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of Montreal at Music Tastes Good 2017 9/30/17. Photo by Derrick K. Lee, Esq. (@Methodman13) for www.BlurredCulture.com.
of Montreal at Music Tastes Good 2017 9/30/17. Photo by Derrick K. Lee, Esq. (@Methodman13) for www.BlurredCulture.com.

CLICK HERE FOR MORE MUSIC TASTES GOOD 2017 COVERAGE!

Long Beach, CA- I’ve heard so many stories about Of Montreal’s live show. Friends have told me how extravagant and entertaining their live shows could be with dancers, flamboyant costumes and even sing-a-longs while marching though the audience. Needless to say, my expectations were pretty high.

Prior to their performance at Music Tastes Good, I read that they would be performing their album “Hissing Fauna, Are You The Destroyer?” sequentially in its entirety  in conjunction with the release of the deluxe vinyl reissue of the album (they also added one bonus cut added to the reissue) . After doing research and studying the album, paying  particular attention to the lyrics, I decided that perhaps toning down my expectations on the extravagance would be in my best interest.

of Montreal at Music Tastes Good 2017 9/30/17. Setlist.Of all of their albums (or at least all of the albums that I have listened to), “Hissing Fauna” may be the most personal of the bunch. It’s a sonically exciting album, but it was clear to me, as it was to the critics who reviewed it back in 2007, that this was Kevin Barnes’ (the lead singer) musical diary of revolt, self determination and depression. The subject matter is pretty heavy, so yeah … maybe sing-a-longs in the audience with dancers wouldn’t be happening at Music Tastes Good.

But with an album as good as “Hissing Fauna”, you don’t need any gimmicks to keep the audience engaged and enamored. When the band took the main stage, Barnes, embracing his pansexuality, strutted on stage wearing a flamboyant blonde wig, miniskirt, and red tights with stiletto boots, and proceeded to dive into the frenetic album, performing with a gusto to match the music.

Other than the randomly eccentric video images that accompanied their performance, the focus was clearly on the music. Every thumping bass line … every electronic flurry … every emotionally tinged lyric (which actually did in fact induce sing-a-longs from the audience), Of Montreal’s performance at Music Tastes Good was a glorious rebirth of an album born over a decade ago.

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