Dan Deacon : Live

<img src="http://www.qromag.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/dandeaconaug31.jpg" alt="Dan Deacon : Live" />Dan Deacon with Friends closed out Indianapolis' Earth House Collective by very nearly bringing the house down. ...
Dan Deacon : Live
Dan Deacon : Live

The imminent closing of the Earth House Collective in Indianapolis was announced abruptly on August 22nd.  Earth House was built as a church in the 1800s, but recently came into its own as an artist collective, community center, concert venue, coffee house, and more.  They promised to fulfill all current obligations, ending with Dan Deacon’s show only nine days later on August 31st.  This effectively made his set the unofficial closing party for this space.  The performer and venue stood in stark, but enjoyable contrast.  The juxtaposition of modern electronic music and a 19th century church may not have worked, but the square floor space was ideal for Deacon’s brand of audience participation.  This was certainly a somber day for those involved in the Indianapolis community, but the energy of his music is always decidedly positive, providing a chance to send the venue off in style.

Dan Deacon crowd

Dan Deacon’s recorded output is a dense, layered, detailed affair, but where he really shines is on stage.  His loose and frenetic, part-comedian, part-musician, part-ringleader style ensures a good time for all, even those who would balk at his recorded output.  Showing an even deeper understanding of what makes an engaging crowd experience, his supporting acts were extremely diverse, and had little downtime between sets.  First off was Alan Resnick, whose act was a bizarre mix of comedy, interactive artificial intelligence, and sales pitch.  The material was great and mostly worked, but probably wouldn’t go over with most concert audiences.  Deacon’s fans have come to expect the unexpected, and they may be familiar with his work with Wham City Comedy, so they embraced it. 

Chester GwazdaA few minutes later was Chester Gwazda, the producer of Deacon’s 2009 album Bromst (QRO review), who played electric guitar, accompanied only by a MacBook.  Again, this was a short and sweet set that was well received with little time before the next performer.  Another surprising choice was Height With Friends (QRO photos), a group consisting of Baltimore rapper Height backed by guitar, drums, electronics, and some backing vocals.  Often sounding like Licensed to Ill if the backing tracks featured less metal and more roots music, it shouldn’t have worked on paper.  Height’s earnestness and the tremendously solid beat of Kevin O’Meara from Videohippos were the glue that made the set stand out.

Dan Deacon

Dan Deacon crowdIntroduced as the Dan Deacon Ensemble, this was not the fourteen-piece outfit that he has toured with in the past (QRO live review of debut), but rather himself and Gwazda on electronics with O’Meara and Jeremy Hyman on drums.  After working the crowd up, Deacon led them on a countdown from 17 (yes, 17) before bursting into his set.  Like all Deacon crowds, everyone was moving, so much so that you could feel the 150-year-old wooden floor heaving like a stormy sea.  This halted abruptly when Deacon lost power a minute later.  Unfortunately, the floor and power would be recurring themes.

Deacon would lose power once or twice more that night, each time making light of the situation to hold the crowd over until order was restored.  The real problem came about halfway through the set when those working in the coffee shop downstairs noticed the ceiling cracking from the stampede above.  Deacon then had to repeatedly ask the crowd to spread out to evenly distribute their weight, and not to run or jump; awkward requests during a performance that regularly utilizes people working together in close contact at high speed for much of its appeal.  Eventually, Deacon even had the entire crowd sit for a song.  This took the wind out of the sails of the back half of the show, although it still had more energy than 99% of other artists’ performances.  Luckily, he ended on the epic “USA”, a more contemplative affair that fit this new state of energy better.

seated Dan Deacon

Dan DeaconWhen so much of a Dan Deacon show is about surrendering control and letting loose, it is hard to fully enjoy yourself when having to be conscious of how you moved in case you fall through the floor.  Dan Deacon is the guy to bring the house down on a closing night, but this crowd nearly did so literally.  So much went so right up to that point, and there is no one to blame, but it was still disappointing given how Earth House deserved to be sent off.  By most standards, Earth House still went out with a bang, but for a Deacon set, it went out with a whimper.

Dan Deacon

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Concert Reviews
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