of Montreal, fresh off releasing their new album, Hissing Fauna, Are You The Destroyer?, are in the middle of a nationwide tour that included Boston's Avalon Ballroom on March 11th. It was a sold out all ages show, which promised an extra mix of energy to feed the band's multimedia psychedelia.
After an exhaustive set and variety of costume changes and onstage action, of Montreal left Boston breathing heavily, after Kevin Barnes claimed Boston was the "only place that knows how to rock on Sunday."
The vast majority of the band's setlist was comprised of songs from their three most recent albums, especially Hissing Fauna… Starting the show off with "Suffer for Fashion", they quickly got the glam party off to a jolted start. Then they flowed into "Sink the Seine", just how the album begins. After a couple of songs and interlude for Barnes to change clothes, they got the crowd to really let loose with "Heimdalsgate Like A Promethean Curse".
They threw in a cover of David Bowie's "Moonage Daydream" about halfway through the set. "I Was Never Young" got the crowd jumping again and other Sunlandic Twins numbers "I Was a Landscape in Your Dream" and "October Is Eternal" ebbed the energy before it lost control. The second half of their set featured most of the latter tracks of Hissing Fauna…, which translated well live, including the infectious "She's a Rejector". The encore included a cover of their contemporaries, The Beatles Fiery Furnaces, "Tropical Ice-Land" and they ended on a high note with "The Party's Crashing Us".
During the set, they had a gymnast in a white skin-tight suit perform, including having Kevin sit on his shoulders. Kevin also stuffed bananas into the guy's suit and at one point they danced around each other while the gymnast waved a Norwegian flag.
It was a thoroughly entertaining concert, with a huge setlist and constant onstage antics. of Montreal are becoming one of the most involved live acts in indie rock, and with several albums of songs that translate extremely well live, things can only get better.
