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SFist hit on Of Montreal’s aesthetic nicely when they interviewed Kevin Barnes back in January, as the singer acknowledged part of his band’s appeal: “we’re naturally inclined to let the freak flag fly.” This penchant for flamboyant originality materialized itself on Oscar night, as Kevin appeared onstage in full-bridal regalia, marrying himself to the sold-out crowd. And it never let up, as the 5-piece OM went off on a drum-themed tangent enlisting help from (excellent opener) The M’s Josh Chicione, played up “The Final Countdown,” and made decreasingly sensible costume changes. (Kevin opted for a gold lamé shirt with huge shoulder pads and then a vinyl slicker despite rising Middle East Downstairs temperatures.)
The other part of OM’s appeal is that theirs are outrageously solid songs. The entertaining originality of costume changes and banter are mere compliments to criminally perfect rock music. Barnes’ songs cause listeners to smack our heads and wonder how he so effortlessly picks prime melodies out of the air. Like the butterfly hanging from his Gibson headstock suggests, there is still beauty out there to be netted.
Playing “Forecast Fascist Future” and “So Begins Our Alabee” back-to-back drove this point home effectively, as the all-aged kids and non-drinkers on the floor were fevered by the tunes’ infectious design. With nearly all the material coming from Satanic Panic in the Attic and The Sunlandic Twins, the most popular were the most energetic—opener “Rapture Rapes the Muses,” and just about everything off of Sunlandic Twins up to set closer “The Party’s Crashing Us.” (The latter is their favorite to play and a Bostonist favorite for the lines Oh well we made love like a pair of black wizards/You freed me from the past/You f*cked the suburbs out of me.)
Some newer material confirmed what KB told Bostonist in February, and songs from Satanic Panic, like “My British Tour Diary” in the encore, rounded out the show and kept the crowd sweating and singing.
Boston has embraced Of Montreal’s eccentricities because of the substantial quality that Kevin Barnes continues to deliver. Why tour with two Rickenbacker basses? Because some songs need two!
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