Confession: I don’t know how this happened, but somehow I’ve been hanging around Istanbul for about six months now, and never stepped inside Babylon. Ayıp, ayıp, I know. Finally, on Thursday, Of Montreal helped swipe that embarrassing v-card.
I got to Babylon just after the warm-up ended so I had plenty of time to secure my go-to spot for concerts: right up near the stage, but off to the side. I get why people like the venue, it’s intimate, the sound is great, and keeping the old brick on the back wall is a nice touch – it gives the place character. I didn’t get to case the joint too much though because soon, the main act hit the stage.
I think Of Montreal is one of those bands where when someone asks you if you know them, you quickly respond, “Of course!” (because, after all, you ARE well-versed in the indie music scene). Okay but real talk, if you’re anything like me, the number of songs you recognize by them totals to a whopping two. The two I knew are their poppiest and most commercial songs, so when they began their set with loud drums and some screaming vocals, I realized I did not know this band at all.
Of Montreal started out the night with some pretty heavy rock. It sounded kind of like funk, but had electronic beats underneath (for all the music aficionados out there, the name for this genre is apparently krautrock). I personally wasn’t blown away by this part of the set. The songs were hard to differentiate from each other and the lead singer Kevin Barnes’ vocals were harsh; I couldn’t really pull a melody out of what he was singing. However, since the music didn’t sweep me away, this gave me some time to get acquainted with the band (seeing as a realized I didn’t know a thing about them). Major points to Of Montreal for their choice of apparel. Highlights include Barnes’ bright blue frilly top with a chest-exposing slit down the middle and the bassist’s cowboy hat. My favorite character on the stage was keyboardist Jojo Glidewell. Sporting a white furry shawl-thing, I found Glidewell’s style of playing the keyboard with stiff arms super entertaining. I’m not sure if he was intentionally trying to be ironic, but it reminded me of these guys from Saturday Night Live.
I don’t think I was the only one underwhelmed by their more recent rock tracks. A bit into the show, just as I started feeling like Of Montreal was losing the audience, they pulled out their most famous hit, “Wraith Pinned to the Mist”. Yay! This was one of the two I knew! The energy picked up immediately, and as the audience sang along, Of Montreal pulled everyone back in. The songs that followed were in Of Montreal’s psychedelic style. This was actually the highlight of the show for me. They were influenced specifically by the Beatles’ experimentation in psychedelic and that was obvious in a few of their songs. (This one was my favorite!) The lighting also got really sweet at this point. Colors shined in psychedelic patterns over the band and blended with the rainbow that was the obscene number of plaid shirts worn by the not-so-young-but-damn-I’m-still-hip! crowd. The combination of the music, lighting, and alcohol consumed by the audience at this point created a trance-y atmosphere.
At this point, I was happy with the main singer because his vocal style softened and he started to really let loose. The result was that his dance moves were spot on. Barnes has a stage presence like Lana Del Rey has a stage presence. He forgoes direct interaction with the crowd for an “I’m too sexy for this stage” kind of vibe. It works on him though, and it was clear he actually was paying attention to the audience when he stooped down to woo a girl during one of his songs and then proceeded to take off his shirt.
Of Montreal managed to hold the crowd the rest of the night by playing more of their indie-pop-rock stuff and they kept the energy high right on through their encore. By the time the lights dimmed and they quit the stage, I was surprised to find my voice hoarse and my ears ringing. From an Of Montreal concert? Who would have thought? I guess now I know. I like to think that now, if someone asks me if I know Of Montreal, I can truthfully answer yes. And I can one-up them by casually referencing my knowledge Of Montreal’s less known funk and psychedelic rock styles. I’m ready for ya, hipsters!
