Of Montreal Plays Tonight at Fiesta Gardens
As if Athens, GA needed more credit for amazing music artists, along came the ever-evolving Of Montreal in 1997. This was one of many extraordinary bands launched from the ginormous Elephant 6 Recording Company collective. Frontman Kevin Barnes worked on the first and second albums, Cherry Peel and The Bedside Drama: A Petite Tragedy, while recruiting new members along the way and exploring several different musical styles to see which direction the band moved in.
Yet, therein lies the key to Of Montreal’s adventures in sound. Each of their albums, including this year’s Skeletal Lamping, has provided an exploration of genres that Barnes and company have played with, reshaped, reformatted and mutated to make a joyful noise distinctly their own. There’s also been an irresistible penchant for pairing cheery melodies with dark lyrics – not necessarily leaning toward irony. Most of the time, it’s just damn funny.
Of Montreal’s Austin concert takes place today at Fiesta Gardens, located at 2100 Bergman Ave. Icy Demons will open the early show, which begins at 6 p.m. No doubt this will be one of the most intriguing and colorful shows to experience this fall, so check it out.
