Seeing bands perform live music can be rewarding–the subtle differences in arrangement, the inability to dub over and redo, the immediacy, the intimacy. However, more often than not, live performances consist of a few people playing their instruments, reconstructing songs they’ve written for a group of fans. If that sounds mundane, it’s because it certainly can be. Then, there are bands like of Montreal–bands that redefine everything we know about live music. The band’s shows feature wild costumes (or the lack thereof), insane stage antics, light projections, and confetti cannons. Of course, all of this is made possible by the tirelessly upbeat, shimmering pop music created by the band.
Most notable about of Montreal’s performance at Mohawk on Friday night included the addition of new members and the performance of songs from the bands most recent (and significantly divergent) album Lousy With Sylvianbriar. Live cuts culled from that album included lead single “Fugitive Air” as well as “Belle Glade Missionaries” and “Raindrop In My Skull.” Although frontman Kevin Barnes and his crew did perform a plethora of songs from the group’s catalogue such as Hissing Fauna favorites “Heimdalsgate Like a Promethean Curse” and “She’s A Rejector.” Also incorporated into the set was a beautiful, stripped down three-part harmony that seems to be newly concocted and features the voice of drummer Clayton Rychlik and the lovely vocals of multi-instrumentalist Rebecca Cash.
Outside of the new songs, of Montreal’s set delivered the usual yet still amazing visual spectacle we’ve come to expect including towering winged creatures illuminated with projectors, skeletal beings, Kevin Barnes ultimately being partially disrobed, and triumphant set-ending crowd surfing by spandex-clad, disguised figures. of Montreal has been to Austin something like three times in the last year and they continue to sell-out shows. And often, I see the same fans packed into the crowd, standing center stage. of Montreal’s show is too stimulating to tire, and if you haven’t seen it, you need to.
