 |
|
|
Of Montreal at Magic Stick 3/14/07 by Nick Meador
About halfway through Of Montreal’s set, Kevin Barnes proclaimed, “You know what I like about Detroit? It’s pretty hard core, working class, but you guys are pretty laid-back about it.” His observation was accurate, but the majority of the audience was probably from the suburbs of Detroit, and not the city itself. That said, the Majestic Complex (including the Magic Stick, the bowling alley and pizza café downstairs, and Majestic Theatre next door) is one of the most soft-core places in Detroit. The Stick is nestled in the steadily improving Midtown area on Woodward Ave, and has become my favorite locale for live music in Michigan. So it was awesome to come back after not visiting for over a year. The venue took a while to fill up, and even as the show started I was surprised at how empty the place looked. After all, this was a sold out show. It sold out so quickly that they scheduled a second show for Sunday, March 18 — first at the Magic Stick, but then it was moved to the bigger Majestic Theatre. So Detroit is the only city on their tour to get two shows. That’s good for Detroit, but it’s probably because the Magic Stick is smaller than most venues on their tour. The show was all ages too, so the place probably looked less crowded because there were many teenagers in attendance, and they are shorter on average than adults. After the band offered their song “Wraith Pinned To The Mist & Other Games” for an Outback Steakhouse commercial, they claimed that it would allow them to do far more adventurous things on their upcoming tour. That didn’t exactly prove to be true, though, since the stage was simply decorated with a video screen behind the band. When the band took the stage — it’s situated in the corner of the room, a few feet off the ground — I realized that I don’t like the Magic Stick as much as I used to. The atmosphere is still top notch, but there are many things hindering the concert-going experience. First, there are many large poles in the standing area. One of those poles is right in front of the stage’s right side, almost completely blocking the crowd’s view of the keyboard player (and vice-versa). Second, the stage is not high enough off the ground. I’ve been to small venues where the stage is still 4 or 5 feet off the ground (like St. Andrews in Detroit, or Schuba’s in Chicago). The band needs to be high enough off the ground to be seen by most people in the crowd. I felt bad for the 4’11” girl standing next to me. Finally (and this isn’t really specific to the Magic Stick), I left the concert smelling like a human cigarette. I hope to God that Michigan will enter the 21st century sometime soon, and start banning smoking in public places. I also hope that people will realize how insanely idiotic smoking is, and that it’s a tool for corporations to deliver nicotine (and thousands of other chemicals) into their bodies — but I doubt that will ever happen. But I digress. Of Montreal was incredible on stage. Lead man Kevin Barnes had sparkly make-up on, and the lead guitar player wore pink wings. They played almost every song from their new album, Hissing Fauna, Are You The Destroyer? — all except the 12-minute-long “The Past Is A Grotesque Animal.” This was highly rewarding, since the album is not as easy to absorb as others by them. The live performance shed new light on the complex songs, making it easier to identify with the psychological journey that Barnes underwent. Upbeat songs like “Heimdalsgate Like A Promethean Curse” had everyone jumping enough to make the floor bounce. Before “Faberge Falls For Shuggie,” Barnes said, “This is the sluttiest song we know.” They also played some older gems, including “Rapture Rapes The Muses” and “This Party’s Crashing Me.” The band included two very surprising covers as well. The first was “Tropical Iceland” by the Fiery Furnaces, with a short teaser from “And She Was” by the Talking Heads. Then, in the third song of their encore, they played “Suffragette City” by David Bowie! This drew an important link in my mind between Barnes and Ziggy Stardust (Bowie’s early ‘70s alter ego) that I hadn’t yet realized. I feel like bands don’t play covers anymore, no matter if their own material is impressive or not. But when a band like Of Montreal — who has dozens of incredible songs of their own — decides to play a few covers, that is a sign of humility. Where some people would say that’s “uncool,” I say it made the show unforgettable. Throughout the show, the video screen displayed moving images most likely created by David Barnes (Kevin’s brother, who does the artwork for their albums). At one point, Barnes climbed a ladder with a huge wizard costume attached, making him appear to be a 10-foot-tall monster on stage. Barnes’ simultaneous genius of musical creation, effortless stage presence, and complete absence of pretentiousness make him a favorite personality in the indie music landscape for many. And although I’d rather see them at a bigger theatre, or even outdoors (like Lollapalooza 2006, where they drew one of the biggest and rowdiest crowds of any small stage act), this show was worth the 1.5 hour drive from East Lansing through a dangerous storm of rain and snow. (Note – the following videos were taken with my digital camera, not a video camera. Therefore the picture quality is low, and they are provided mostly as audio samples of the show.) |
|
||