In Review: Of Montreal At Lincoln Hall

Photos by Will McLaughlin

At Lincoln Hall on September 9th, I went to one of the most interesting and immersive live shows that I have ever been to. Not only was Of Montreal pleasing to the ear, but they really gave their audience a visual show to match. 

Of Montreal is a Georgia based psychedelic pop band that formed in 1996. They are known for putting on shows that blow you away by tapping their audience into their psyche with trippy projections, costumes, and props. Previous performances have included such crazy acts like a contortionist crowd surfing while contorting. From that information alone, you can imagine how epic they are to see live. Beginning this article was super hard for me because I didn’t know where to begin in telling you how starstruck I was by this performance, and I can only hope that this will encourage you to experience them in concert for yourself. 

Of Montreal played a wide range from their discography, which is pretty vast considering that each album has a different musical and psychological influence. I like to think of their music as what the Beatles might sound like if they had started making music in the late 90’s; super upbeat, psychedelic, with a splash of experimental. 

The show began with a couple of characters dressed in skeleton suits and red masks who invited the audience to a journey with the band whilst synchronized dancing and prancing amongst the stage. Of Montreal then opened with a song called “Peace to all Freaks” from their album “UR FUN.” An upbeat song filled with the whimsy of synth, fast paced drums, bass, and frontman Kevin Barnes singing lyrics “Don’t want a holiday, I need to educate myself.” Immediately the crowd began bopping with the synchronicity of excitement. 

I think that whimsical is such a great adjective to describe Of Montreal’s performance. It was very obvious that putting on a show is the band’s forte and the energy they brought that night was full of life. Throughout the performance the two characters that I had previously mentioned would rush out on stage dressed up in different costumes depending on the song. For example, during “And I’ve Seen a Bloody Shadow,” they came out layered in white capes covered in projections, making for crazy illusive visuals that paired perfectly with the band’s sound. Truly a scene that I could not and did not want to look away from.

I think my favorite song that Of Montreal performed was “Gronlandic Edit” from “Hissing Fauna, Are You the Destroyer?” I was looking forward to hearing this song because I loved it so much already, and seeing it performed live made me love it even more. The song starts off with a simple yet killer bass line followed by Barnes’ soft and playful vocals. The bridge builds up and then the chorus hits with a borderline operatic sound, layered with harmonies, similar to the kind that you might hear in a Queen song. The band was enjoying playing it just as much as the crowd enjoyed hearing it, as both were bouncing up and down to the infectious beat.

Of Montreal ended their night at Lincoln Hall with two closing songs as their Encore. The first was “20th Century Schizofriendic Revengoid-man,” which had the crowd rowdy to the fast tempo, rapid guitar chords, futuristic sound effects, and lyrics that were sung like an anthem. A great set up for the last song,“The Party’s Crashing Us.”  The name of the song itself was just too good for being the last song of the night. Of Montreal left Chicago on a groovy note, the perfect closing for a concert so unforgettable.

Of Montreal put on a show so surreal that it made me re-listen to their music to feel what it had felt like to be there that night. I truly cannot stop talking about this show to anyone who has ears and will continue to speak so highly of their music and more importantly, their performance.