Of Montreal / Video Nasties / The Strange Death of Liberal England

Having not so long ago performed part of their set stark bollock naked whilst video images of porn were shown behind them, Kevin Barnes and Of Montreal sounded like a live show not to be missed, so it was with an open mind I popped out on a rainy bank holiday to a lively Norwich Arts Centre for the opening gig of the band’s UK tour.

	"For every act of flamboyance from the band there are several bloody brilliant songs to counteract it ranging from their earlier straight up indie pop stylings to the more recent electronic tinged material"

Up first was Portsmouth’s The Strange Death of Liberal England playing a set of strong songs clearly influenced by The Arcade Fire’s school of epic indie mixed in with tinges of post-rock recalling the likes of Explosions in the Sky. Musically they were very tight and obviously are very passionate about their music, gyrating around the stage and showing physical energy in abundance, however this is where the positive review ends.

If I was to have closed my eyes before they came onstage I would probably be raving about this band big time right now but their focus on presentation and image seemed to be more important to them than the music, which was unfortunate as they do seem to have a set of potentially great songs on their hands, but they ultimately proved a frustrating and annoying band to watch live.

Choosing to hold up signs with lyrics and song titles painted on them seemed quirky at first but come the end of the set proved to be annoying as it replaced any vocal communication with the crowd by the band. They were obviously trying to create some sort of cult like atmosphere akin to bands such as British Sea Power and The Polyphonic Spree but the fact I have those bands to use as a reference point just goes to show it has been done before and doesn’t need to be done again. This try hard behaviour was also shown through constant swapping of instruments between band members. They were all very competent yes but it seemed needless and showy and I’m not really sure what point they were trying to prove, I’m sure they’re not the only band who has members who can play both drums and guitar.

The final moan I will have is the smashing of two drums at the end of their support slot. Fair enough we all like a bit of rock ‘n’ roll instrument destroying now and then but once again it’s something we’ve all seen before and is done regularly by the two bands I previously mentioned. Also, as a young band starting out it simply doesn’t make much sense, they’re going to have to replace those drums and can’t be earning too much playing first in 270 capacity venues! Their focus on trying to be original and quirky ended up looking gimmicky and in fact unoriginal. However, despite these negative points it’s important to remember they did have real musical talent and will probably go far. I just think I’ll stick to listening to them on record rather than live from now on.

Shortly afterwards the ever increasing crowd were greeted by Video Nasties who score bonus points right away by actually bothering to acknowledge and even speak to the crowd. It was a shame then that they proved to be one of the most average bands I have ever seen. There was certainly nothing to hate about them but nothing to feel passionate about either, and they stayed safely in the middle of the road whilst quickly ploughing through their brand of keyboard driven rock. I did start to wonder if I was missing something though as the front few rows of the venue were going crazy and dancing about all over the place. The music was certainly nothing to get excited about so maybe Video Nasties had been handing out free alcohol, who knows.

So finally headliners Of Montreal arrived onstage each in their own eccentric outfit and front man Barnes complete with trademark over the top makeup. They have fantastic fun and luckily clothes are kept on for this performance, however we are treated to several costume changes from Barnes including a rather fetching hot pants and fish-nets combo. At this stage it would be easy to write Of Montreal off as a Scissor Sisters for the indie kids due to the obvious references to the camp and the performance aspect of the gig, however there’s a lot more to Of Montreal than that. For every act of flamboyance from the band there are several bloody brilliant songs to counteract it ranging from their earlier straight up indie pop stylings to the more recent electronic tinged material from new album 'Hissing Fauna, Are You the Destroyer?'

The material on show offers stark contrasts from the stage show and performance with the fun and charismatic side of that juxtaposed with some dark lyrics detailing Barnes’ recent reliance on antidepressants.

Though this may do the band’s own material disservice the highlight of the show for me and judging by the crowd’s reaction, those around me were the two covers the band performed. Playing them surprisingly straight and true to the originals we were treated to firstly The Buzzcocks’ ‘Ever Fallen in Love’ and then finally in a cracking encore performance The Kinks’ ‘All Day and All of the Night’. They were energetic, frantic and kept things fresh by offering something a bit different to the rest of the show.

So whilst it’s easy to perhaps dismiss Of Montreal due to their large dollop of the camp in their performance, don’t underestimate them as they really know how to deliver when it comes to the live setting. And The Strange Death of Liberal England, focus on the music and stop trying so hard, please?

FUTURE GIGS

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