true Patrice Grell Yursik 7 <p>I came to the Of Montreal performance at Lollapalooza not knowing what to expect - besides the unexpected. Of Montreal is one of those bands people speak about as an "experience." Lead singer Kevin Barnes is a consummate showman, known for continually one-upping himself with crazier antics, more eye popping costumes, more, more, more. And Of Montreal didn't disappoint at Lollapalooza. They gave their all for the rain-drenched crowd Friday afternoon, just as the clouds cleared.</p> <p>It's hard to know what to do at an Of Montreal show. Your body commands you to dance - the band's set list was supremely groovy. A little rock, a little disco, a lot glam. The bands were tight and the sound was right. But just as much as your feet want to move and your hips wanna wiggle, your eyes and brain want to understand what the hell they're witnessing.</p> <p><img style="float: left; margin-right: 10px; margin-top: 10px;" src="/images/postattachments/1090/medium/of-montreal-lollapalooza-baloons.jpg" alt="Of-montreal-lollapalooza" />In the vein of the Flaming Lips, Parliament Funkadelic, and spectacular Seventies arena rock groups, Of Montreal clearly believes in the power of putting on a show. Every band member wears something that can only be described as unique. Tattered pink angel wings, neon colored asymmetrical leotards, cloaks, masks, sequins - absolutely anything goes. Besides all of that, the songs are illustrated with what can only be described as performance art. Three figures cloaked in red and wearing gas masks partook in what looked to be a seance, then pumped their fists and exhorted the crowd to do the same. Feathers shot forth, smoke billowed, backlit by colorful lights. A man and woman wrestled a woman wearing a pig mask. Another performer crowd surfed in an inflatable rubber raft. All the while, there's the animation on the big screen -- psychedelic colors and disturbing cartoons. A man's face switched from black to white, a creepy woman nodded back&nbsp;and forth, a baby with warped skull-like features was tended to by red birds, a beauty queen cracked in half to expose the Statue of Liberty.&nbsp;It was&nbsp;a confusing&nbsp;bit of sensory overload that&nbsp;demands your attention.</p> <p>Spectacle aside, the best part of the&nbsp;show had nothing to do with theatrics and everything to do with music. Alt-soul singer, Janelle Monae joined the group and electrified the crowd with a duet of David Bowie's "Moonage Daydream." The soaring vocals, stirring instrumentation and Miss Monae, standing alongside Kevin Barnes clutching a giant bunch of colorful balloons. That performance alone was worth the day's cost of admission.</p> 2009-08-11T08:17:50-07:00 2009-08-11T08:03:30-07:00 Lolla Set Review true 311 left Of Montreal gives them a show at Lollapalooza image/jpeg Dave Vann / RumBum.com Of_Montreal-Lolla-1.jpg 539907 of montreal, of montrael moonage daydream, of montreal david bowie lollapalooza, of montreal Janelle Monae false false published true Lollapalooza 09 2010-02-08T09:19:56-08:00 true 7