Another evening of high camp and sexually-charged synth-pop courtesy of the certifiably insane Kevin Barnes, this time in the novel surroundings of the Brighton Digital- a venue so close to the sea a man could happily run into it for the princely sum of 5 British pence. I saw Of Montreal three months ago at the London Koko as this review attests, and most of what I wrote there applies here- although naturally there were a few differences…
The enticingly cosy venue forced them to scale-down the more fanciful theatrical elements, which was actually of benefit to the show- the antics involving ninjas, tigers and distressingly tight lycra all entertained/mentally scarred without distracting too much from the music. The set-list also benefited from having the Skeletal Lamping material distributed slightly more evenly, although the song choices were a touch over-conservative; I fear we‘ll never hear the likes of The Past Is A Grotesque Animal again. The major issue was the incessant sound problems, with the drummer actually chucking a keyboard across the stage in sheer frustration because his equipment didn‘t work. Thankfully it didn’t impact too much on those at the front (although a few songs sounded a bit weedy) but I’ve read that towards the back it sounded pretty awful. Their return to a five-man set-up was also slightly unfortunate, leaving them overly reliant on drum tracks again (although thankfully less so than in 2007). Nonetheless, their fine selection of Hissing Fauna material and electrifying cover of Smells Like Teen Spirit (which inspired Kevin to vigorously hurl himself into the drumkit) was worth the admission price alone, and despite my misgivings about venturing beyond Zone 6 I was at no point brutally dismembered by chainsaw-wielding yokels with a penchant for buggery. SUCCESS.
(Photo: Blimeyoriley (Flickr))
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