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Of Monsters and Men – Palais Theatre
Returning to Melbourne for the first time in a few years, Icelandic band Of Monsters and Men returned to the Palais Theatre for The Mouse Parade Tour. Bringing tracks from their latest album with them, the evening was a perfect blend of new and old; particularly the songs that first made audiences fall in love with them over a decade ago.
Opening the evening was Gordi, once again supporting Of Monsters and Men at the very same venue she joined them at back in 2016. Calling it a ‘trip down memory lane’, the set moved through tracks including Volcanic, Lunch at Dune and Extraordinary Life, while Heaven I Know showcased stunning live vocal looping that silenced the room. Closing with Cutting Room Floor, Gordi felt like the perfect choice to support the band once more.
As the lights dropped and the band made their way onto the stage, the theatre erupted. ‘We are very, very happy to be back…[it’s] been a minute’. Launching into Television Love and Dream Team, Of Monsters and Men wasted no time introducing material from their latest album All Is Love and Pain in the Mouse Parade, before diving into older favourites like King and Lionheart – much to the audiences delight.
Human proved to be an early standout (complete with melodica), before Kamikaze was introduced as a song about ‘when your brain is telling you stupid stuff’. During Styrofoam Cathedral, lead vocalist Nanna Bryndís Hilmarsdóttir stepped to the very front of the stage to sing directly to the crowd, while Alligator continued with the pace.
Before launching into The Actor, the band reflected on the realities of travelling from Iceland to Australia. ‘Thank you so much and thank you for the dance… we flew 40 hours to get here – our brains are so fucked up,’ they laughed. ‘Every flight for you is fucking long.’ The slower-paced track gave the room a moment to breathe before The Block slowly built the mood back up again.
Title track Mouse Parade saw the group gathered together in a circle on stage as if time had briefly stopped around them – all singing together without their instruments. Then came Dirty Paws, which drew some of the loudest cheers of the night, with much of the seated crowd quickly abandoning any attempt to remain seated to sing along.
The second half of the set was stacked with favourites. Crystals sounded incredible live, before Ordinary Creature was introduced as a song ‘about feeling like you’re becoming yourself again. Your type of ordinary.’ Encouraging the crowd to sing along, the band rolled straight into Little Talks, which unsurprisingly prompted the biggest audience reaction of the evening.
By the time Visitor arrived, complete with the promise of ‘one more song, wink wink’, Nanna was moving through the aisles and singing amongst the crowd. Returning for their encore, the band reflected on their long history with Melbourne and the Palais Theatre itself. ‘We played this venue in 2013,’ they shared before performing Love Love Love, calling it ‘one of the very first songs we played together as a band.’
Closing with Fruit Bat, the final track from their latest album, Of Monsters and Men ended the night on one of the boldest songs in their catalogue and a personal favourite. ‘[It’s] really gonna be the last song. Until next time’, they smiled. Judging by the reaction inside the theatre, we will all be more than ready for that next visit when they return.