Before heading off to Richard’s on Wednesday night, I decided that I should do a bit of tappity-tapping on the good ol’ interweb to see what’s what in the world of Of Montreal. As it turns out, their current success is being both praised and despised due to an incident in which Kevin Bairnes sold the rights to “Wraith Pinned to the Mist and Other Games” to Outback Steakhouse. Reports stated that Bairnes later regretted the sale, and that it had all boiled down to being hopped up on anti-depressants at the time.
I arrived just in time to hear Vancouver’s own vinyl sweetheart Trevor Risk wrapping up his set. Nice, but this trend of Dick’s-on-Dicks showcasing local DJs as the opening act of their concerts is mildly disheartening. None the less, Mr. Risk did an excellent job of fluffing the audience for the main act. There was a strange crew at Richard’s that evening, which included several girls who were dressed for the Plaza on a Friday night. I briefly wondered if they had heard of Of Montreal from the steak house commercial.
When I first listened to Hissing Fauna, Are You the Destroyer? I thought it sounded like over-produced, 80s radio, pseudo glam-rock rip-offs, but I quickly forgot all that once the band took the stage. In fact, it took me several songs to realize that there were no drums (although others, I am told, did notice, and were not too impressed). The band wore a sparkle-tastic array of costumes, looking as though they had dressed this way more for their own pleasure than in any attempt to show off to the crowd. Bairnes treated the audience members as well-received dinner guests, and he was simply so pleased they were having a lovely time. The show was energetic and lovely but part way through I couldn’t help but crave a little less glam-rock, and a little more “Mimi Merlot”. Thankfully, there was only one pretend encore, including the hipster cherry on the sundae at the end of the night, when a cowbell was brought out for the last two songs. Who doesn’t love a cowbell? I left the show with pleasant feelings and a beautiful t-shirt. All in all, a stand-up night.
