Of Monsters and Men, an Icelandic rock group, visited Merriweather Post Pavilion in Columbia, Maryland, in September. The name doesn’t really seem to describe the group all that well, though a few photos may help clarify things.
The opening act was Oh Land, a Danish singer-songwriter who is not named either Oh or Land.
Oh Land started writing music in her bedroom after being forced to give up dance, due to an injury. It was an impressive move; she is an impressive singer and songwriter. It seemed half the audience sang along with every song.
Then the Monster appeared, much like the famed Flying Spaghetti Monster, only without (usually) the religious overtones:
On the left, the OMAM (Of Monsters And Men) logo. To the right, the monster. Or perhaps an odd artifact of shining powerful lights at the audience.Of Monsters and Men is itself something of a cultural miracle. Most two-album bands are opening acts, not the main event, much less main events singing in a language not their native tongue.
The Icelandic group Of Monsters and Men visited Merriweather Post in Columbia. Center stage, Of Monsters and Men, with a spotlight aimed at the audience. Off to the right, a video screen showing a not-much-better-exposed image of the same thing.Carrying on where Oh Land left off, the audience sang along with everything Of Monsters and Men had to offer. Fortunately, the band had amplifiers. And spotlights.
Spotlights lighting the band (especially a band dressed in dark colors against the black background of a stage) makes sense. It is less clear why rock concerts shine spotlights on the audience.
Nanna Bryndís Hilmarsdóttir, in blue and white pants, and co-lead singer and songwriter Ragnar Þórhallsson, to the left, perform at Merriweather Post Pavilion in Columbia. For a brief moment in time, spotlights were not aimed at the audience.It was a very pleasant way to spend a warm autumn day outdoors.
