BrightestYoungThings: Live DC: Of Montreal

photos: Dakota Fine

A band’s ebbs and flows can be hard to pinpoint but in Of Montreal’s case, a profound and noticeable shift occurred a few years ago. Up until then, OM were an offbeat semi-successful act flying the freak flag sewn together by the since defunct Elephant 6 collective. Its discography was spotty yet plentiful, eventually finding a breakthrough in Satanic Panic in the Attic an album which signaled a stylistic shift that incorporated a stronger sense of melody that helped to widen its audience.

After lead singer Kevin Barnes’ painful divorce and emotional breakdown, the band reemerged with a brilliant album in Hissing Fauna, Are You the Destroyer?, an infectious synth pop album that revolved around mental instability and psychosexual desires. With newfound confidence in himself and his songwriting, Barnes has helped Of Montreal’s shows go from mildly elaborate to the all out sensory explosion (well, not quite) it brought to the 9:30 club Thursday evening.

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Barnes has said that Hissing Fauna….’s second half is told through the perspective of a transgender alter ego Georgie Fruit, making it hard to predict who exactly would take the stage. As Barnes sauntered on stage in a sombrero, red patent leather flats and full face make up, it became abundantly clear. The band’s enthusiasm and good nature immediately connected itself to the audience, who rapturously received every quirk and outfit change. Dressed like extras dragged off the RKO studio lot, each member was a fully functioning member of its surreal, cartoon-like performance. Barnes smirked and strutted, hitting every pitch perfect falsetto with ease. When he proposed the come on “I just want to dance with you,” on “Id Engager” many of its teenage fans let out a shriek of delight.

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Of Montreal was in town promoting its soon to be released new album Skeletal Lamping, a record which Barnes has described as musically “all over the place” and it showed in the somewhat frenetic pacing of the evenings 1 hour and 45 minute set. At its funkiest, the songs provided the dance floor with the energy it craved. But there were segments where the audience looked famished, desperate for something, anything, to inspire it to take action. “Heimdalsgate like a Promethean Curse” was a welcome mid-set shaker, itself a rare dance track chronicling the effects of mood altering anti-depressants.

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So while Of Montreal might not have always provided its fans with something to move to, it always gave them something to look at. On this tour the band tapped 4 interpretative dancers/actors to compliment its songs with an over the top theatricality. Chronicling the exhaustive happenings on stage would provide tedious so I’ll list some of the highlights: a saloon shoot out, scantily clad bodybuilding, and a military invasion of the stage. For his part, Barnes dressed up like a member of the clergy while a scantily clad nurse washed his feet, resurrecting from a flowery coffin as a shaving cream mummy while spending a great deal of the performance in gold briefs.

Did I mention the hanging? There was a hanging.

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While there’s certainly some (read: large) element of gimmick involved, the revelry stands as a welcome additive to Of Montreal’s richly composed songs and never feels like a diversion from the music. On a night that provided more than its fair share of memorable moments, the band ended the night on a high note with “Requiem for O.M.M 2,” its wistful longing reinterpreted as a celebration.