I haphazardly stumbled onto the fact that Montreal was playing their only UK tour date in London during one of my routine “what’s going on in London” Google-fests. I was ecstatic, at first, that I was in London to see them play live, a hope of mine that had been shelved for years, and was even more amazed that I was somehow able to still get tickets. Promoting their new album “Skeletal Lamping” on Oct. 17 at Koko in Camden, of Montreal got through most of the new record during their 16-song set.
Lead singer Kevin Barnes’ outfits was one of the highlights; sporting at first a short blue jacket and bright red shoes, he later changed into a giant aqua sequined bomber jacket. Somewhere in the middle, he disappeared offstage, returned in what appeared to be a nightgown and was stripped by gold-faced men and laid on stage like a Greek god.
Of course the theatrics of the show were over-the-top as well. During the majority of the performance, there were some dancing, sometimes fighting, animal-masked characters keeping the energy in the venue through the roof. I knew I was going to be blown away by the epic stage performance I had heard so much about, but the best highlights for me were favorite songs interspersed throughout the set.
The band began with “Id Engager” off of their newest album, played “Heimdalsgate Like a Promethean Curse” particularly well and even did an incredibly entertaining cover of “Smells Like Teen Spirit” during the encore.
Overall, the show was incredibly impressive, especially because it was one I had anticipated for so long. I never imagined I’d be a train’s ride away from a great performance in such an amazing city.