crowd are loving it, maybe it was the bright colours and loud noises, the ADHD generation lapping up the kaleidoscopic free-for-all onstage.
Gronlandic Edit arrived too late to redeem the overall experience, and even a gutsy and entertaining (if a little by rote) cover of Smells Like Teen Spirit only briefly sets the fires burning. I leave Koko with the feeling that Of Montreal should be applauded for attempting to bring some showmanship back to live music performance. Kevin Barnes is an unabashed popstar, drawing attention in every action and hip-shake. However it’s a reach too far, the whole affair comes across as a glorious, messy shambles. Oh, and somewhat unsurprisingly, the tiger won.
Of Montreal – Women’s Studies Victims
