Of Montreal, and James Husband
April 9, 2010
The Fillmore Miami Beach at The Jackie Gleason Theater, Miami, FL
Written by Kate Dingle
Friday night, folks of all ages gathered at the Fillmore in Miami Beach for an evening of psychedelic indie pop rock with of Montreal and James Husband.
With the promise from opening act James Husband (aka of Montreal’s James Huggins) that of Montreal would be back to “melt your faces off”, the 40-minute break between acts seemed like an eternity.
When the house lights went down, concert goers were greeted by a ringmaster of sorts wearing a tiger mask. After a few moments of hyping up from the tiger man, the Athens, Ga.-based headliners took over Miami. Dressed in skirts, short shorts, and blue tights (courtesy of front man Kevin Barnes), the guys (and one girl) were caked in more makeup than a drug store cosmetics department carries. The quintet started things off with “For Our Elegant Caste” (complete with children dancing around the stage dressed in white and masks) and “Mingusings”.
As the performance progressed, so did the antics of Barnes and company. Sexually driven lyrics (”We can do it softcore if you want/But you should know I take it both ways”) were strewn throughout the entire performance as well as stories about struggle and acceptance. The tune “Beware Our Nubile Miscreants” was accompanied by a Carrie Prejean-eque animation that included her face being replaced with a skull. And a mock therapy group was staged for “And I’ve Seen A Bloody Shadow”. Other set highlights included “Cato As A Pun”, “Suffer For Fashion” and crowd favorite “She’s A Rejector”. The rockers ended the show covering “I Want You Back” by the Jackson 5.
Listeners witnessed a Michael Alig club kid-esque dance party complete with animal costumes and Druid aliens dancing around.
Going in, I wasn’t sure what to expect from the group that is not from Canada. What I got, and what most of the others in attendance should’ve gotten was a mind-blowing piece of performance rock art. Are these guys the most talented bunch? No. But what they are is a group of artists devoted to storytelling in a way that stimulates the senses. And I’m sure that many people felt stimulated.
Of Montreal’s resident jack of all trades, James Huggins, kicked things off with his recording project James Husband. Promising a “very long night of music”, the set was kicked off with the happy go lucky tune “Window”. From the beginning, it was apparent that Huggins was having issues with his acoustic guitar. “This is a ghost I’ve met before. I think Jackie Gleason is in my guitar”. After switching out instruments, he went on to treat listeners to a cover of the Buffalo Springfield classic “Out Of My Mind”.
Even though some would say the performance was a bit sleepy, the set did have its high points. With musical roots in the 60s and 70s, the 30-minute warm-up act was filled with thoughtful lyrics, head bopping melodies, and even some bellowing organs reminiscent of a Sunday church service.
Photos by Christina Mendenhall
James Husband
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