The gamecock. (Columbia, S.C.) 1908-2006, September 06, 2002, Page 6, Image 6
Athens band to release an album straight out of 1960
BY CHARLES TOMLINSON
THE OAMECOCK
“Aldhils Arboretum,” the lat
est albUm from Kevin Barnes and
his band, Of Montreal, is sched
uled for release Sept. 10. Saturday
night the band will bring its vin
tage pop act to the New Brookland
Tavern.
The five-piece band hails from
Athens, Ga. but it sounds like it
emerged straight out of Liverpool
circa 1960.
Of Montreal is amazing be
cause of how accurately it recre
ates the ‘60s sound. And the band
sounds authentic - not like a
bunch of musical hacks trying to
record a sloppy ode to the
Beatles.
Jangly guitars create the
bouncy rhythms that dominate
“Aldhils Arboretum.” The
drums thump with a Ringo Starr
timbre and the cymbals sound
almost slippery. The organ parts
could have come directly from
songs by the Doors or the
Animals.
Obviously, there is some
strange geography going on with
this band. Jt comes from Athens,
sounds like a British act from the
‘60s and takes its name from a
Canadian city.
Barnes derived the band’s
name from a previous traumat
ic relationship: He met a girl
from Montreal and fell in love,
but the relationship ended in dis
aster.
Barnes might have dwelled on
the sad breakup enough to name
his band after it, but “Aldhils
Arboretum,” like most of Of
Montreal’s body of work, isn’t
soaked in melancholia. Barnes
penned every song on the album
and his imaginative and fantasti
cal spirit shows through in the
characters and scenarios he
dreams up.
“Natalie and Effie in the Park”
is a ditty about a girl and her
Yorkshire terrier, Effie, who be
comes her one true friend. And the
album is full of other make-believe
personalities such as Predictably
Sulking Sara and Consistently
Moping Murray.
The album has its innocent love
songs, such as “A Question for
Emily Freeman” and “Kissing in
the Grass.” There is also the idyl
lic “Isn’t It Nice?” in which the
lyrics blatantly evoke the Beatles:
“It’s a long and winding road to
our house.”
Of Montreal’s last studio en
deavor, “Coquelicot Asleep in
the Poppies: A Variety of
Whimsical Verse,” was a concept
album with each of the 22 songs
telling the story of a different
character. Each tale was inter
woven with the others, creating a
coherent string of narratives fea
turing more Kevin Barnes cre
ations, including Mr. Edminton,
Rose Robert and Detective
Dulllight.
“Aldhils Arboretum,” a 40
minute collection of 14 songs,
might not match the ambition of
“Coquelicot Asleep in the
Poppies.” But each song can stand
on its own, and Of Montreal
should easily duplicate its perfor
mance onstage.
“This is our first album since
the early EP ‘The Bird Who Ate
The Rabbit’s Flower,’ in which
every song will translate really
easily live,” Barnes said on thq
If You Go
WHAT: Of Montreal with
Perfect Sleeper, Schatzi and
the Envelopes
WHERE: New Brookland
Tavern
WHEN: Saturday at 9 p.m.
TICKETS are $6.
Web site for Kindercore Records,
Of Montreal’s label. “It is more
high-energy, and attention has
been focused on making the
songs feel more fluid and less jar
ring then the songs on our previ
ous two albums. We wanted to
make an album of singles — an
album where each song is
provocative and challenging but
still danceable and easy to sing
along with.”
The show is set to begin at 9 p.m.
Opening will be Perfect Sleeper,
Schatzi and the Envelopes, and ad
mission will be $6.
Comments on this story?E-mail
gamecockudesk@hotmail.com
PHOTO SPECIAL TO THE GAMECOCK
Of Montreal, which will perform Saturday, will release its newest album, “Aldhils Arboretum,”
Sept. 10. The album showcases the imagination of frontman Kevin Barnes, second from right.
BRIEFLY
" ‘ * ‘ “ r"’ ~ sstaW5" — —•-- ^ . .
Bon jovi, tve perform
at NFL season opener
NEW YORK (AP) - Forget park
ing-lot barbecues. The NFL
kicked off its season Thursday
with what it calls the “world’s
largest tailgate party,” a concert
in Times Square featuring Bon
Jovi, Eve, Alicia Keys, ‘N Sync
band member Joey Fatone, and
Enrique Iglesias.
The event, which included an
NFL fashion show, came before
the league’s prime-time attraction:
the New York Giants vs. the San
Francisco 49ers at Giants
( Stadium.
Dozens of city blocks were
closed, traffic was rerouted, and
about 5,700 police officers were de
ployed. Backpacks and duffel bags
weren’t allowed in the area, police
said.
Times Square is usually only
shut down to traffic on New Year’s
Eve, when upwards of a million
people jam the area to watch the
ball drop.
John Collins, the NFL’s senior
vice president of marketing and
entertainment, said the league
wanted to kick off this season in
a way that would show the re
siliency of New York, where it is
based.
“They really wanted to show
the country, and the world, that
Npw Ynrk f!itv is hank ” sairi
Collins.
“With the anniversary of the
Sept. 11 attacks approaching,” he
said, “the event also would include
time to honor the victims and
heroes of that day.”
The NFL is donating $4.5 mil
lion to the city for an undesignat
ed future project in lower
Manhattan, $500,000 for the city’s
Sept. 11 remembrances, and $14
million in advertising time dur
ing football games to promote
New York City, according to city
Sports Commissioner Ken
Podziba.
Mayor Michael Bloomberg has
defended the appropriateness of
the bash just days before Sept. 11.
“The NFL season is when it is,
and I don’t know that it’s inap
propriate,” said Bloomberg. “It
doesn’t take away from the cere
mony, of what we’re going to do
on 9-11.”
\t a city council hearing
Tt arsday, councilwoman Helen
Foster called the NFL event “a big
opportunity to do something
stupid,” and asked Police
Commissioner Raymond Kelly
about security measures.
Kelly cited no specific threats
but said, “We think about the pos
sibility of terrorism all the time,
and we take the appropriate steps
to address it.”
After performing in Times
Square, Bon Jovi was to fly by he
licopter over to Giants Stadium to
perform at halftime of the Giants -
49ers game. The band planned its
first live performance of
“Everyday,” a song from the al
bum “Bounce,” set for release in
October.
Part of the Times Square show
was to be broadcast live on VH1.
On Friday, CBS was to air parts of
the show at 10 p.m.
Texan Kelly Clarkson
wins 'American Idol’
LOS ANGELES (AP) - So the big
question: How does it feel to be an
instant American Idol?
"I feel a little bit of every
thing — anxious, excited ...”
Kelly Clarkson said after she
was selected as the nation’s
newest pop star Wednesday on
the Fox reality show "American
Idol.”
Less than an hour after claim
ing the honor, the 20-year-old
Texan clenches her hands trying
to catalog the other emotions in
her head. Finally, she gives up and
just grins until her eyes pinch
shut.
Based on the results of more
than 15 million telephone votes,
Clarkson beat Justin Guarini, the
23-year-old pompom-haired heart
throb from Doylestown, Pa.
The contest began with 10,000
entrants vying for a prize that
many singers work years for — a
recording contract, a profession
al manager and the opportunity to
perform in front of millions of peo
ple.
In the early stages, entrants
were eliminated by the thousands,
then by the dozens until only 10
remained.
Along the way, the Fox series
became the television hit of the
summer, particularly among
young viewers. More than 100 mil
lion votes were cast over the
course of the show. More than 18.2
million people watched Tuesday
as Clarkson and Guarini engaged
in their final battle of the power
ballads.
vvcuncoua.y o iwu-nuui linaic
featured a duet of "It Takes
Two” between the pair, and med
leys of various 1960s hits and
Motown songs from all 10 of the
finalists.
Clarkson choked back tears as
she roared out the song "A
Moment Like This” after being se
lected the winner. "That was
hard,” she said backstage. "I had
to put on my actress mode and
think of something else to get
through it.”
Guarini, who hugged her after
losing, said he became good
friends with Clarkson during
their work on the show and felt
she generally performed better
than he did.
“Kelly Clarkson deserves it,”
he said backstage. “I can’t sing
those songs nearly as good as she
can.”
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