Canadians at KOKO

Watching Of Montreal perform is not just a musical experience. It is like watching a very bizarre story unfold against a backdrop of lights and music. The show included elaborate costumes and choreographed interactions between the characters - although if there was supposed to be a coherent narrative, I was certainly not picking up on it. The setting helped to accentuate the narrative aspect of the show as the KOKO is an old theatre and they were clearly playing on a theatrical stage.

The whole thing was kind of surreal. Swirling colors of light, cool crazy costumes, lots of fish-like creatures, spandex, guns, gas masks, it almost seemed like there was kind of a theme or message in it all while at the same time it seemed purely spectacle. Behind all the dazzle there seemed to be darkness, kind of like a crazy LSD trip with premonitions of war and a grotesque future.

Since there were 3 bars in the venue people were quite sloshed for the show as well as very excited to see Of Montreal perform in person. This enthusiasm had different effects on different people as some watched more leisurely from balconies while others on the floor near the front started dancing in a mosh-like way - hurling themselves about in their overly enthusiastic jump-dancing while holding little regard for the safety or personal space of nearby people. I ended up in this area at one point (right in front of the jumping person in the above picture) and found myself quite distracted from the music as I found myself having to brace myself against people raucously hurling themselves into me. There were only a few people out of control but they were able to cover a good deal of ground with their flailing, and I found myself throwing elbows whenever they came hurtling by so that I wouldn't be jostled so violently.

The main singer changed costumes a couple times, wore lots of skirts, and interacted the most with the non-musical, costumed elements. Multiple times the guitarist went into the crowd and spandex body suit clad creaturesque people went crowd surfing a  number of times, although they were dropped on multiple occasions by a distracted and overly dancey audience. Both the show and the audience seemed very spastic. Well the front section of audience - further in the back and in the boxes and balconies people were much more reserved in their appreciation of the show.

Most of the songs they preformed were from their new album, which is ok but the crowd, including myself, favored their old stuff better. This was evident in the increased jumping and shout-singing along when they broke out in one of their older pieces. Of Montreal must be aware of this as their confetti accompanied finale was one of their old songs. I enjoyed the show immensely but must say, I thought it would be even more peculiar based on their reputation for absurdity. Also, while the front of the floor was quite thrilling being surrounded by true die hard fans who were getting really into it, I think I preferred the middle section where people were excited, but not out of control.

Lauralyn Curry-Leech