Of Montreal slammed into UCSB last Friday at The (dreaded) Hub and threw one of most enjoyable musical parties we’ve experienced in a long dang time (yes, better even than the Flaming Lips party at the Santa Barbara Bowl last fall).  As with their discography, the sounds put out by Of Montreal live were all over the map, alternating between ferocious disco, Bowie-laced psychedelia, Prince-ly funk, raving rock, diva balladeering (from  Ms. Cash), and Arcade Fire (in the process beating that band at their own Reflektor game).  While the setlist was judiciously culled from their entire discography, a large number were from two of our favorite albums, the fan-favorite Hissing Fauna, Are You the Destroyer? and 2013’s fantastic, ever-growing Lousy With Sylvanbriar.  Leader Kevin Barnes is not only one of our best songwriters and lyricists (his lyrical acumen and style reminding at times of the wordy Dan Bejar of Destroyer), he is also a phenomenal showman as witnessed by Barnes’ cajoling of the UCSB crowd at every turn.  Barnes and his band of merrymen (and the very merry Rebecca Cash) tore the roof off the joint, aided and abetted by a high-energy, know-every-word-to-every-song crowd that by show’s end had come rightfully unhinged (with one crowd surfer going so far as to pull himself up into the rafters only to dive back into the crowd).  The rest of the band provided perfect support to Barnes and Cash, with drummer Clayton Rychlik righteously rounding out the band’s three-part harmonization, but with bass, keys and guitar perfectly filling out the sound throughout.  Highlights of their set included the triumphantly rocking Triumph of Disintegration, Fugitive Air, Gronlandic Edit, She’s A Rejecter and main-set closer The Past Is A Grotesque Animal (on which we heard for the first time Arcade Fire as that band aspired to be on Reflektor–this song must be heard live to be believed).  Our only regret was that Of Montreal didn’t perform another of our favorites, Coquette, Coquette.  The next time they come within 200 miles of you, cancel everything on the calendar and get thee to the party.  Of Montreal is not to be missed on record or in concert.

Speaking of great recordings and Lousy With Sylvanbriar, Of Montreal has just posted the new official video for one of that album’s best songs, She Ain’t Speaking Now.  Check it out below, followed by the band’s currently scheduled tour dates.

Kevin Barnes provided this explanation of She Ain’t Speaking Now to Under the Radar: “I came back from San Francisco, and my wife Nina and my daughter were both really sick. They both had this terrible flu. Nina came out to visit me for a weekend, and she had the misfortune of sitting next to this woman that was terribly sick and had no business flying. She was coughing and sneezing and leaving dirty tissues all over the place. She was really a monster in a way. But [Nina] got really ill, and it’s always scary, with people dying of the flu and all the different mutations that happen. There’s always that fear of a flu pandemic, and you never know when someone gets sick and bedridden if this is going to be the thing that actually kills someone. It’s a serious thing. So when I wrote that song, they were both really sick. I had this sense that they weren’t going to die, but I allowed myself to go to that really dark place, like “What if they did die?” That one, the verses are really beautiful, with Bennett [Lewis]’s mandolin, and I was playing this nylon-string guitar, and JoJo [Glidewell] was playing a really beautiful piano part. I like it a lot because it feels so different from verse to chorus. The verses feel more dreamy and beautiful, and the chorus is more frantic and fuzzy and rocking. I like the way the harmonies sound with me and Rebecca [Cash] on the choruses. That one was something I was thinking could be a good single.”

02/03 Honolulu, HI @ Republik
03/22 Natchitoches, LA @ DemonFest @ Northwestern State University
03/27 Mexico City, MX @ Vive Latino Festival
03/29 Athens, GA @ Velena’s Birthday Party @ The 40 Watt Club
03/31 Greensboro, NC @ The Blind Tiger
04/01 Lexington, KY @ Cosmic Charlie’s
04/02 St Louis, MO @ The Ready Room
04/03 Iowa City, IA @ Mission Creek Festival @ The Blue Moose Tap House
04/04 Wichita, KS @ The Crown Uptown
04/06 Memphis, TN @ The Hi Tone
05/02 Little Rock, AR @ Revolution Music Room
05/03 Austin, TX @ Austin Psych Fest
05/04 Baton Rouge, LA @ Spanish Moon
05/05 Pensacola, FL @ Vinyl Music Hall
05/06 St Petersburg, FL @ State Theatre
05/07 Miami, FL @ Grand Central
05/08 Orlando, FL @ The Social
05/09 Charlotte, NC @ Chop Shop
05/10 Baltimore, MD @ The Ottobar
05/11 New York, NY @ Le Poisson Rouge
05/12 Philadelphia, PA @ Union Transfer
05/13 Buffalo, NY @ Town Ballroom
05/14 Pontiac, MI @ Crofoot Ballroom
05/15 Grand Rapids, MI @ The Pyramid Scheme
05/16 Chicago, IL @ Lincoln Hall
05/17 Cincinnati, OH @ The Taft Ballroom
05/18 Carrboro, NC @ Cat’s Cradle