OF MONTREAL Played Roseland Ballroom

Of Montreal played a mind-drenching set at Roseland Ballroom last Friday night, leaving the crowd both perplexed by the setlist and in total awe of the most original live act I've seen this year. With a cavalcade of characters, props, and costumes - lead singer Kevin Barnes appeared almost nude, sitting atop a real-life white horse at one point - the band served as the orchestra to Barnes' theatrics, which at times were beyond silly, and at others, positively brilliant.

During the encore, Andrew VanWyngarden of MGMT joined in (rushing over after MGMT opened for Beck at United Palace Theatre) for a rousing cover of Nirvana's "Smells Like Teen Spirit". And though that sounds like a recipe for disaster, it actually came off as impressively convincing.


Love is All had the pleasure of opening for Of Montreal, basking in the excitement of what may have been the largest crowd they've seen in the States. But when Of Montreal took the stage and led the room into its hallucinatory portal, many may have forgotten that Love is All were ever a part of their night.

More pictures...






Setlist:
[Total Time 1:47:25]
01 Introduction
02 Id Engager
03 So Begins Our Alabee
04 Triphallus, To Punctuate!
05 She’s a Rejecter
06 For Our Elegant Caste
07 Touched Something’s Hollow
08 An Eluardian Instance
09 Heimdalsgate Like a Promethean Curse
10 Gallery Piece
11 Wraith Pinned To The Mist (And Other Games)
12 Women’s Studies Victims
13 St. Exquisite Confessions
14 Eros’ Entropic Tundra
15 Nonpareil Of Favor
16 October is Eternal
17 Wicked Wisdom
18 Disconnect the Dots
19 And I’ve Seen A Bloody Shadow
20 Plastis Wafers
21 Beware Our Nubile Miscreants
22 Mingusings
23 A Sentence Of Sorts In Kongsvinger
24 [encore break]
25 Smells Like Teen Spirit (Nirvana)*
26 Gronlandic Edit

*with Andrew VanWyngarden (MGMT)

Setlist courtesy of NYCtaper.com.

-photos by Scot Bowman and Derek Morris

LOVE IS ALL - A Hundred Things Keep Me Up At Night

Love is All have announced the long-awaited details of their sophomore LP, the follow-up to Nine Times That Same Song (2006). The new disc, titled A Hundred Things Keep Me Up At Night will see a November 11th release via What's Your Rupture.

A Hundred Things Keep Me Up At Night tracklist:

01 New Beginnings
02 Give It Back
03 Movie Romance
04 Last Choice
05 Sea Sick
06 Wishing Well
07 When Giants Fall
08 Rumors
09 Big Bangs, Black Holes, Meteorites
10 A More Uncertain Future
11 19 Floors

In conjunction with the new album, my favorite Swedes will return to the States for a brief Northeastern tour, including an opening slot for Of Montreal at Roseland Ballroom in Manhattan. The band will also join Of Montreal in Washington DC and Asheville, NC.

10-08 Asheville, NC - Orange Peel
10-09 Washington, DC - 9:30 Club
10-10 New York, NY - Roseland
10-11 Philadelphia, PA - The Barbary
10-12 Purchase, NY - SUNY Purchase
10-13 Hoboken, NJ - Maxwell's

Love is All - Ageing Had Never Been His Friend
(live at Market Hotel, Bushwick - June 2008)

OF MONTREAL - Skeletal Lamping

Of Montreal's Skeletal Lamping is set for a release on October 7th, and here you have the official artwork (via Pitchfork). In fact, for all the juicy details, check out their post about the new album, as I can't really offer any more on this breaking news. But it's still very exciting!

Of Montreal play Roseland Ballroom on October 10th. Last I checked tickets were still on sale.

Happy New Year from The Sky Report!

The world is slowly ringing in 2008. Here in Hawaii, there are still over 12 hours left in 2007, so here are some last minute favorite videos from the past year.

Deerhunter - Strange Lights


M.I.A. - Boyz


LCD Soundsystem - All My Friends


Justice - D.A.N.C.E.


Simian Mobile Disco - Hustler


Of Montreal - Gronlandic Edit


Beirut - Elephant Gun


Radiohead - Unravel


See you in 2008!

MGMT - "Oracular Spectacular"

MGMT first gained a following two years ago with their "Time To Pretend" EP, a raw excursion into electro-psych-pop. Now the duo has become a trio and have just released their first full-length "Oracular Spectacular", a solid debut of sweet, experimental, psychedelic electro-pop (even though they have said themselves they do not want to be described by many of those words). These are a pair of lads from Wesleyan University who relocated to Brooklyn, got discovered by some NYU students who distributed the EP, which led to a record deal with Columbia and an opening slot on Of Montreal's current tour. Not bad.

The new album is really infectious. From first listen I was immediately hooked and I can't stop repeating it on my iPod. Check out the opening track, 'Time To Pretend':

DOWNLOAD - MGMT - Time To Pretend (via Myspace)

New OF MONTREAL Video

Of Montreal have made a trippy new video for 'Gronlandic Edit', possibly to remind us that "Hissing Fauna, Are You the Destroyer" remains one of the year's best albums.

Of Montreal - Gronlandic Edit (music video)

ZACH CONDON - 'Venice'

A new song has surfaced from ZACH CONDON, the forefront of theskyreport favorite BEIRUT. And solo, it's more of an electro affair. But all glory is not lost, as horns (a signature Beirut sound) deliver a profound punch on the second half of this track.

The song, a gorgeous electro refrain titled 'Venice', appears on a new compilation for The Believer (Magazine), compiled by Pitchfork Media's Brandon Stosuy. The collection also features rare tracks from GRIZZLY BEAR, DEERHUNTER, OF MONTREAL, YACHT, THE BLOW, THE TWILIGHT SAD, SUFJAN STEVENS, EXPLOSIONS IN THE SKY and I'M FROM BARCELONA.

Read more on Zach Condon in earlier posts on I Guess I'm Floating and Nialler9.

In other Zach Condon news, he recently joined Ed Droste and GRIZZLY BEAR onstage at the recent Primavera Sound Festival in Spain. I would have died to be there.

DOWNLOAD - Zach Condon - Venice (mp3)

JAMIE RADFORD - "The Freedom To Be Reckless"

The self-proclaimed experimental electronic rapper JAMIE RADFORD hails from Athens, Georgia, the music-laden land that produced bands like R.E.M., THE B-52'S and OF MONTREAL. But you'd never assume Georgia as the point of reference here. Instead, we have a chill rapper that sounds like he came out of the cracks in a sort of British Detroit in the future. Comparisons have been made, likening Radford's unique sound to that of THE ALBUM LEAF, PREFUSE 73 and even the groundbreaking sci-fi hip-hop 'Psyence Fiction' record from UNKLE. You'll have to draw your own conclusion by streaming Radford's second album "The Freedom To Be Reckless".

Jamie Radford on Myspace

Countdown to Coachella part 1 - 11 Days...

This year will mark the first time in four years that I WILL NOT be heading out to the desert for the Coachella Festival. As depressed as I am about this, I still find the need to torture myself with this two week series, highlighting the bands that I would have caught during the three day weekend. Here goes...


THE JESUS AND MARY CHAIN
Probably one of my top 5 all-time favorite bands emerges from a nine year hibernation to headline Day 1. "Stardust Remedy" is one of my favorite tracks off their last album "Munki", released back in 1998.
DOWNLOAD Jesus and Mary Chain - Stardust Remedy

*****

OF MONTREAL
Their recent album "Hissing Fauna, Are You the Destroyer?" is by far one of the year's best as of yet. But I still love the bouncy fun single "The Party's Crashing Us Down" from 2005's "The Sunlandic Twins".
DOWNLOAD Of Montreal - The Party's Crashing Us Down

*****


FELIX DA HOUSECAT
One of my favorite guilty pleasures is the 2004 release by Felix da Housecat "Devin Dazzle & the Neon Fever". Check out the track "What She Wants", featuring James Murphy of LCD Soundsystem.
DOWNLOAD Felix Da Housecat - What She Wants

For those of you who are lucky enough to make it to Coachella this year, please share your stories as I will live vicariously through you.

Coachella.com

OF MONTREAL - "Hissing Fauna, Are You the Destroyer?"

I've been meaning to post something about OF MONTREAL for weeks now and I'm finally getting around to it. I'm really loving the new album, "Hissing Fauna, Are You the Destroyer?" It's the kind of record that demands multiple listens in order to fully feel its punch, but it is well worth the time spent. Find out for yourself by streaming the entire album HERE. In my opinion it's the band's most solid effort yet.

But not only is the album quite remarkable, it seems their live shows have been getting rather interesting lately too. I've never seen the band live, but recent photos hint at a highly theatrical stage presence. In fact, at a recent gig in Las Vegas, lead singer Kevin Barnes performed fully naked for most of the set, wearing only a red cumberbun, fishnets and some make-up. For the X-RATED evidence, CLICK HERE (not if you are easily offended!) That said, Barnes is not likely to repeat the same shenanigan anytime soon, as the remaining U.S. dates are all 18+ shows. Unfortunately the NYC dates are both sold out, otherwise I'd totally be there.

Here's the positively bizarre video for the new single, "Heimdalsgate Like A Promethean Curse".


Of Montreal official site
Of Montreal on Myspace