of Montreal

I still remember the sight (and smell) of frontman Kevin Barnes stepping out of a coffin covered head-to-toe in shaving cream. This was in 2008, the first time I ever saw them- an experience that was enough to convert me from casual fan to fan for life. They can put on a show like no one else, a complete psychedelic onslaught of visual chaos... At their shows I have seen people in pig costumes humping in a blowup raft over the crowd, gold lamé buddhas, a two-person horse costume... I've also seen a mock crucifixion and hanging paired with an intense strobe light. Their shows are fun and exciting and very weird. I've also seen them perform some toned-down shows where beautiful projections of David Barnes' art is the main visual focus.
Despite the crazy skits going on the band still owns the stage somehow and Kevin Barnes is one of the most energetic performers I've seen. The band lineup is always evolving too, it is fun to see them change it up with the occasional addition of a second drummer, a sax, or violin.
Out of their 12 albums, they fit in material from 2005's 'Sunlandic Twins' onward in to their long sets. They play a really enjoyable balance of exciting favorites and rare treats. The epic and emotional 'The Past Is a Grotesque Animal' is a special one I've only seen a couple times. 'A Sentence of Sorts in Kongsvinger' has been included perhaps every time I've seen them and never gets boring- especially since the climax of the song is always accompanied by a leaf blower contraption bombing the crowd with a cloud of feathers! I have left many of Montreal shows covered in feathers and always wear them home proudly.

I went to see Cherry Glazerr at Rough Trade in Brooklyn, and Sloppy Jane was opening. It's not, I think, so common for the opening act to completely steal one's attention away from the main performer, but that is exactly what befell me on that fateful night.

Sloppy Jane currently features about 10 performers, including a string section and a horn section, many of whom share in vocal duties. Frontwoman Haley Dahl channels such rock mavericks as Iggy Pop and Lux Interior with her awesome histrionics: oozing paint from every pore, literally climbing the walls and, yes, stripping naked.

And the music! Try to imagine if Tim Burton wrote schoolyard rhymes to be performed by the children's chorus from Pink Floyd's "Another Brick in the Wall", using a recording studio located in the Twilight Zone, and you might have an inkling of the sounds I heard. I read up on the band afterwards; Haley said in one interview that her goal in performing is to be different and entertaining above all. Sloppy Jane certainly succeeded on that night. and definitely converted at least one person in the audience.