Dan Deacon goes well beyond the idea of a one-man show. Playing from an ipod, warping his voice and playing with various keyboards, he makes glitchy, hyperactive electropop that screams of 90s TV shows and blissful nostalgia. Even if he just stood there and played his songs, it would have been an amazing show. However, he didn’t. Standing in the middle of the crowd, Deacon asked everyone to crouch down, to reach for the roof, to point downwards, and everybody obeyed. Then he launched into Crystal Cat, and thus ensued almost an hour of pure joy. Moving around his table of gadgets, he danced within the crowd while singing. Partway through the set, he parted the crowd like the Red Sea, and incited a dance-off while he played. Later on, he got THE ENTIRE CROWD to partake in a human tunnel, which went outside Bodega, around the carpark, and in through the back door. It lasted ten minutes. Commanding some unnatural power, the crowd bent to his will, and I don’t think have ever been happier for it. Girl Talk may start the party, but Dan Deacon IS the party. Finishing with the epic Wham City, looking around the crowd was like looking at a group of religious fanatics. A friend commented that he could have made everyone kill themselves if he wanted to, and it really didn’t seem like too ridiculous an observation. The man redefines bliss.
High Places brought their tribal beats front and centre for their live show, making their carefree jams more danceable than I’d thought they would be able to. Head Spins reached dizzying levels of magic, with Mary Pearson cooing to the crowd, winning their hearts without even interacting with them. Their shyness onstage added to their appeal, and also provided a welcome respite before the intensity of Dan Deacon’s set. Despite being two wholly different artists, with completely contrasting performances, the Animal Collective-esque overtones of the High Places set meant they stayed danceable enough to keep the crowd interested. Video screens showing children playing with animals reinforced the playground feel of their music, although I think some tropical imagery would have been equally appropriate. Seriously- between El Guincho, Ruby Suns and this, there is simply too much coconut-drenched tropicalia awesomeness going on for me to handle.
I missed Darren Keen, but reports were that it had nothing on his manic The Show Is The Ranbow gigs. Disasteradio played with video screens this time- I’m not sure theres much that can be said about him that hasn’t already been said. He brings the party every time.
To be honest though, it didn’t matter how good the opening three were, this was always going to be Dan Deacon’s show, and he claimed it with pride. Between the strobe-light green skull, the whole crowd singalongs and the sheer insanity of having the entire crowd AND artist outside the building, during his set, this was a night to remember – and one of the cheapest shows of the summer too. If you see people kicking themselves at carnival this weekend, you’ll know why.
James Beavis
