Thursday, October 23, 2008 B9
Life Old Gold & Black
Concert Review | Of Montreal
Indie-rock band puts on wacky, vibrant show By Shelby Bryant | Contributing writer
Kevin Barnes’ absurd theatrics are nothing new for seasoned Of Montreal fans. The front-man perfectly embodies the crazed, tortured artist persona, and he aims to translate that character to his live shows. Even when I saw the eclectic Athens, Ga., based group at the Langerado Music Festival in Florida this spring, their live performance was crazy. Each member sported elaborate costumes and makeup, and they even performed an epic 10 minute encore of the bizarre and angry track “The Past Is a Grotesque Animal.” If they were able to pull off one of the most enchanting stage performances I had ever seen in the middle of a Native American Reservation in the Everglades, then I was anxious and excited to see them in an actual concert hall. So when I heard that Of Montreal scheduled tour dates internationally for their new album, Skeletal Lamping, I immediately scooped up some tickets. While I was buying the tickets, I realized that there were assigned seats, an unheard of situation for Of Montreal shows; they are famously known for their incredibly club-like dance partyesque concerts. How were my friends and I supposed to get our groove on
if we were hopelessly stuck in seats? I was concerned. To get re-amped before the show, I read Barnes’ interview with Rolling Stone where he stated that the inspiration for this tour, “is very Michel Gondry, or the kid in Rushmore that puts on those productions.” The reason for the assigned seats all made sense. Kevin Barnes wants to emulate prep-boy pretentious Max Fischer. We were all in for an even more theatrical performance than we had ever imagined. Once we got to the venue, before the band even made their appearance, Barnes’ vision became more lucid. The venue, The Carolina Theater in Durham, resembled a Broadway playhouse, complete with balcony seats and private boxes. The heavy red velvet curtain that hung on the stage moved slightly while the band milled around behind it, anticipating opening night of the new tour. The curtain was raised and there were three raised platforms, two with drum sets and one with Dottie’s keyboard. Three humongous jumbotrons loomed above the stage, flashing bright, quicklymoving, and trippy images of ancient Egypt across them while whimsical paper maché creatures and extras danced across stage. From behind a white curtain came four goldenly clad
robots carrying a what appeared to be a Pharoh’s sedan chair. After much anticipation and a build up of noise from the band, Barnes popped out of the curtained chair to reveal a bright purple suit and a nearly neon pink mariachi hat, the first of his many stage costumes. The band opened with an upbeat new tune from Skeletal Lamping, but it was quickly followed with a fan favorite from The Sunlandic Twins, “And So Begins Our Alabee.” Quickly my concern about dancing was addressed by the fans; people were still infected with music and were flailing about in front of their seats. While the set list consisted mainly of new songs, my favorite being “For Our Elegant Caste,” old gems included “Wraith Pinned to the Mist and Other Games,” “Gronlandic Edit,” “Sentence of Sorts in Kongsvinger,” “Heimdalsgate Like A Promethean Curse” and “She’s A Rejector.” Subsequent costume changes of Barnes included a flamboyantly sparkly suit and even a centaur costume that required another person to fill out the rear. In the most bizarre and awkwardly morbid moment in the show, a noose appeared from behind a white curtain, and Barnes, decked out in a domestic pink bathrobe and fuzzy pink slippers, stood on a chair and secured a harness to his bath robe, pretending to hang
Photo courtesy of Shelby Bryant
Eclectic lead singer Kevin Barnes of Of Montreal performed in a centaur costume. himself. The oddest part about that incident was that it happened relatively nonchalantly in the middle of a song. Surprisingly, they encored in the same manner that they did at Langerado. People filtered into the aisle for the encore and finally a raging dance party ensued. As he was singing each song, he would sling shaving cream off of himself
until finally just a pair of tighty-whities and his naked body were revealed. After the explosion of energy in the encore ended, everyone in the crowd had a huge smile on his/her face and I could tell no one was disappointed in the craziness that they had just witnessed. Of Montreal’s show was a sight to be seen.
Event Preview | Rock-n’-Vote
Web site Review | Pitchfork Media
Pitchfork Media packs a powerful punch Political groups By Mikey Barton | Contributing writer
Pitchfork. It’s a name with a lot of clout in the music industry. Anyone who cares about music in the slightest has probably either heard of it or used it as a tool to add stuff to their personal playlist, and for good reason. Pitchfork Media has a proven track record in the music review business and has a stake in the summer concert market with its always critically-acclaimed Pitchfork Music Festival in Chicago. One could go on for days about its virtues and ability to find great music; the albums it gives a (rare) 9+ ratings to immediately become water-cooler talk and boost any band’s profile and standing. Had you heard of The Avalanches before Pitchfork gave Since I Left You a 9.5? It’s doubtful. But for every album that’s received positive press, there are several that have been dumped by the wayside.
The organization has a Simon Cowellesque profile in that it is as much known for scouting excellent music as it is for scathing repudiations of what it considers poor. Weezer fans may recall a crude review of the band’s third album Make Believe by Rob Mitchum in 2005 discussing how the CD could have potentially ruined all that is present day Weezer. The album, arguably Weezer’s poorest, received a 0.4 out of 10 – though respected reviewers Rolling Stone and Q Magazine gave it four out of five stars. Other than Weezer’s debut album, Pitchfork has consistently been on the negative side of public opinion, giving poor reviews to many of the band’s albums. This summer’s Red Album scored below 5 despite a popular line-up of singles. A large number of popular artists – from the Red Hot Chili Peppers to Yung Joc – have seen albums get panned by Pitchfork. My personal music taste is quite varied, and I’ve had favorite albums of mine score from
0 to the high 9s; the score is unimportant, as far as my ears are concerned. The important thing to keep in mind is that music is a very personal experience and thus can’t be totally determined by media outlets. So, to sum, a list of dos and don’ts when it comes to Pitchfork. Do: Browse their highest scored albums in search of something to impress people who look at your iTunes, read the reviews when new albums come out, keep an open mind when it comes to its criticisms (understanding them and agreeing with them are two different things), go to Pitchfork if you have the time – its line-ups pretty much always rock faces off. Don’t: throw out artists and albums purely based on the reviews, cry when you find out your favorite album got a 2.1 and it claims you are a failure for liking terrible music. Pitchfork is a great tool when you use it right. So read up, listen in and build up your music library. Legally, of course.
Album Review | Satanic Messiah
The Mountain Goats deliver devilish sound By Nathan Bedsole Contributing writer
I’ve never listened to Radiohead, but I’m happy that In Rainbows turned out so well for them. I don’t know if this was the first album released for whatever price you please (including free), but it seems to have started a domino effect and set a trend in the music b u y i n g industry. Two such influenced musicians who have taken notice of this are Gregg Gillis with Girl Talk’s Feed The Animals and, more recently, John Darnielle’s Satanic Messiah. Darnielle, the man behind The Mountain Goats, has released his first EP since 2006 for however much you want to pay for it. No matter what you put down for it, though, it is worth every penny. You don’t have to get this album from the Web site (satanicmessiah.com), however. You can buy it through Google for a satanic and cheap $6.66, or pick up one of the 666 printed
copies at a Mountain Goats show. As a music lover with around 20 hours of The Mountain Goats on my iTunes, I pretty much knew I would like this EP before I downloaded it. It’s Darnielle’s writing as we all love it: deliberate, eloquent, poignant, sometimes cryptic, sometimes outrageously particular. To those who aren’t familiar with the Mountain Goats, do check them out; you’ll understand what I mean. I find myself singing along to the chorus of “Sarcofago Live” whenever I listen to it. What is amazing about Darnielle’s songwriting, though, is that the chorus says absolutely nothing remotely amazing – it repeats “In a small room in Brazil, we were waiting.” The way Darnielle’s simple song structures are combined with minimal yet ornate instrumentation make for a personal yet refreshingly not sappy record. Fans of the Mountain Goats’ most recent LP Heretic Pride will notice that this EP is much simpler and quieter. While the recording quality is every bit as good (maybe even better if you download
the FLAC files) as any studio recording he has ever made, the EP is reminiscent of his early ‘90s tracks recorded through a boom box because of its intimacy. Darnielle says of the new EP on the Mountain Goats’ Web site, mountain-goats.com, “I hope you like these songs; I am fond of them; they remind me of old vanished things.” There has never been anything exceedingly fancy about the Mountain Goats, they have always been based around the nasal vocals and remarkable songwriting of Darnielle. With a title like Satanic Messiah, one has to ask about the significance it holds for John Darnielle. Peronally, I have no idea, but I am not in the least bit surprised at it. References to Satan, the Bible, ancient Rome, and a heartbreakingly despairing couple referred to as “Alpha are common themes throughout The Mountain Goats’ work. What I think is noteworthy about the title and its bestial number of copies is how Darnielle mentions donating with the download of Satanic Messiah. He said, “Share as you see fit, but if you wanna point people at the donation pages, I would
appreciate that. “There’s an .rtf file included in the .zip file that encloses the songs, so if you just share the whole thing zipped, you won’t need to do any why-don’t-youdonate evangelization yourself,” he said. “But don’t let me stop you! The evangelical urge must go forth unchecked if the Word is to be spread far and wide,” Darnielle continued. He mentioned it on the actual Satanic Messiah Web site as well: “Neither the recording nor the mastering were free, and this site exists as something of an experiment. “If you choose to accept these songs, please stop by the collection plate and sow your faith-seed, which, like a grain of mustard, et cetera.” A final interesting point I’d like to bring up about this little gem is that it was recorded in Monroe, N. C. Apparently Darnielle likes it okay here, too. He drops by fairly frequently, the next visit being Nov. 5 at Cat’s Cradle in Carrboro, N.C. I hope to see you all there, and if you aren’t buying a limited edition copy of this EP, at least keep a copy on your iPods and Thinkpads.
organize concert By Caroline Edgeton | Asst. life editor
When one thinks of the word politics, one may not immediately think of the word music. Though they are certainly not the exact same thing, we’ve seen an ever expanding world in the past few years where political opinions influence not only the types of music artists release, but also the shows they perform. This year, the university’s College Democrats and Wake for Change are hosting an event called Rock-n’-Vote that is sure to not only let a variety of musicians perform for a political cause but also give students a night of fun and, most importantly, absolutely free entertainment. The concert is intended to encourage students to take advantage of the early voting option that began in North Carolina on Thursday, Oct. 16 and will end on Saturday, Nov. 1. “I want to have a fun way for people to get excited about the election and to learn more about early voting opportunities,” sophomore Emily Wrigh, a College Democrat, said. A wide variety of talented musicians are scheduled to perform for the evening. Junior Jordan Lee and senior Andy Karr will be taking the stage with Lee performing solo, Americana tunes and Karr singing with his punk rockinfused band, Life Like This. In addition to the university performers, Winston-Salem hip-hop, funk fusion group 2nd Revolution is sure to give an energy-driven show. The Othership, a drum, bass, hip-hop and poetry-based group, will also show off its hiphop skills. Two acoustic groups with an R&B/soul sound are also set on the evening’s agenda. Pair Tal and Amie will perform in addition to Black Ivy, a more
classical, fusion kind of R&B group. With these talented artists and their support for presidential candidate Barack Obama, the night is sure to be as fun as it is informative. “I think there will be a lot of great results because it is a lot of great, diverse bands coming together to encourage students to vote early and, more specifically, to support Senator Obama,” Wright said. “All the artists are Obama supporters, but we do encourage anyone in the Wake Forest community to come. We will have information about early voting and shuttles available to take people to the polls at the concert. We will also have information about various local candidates and Senator Obama.” There will also be further information and sign up sheets for those who are interested in volunteering at the polls. With this election soon coming to an epic close, there will definitely be a need for more volunteers. “I am just very excited about such awesome, diverse artists coming together at Wake Forest to do this,” Wright said. “I think it will be a very unique and exciting event. Anyone who enjoys music and likes hearing new styles and artists should definitely come.” The event is set for Saturday, Oct. 25 from 6-10 p.m. in Benson 401. Politics in music is not only a powerful method for musicians to give their feedback on society, but it is also a way of connecting with their audience. This performance will show how those who decide to join together can make a difference that can truly be made among the masses. More and more bands are participating in politicallyaffiliated concerts and events these days, proving that simply through the power of music, people can happily and wholeheartedly unite for a change that they can believe in.