Andy’s Half-Assed Attempt to Convince You to go See of Montreal
Of Montreal Live @ Neumos
Wednesday, November 6, 2013
By Andy Bookwalter
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The last (and first) time I saw of Montreal we were in the balcony at Seattle’s Paramount Theater. The sound was kind of muddy, I didn’t really know the music very well, and what I did know had been rewritten and used over and over again in an ad for Outback Steakhouse.
On the other hand, Kevin Barnes writes great pop songs in whatever genre he happens to be enamored with at that very second. So if you’re a hack music writer using YouTube on Sunday morning to write a preview that was due Saturday night you still can’t be lazy, because if you (I) just listen to a couple of songs and write about Barnes’ glam pop with country sprinkles on top you (I) will sound like an idiot.
of Montreal’s eleven albums in sixteen years are all over the map, possibly tending towards the swirly poppy psychedelicky glammy synthy stuff. On the other hand, here’s a video of them doing justice to White Stripes “Fell In Love With A Girl”:
And more indicative of the recent record is “Fugitve Air” (Warning: This one contains brief flashes of rock star wang):
Likewise, people who like elaborate staging, inflatable costumes, showgirl-quality choreography, and lots and lots of glitter (real and/or implied) have already been seeing of Montreal live forever. Seeing the big live show at Neumos this week promises to be a treat. of Montreal plays on Wednesday, November 6 in support of their just-released record Lousy with Syvianbriar, which, along with the usual CD, digital files, and colored vinyl versions can be bought on cassette. Cassette? Who the hell even makes cassettes any more? Did Barnes have to dub each one individually on a boom box in the rec room? (possibly, yes!)
Opening on Wednesday is La Luz, a great all-girl surf-rock band who stood out at the Capitol Hill Block Party earlier this year. They’re actually playing this entire leg of of Montreal’s tour, which is great news for the local band.