Kevin Barnes’ indie rock outfit of Montreal are currently on the road supporting their latest record “Aureate Gloom.”
The show opened with Tallahassee swamp-rockers Surface to Air Missive who delivered an electrifying set. Starting off with the monotonous drone of “Theme” the guitar work of Taylor Ross made for an intricate live performance, with their sound heavily rooted in prog rock reminiscent of Yes.
of Montreal came on a few minutes before their 10:15 set time, with the band walking onto the stage with the ever-energetic Lanc giving a speech before introducing the man of the hour, Kevin Barnes. Launching into their energetic opening track off of their latest album, “Bassem Sabry” the theatrics were introduced early in the show with the different performers laden in different morphsuits and outfits. Visually, the band brings a strong aesthetic presence, ranging from their myriad of costumes, the transition of Barnes into his alter-ego Georgie Fruit, and even Barnes’ brother David contributing sculptures for their merch booth.
The set ranged across the band’s career, mostly playing tracks from their 2007 record “Hissing Fauna, Are You the Destroyer?” Ever-proficient, the band played a new track “Gratuitous Abysses” written while the band has been on the road this past year. With a major lineup change for the band’s 2013 album “lousy with sylvianbriar” Barnes’ new backup band was completely revamped, adding new guitarist Bennett Lewis, keyboardist Jojo Glidewell, and Clayton Rychlik on drums. However, Lewis has recently left the band following their Winter tour earlier this year to focus on solo work and has been replaced by one half of duo Yip Deceiver Nicolas “Dobby” Dobbratz filling in on guitar, bass, keyboards, and percussion.
Surface to Air Missive
of Montreal
Setlist
Lanc’s Theme
Bassem Sabry
Triumph of Disintegration
Suffer for Fashion
Empyrean Abattoir
Gratuitous Abysses
Bunny Ain’t No Kind of Rider
Id Engager
Beware Our Nubile Miscreants
Like Ashoka’s Inferno of Memory
Obsidian Currents
And I’ve Seen a Bloody Shadow
Plastis Wafer
Rave segment
The Party’s Crashing Us
Gronlandic Edit
A Sentence of Sorts in Kongsvinger
Encore:
For Our Elegant Caste
She’s a Rejecter
Heimdalsgate Like a Promethean Curse
The Past Is A Grotesque Animal