Of Montreal at The Music Hall of Williamsburg

Returning to NYC after their triumphant performance at Roseland this past October, the dancing apocalypse landed in Brooklyn this time for a three-night run of trying to cram their ten-pound floorshow onto a five-pound stage. The result: Chaos…and not the good kind they’re capable of delivering.

Seeing Of Montreal live must come with a certain understanding that their live show will vary greatly from their studio albums, trading the precision they cut on vinyl for the thrill-driven circus they’re inclined to bring to the stage. As entertaining as this can prove, and it certainly did at Roseland, it can also become a disappointing distraction from the music, as was unfortunately the case in Williamsburg.

Lacking the scale and grandness of their Roseland performance, the band’s stage show suffered greatly when confided to closer quarters. The medical term Attention Deficit Disorder aptly applies to their Wednesday night opening, which seemed incapable of settling into any kind of rhythm. Joining the band of five on the already crowded stage was a never-ending cycle of masked characters, repeating themselves time and time again in acted-out scenarios that were all but beaten into the ground by the end of the evening. If I had had to see a man in a tiger mask come out one more time to play the unexplained villain, I would have been forced to either call the zoo or buy a rifle and take up big-game hunting. Is it impossible for this band to rely on the strength of their songs, or do they so lack confidence in their work and audience that only the old lipstick-on-the-pig routine can make them comfortable in their own skin? This music requires no such dressing, and the cheapness of these robes takes away from the otherwise clever songs and articulate lyrics.

There were moments when the band demonstrated that they can be tight musicians when they want to be, which only made the times when they weren’t all the more frustrating. When they’re in their groove, “fun” and “freedom” are the words that come to mind. Steady rhythms from the bass and drums create the perfect beat to dance to while funky licks from the keyboards and guitars unlock a sex drive that’s dying to get out. The androgyny of Kevin Barnes’s vocals offers an alluring invitation to freely express yourself, the naughtier the expression the better. The music exudes an overall sexuality, teasing with moments of lingering foreplay, then building to climatic peaks that then shift and carrying on in a new position. They can go hard or soft and they seem to like it both ways.

It is only natural that the frenzied, party-inducing nature of this band should find some materialization in their stage show, but it is their music that has brought Of Montreal where they are today. I sincerely hope that they will realize this before they drizzle into a pile of over-sexed icing with no cake. - C. Jefferson Thom

Mr. Thom lives in New York City and walks dogs, writes plays, and loves dissecting pop culture.