Dan Deacon @ The Great Hall

November 5th, 2009

dandeacon

Way back in May I had barely even heard of Dan Deacon before. It was that same month that a friend of mine went to a Dan Deacon concert at the DeLeon White Gallery in Toronto. She would not stop raving about how Dan got the whole crowd dancing, a feat I find very impressive. Curious, I went on Dan Deacon musical exploration adventure and was shocked that I hadn’t listened to him before. Not only was his music upbeat and fun, but he really did know how to make a crow move! From that moment on I swore that the next time he came to perform in Toronto I’d be there ready to party.

This guy is kinda the coolest. And his show last night was kinda the best.

Proudly from Baltimore Maryland, Dan Deacon has been creating electronic danc-ey splendor since the early 2000s. His first full length album Spiderman of the Rings came out in 2007 and quickly sparked a buzz, making many a top album of ‘07 list. Deacon has been churning out the goods since, the most recent being his latest album Bromst, which came out March of this year.

Dan is known for his inclusive shows. He sets up his gear on the floor with the audience, so he’s right there with you – not up on some stage. He’s all about audience participation and crowd games. He’s like a musical motivational speaker if you will (just not cheesy in a bad way). These are the things in life I love. Needless to say I was counting down the days to last night’s show and WOW it did not disappoint. WOW WOW WOW! Best show of 2009. Wanna know why?

Photos and more after the jump!

You know how boring it is waiting outside a venue to get into a concert? Not boring at all when you’re at a Dan Deacon show! How so? Two masked characters emerged as we all waited in line. You know just to get us in the mood. Oh they also gave away prizes. See?

Crazy cool right? We’ve just begun.

The show then began with two opening bands taking turns! Toronto’s own DD/MM/YYYY and Detroit’s Child Bite took turns breaking the ice and warming the crowd up. The venue became very sweaty very fast. Next up on stage were friends of Mr. Deacon’s. Named Nuclear Power Pants (lol right?), the fellow Baltimore band were all a glow. By this I mean there were a ton of black lights and neon. A lot. Also? The band was dressed up like glowing sharks? And then there were matching libarian-esque dancing lady singers and 2 twin like hairy male singers. Fun times all around.

What took place next was quite the set up. Move these speakers here, move all of Dan’s stuff there etc. Luckily, we were provided with some fantastic Violent Femmes tracks for us to sing and dance along to in the meantime. Side note? Mucho respects for bands that choose to play great music in between sets. It really sets the mood (pun indented).

Back to the show! Finally it is time! Dan Deacon’s stuff is all set up and he’s got two friendly giants on each side of him to brace the table of equipment from the crowd who is all ready rowdy with excitement.

Now how to begin a show? Well with a point and stretch lead by Deacon, followed by what else but a countdown! We weren’t allowed to say the number 5, and instead had to named states or provinces. 10…

And off we were! The entire show was an insane and amazing bust of energy. Red F started the show off with electricity and things continued to take off from there. Every song, from Snookered to Paddling Ghost (my personal favorite) had everyone dancing and singing along.

Things only calmed down briefly when Wet Wings was played, and when Dan asked us to put our hands on someone else’s head and have a think. After that it was right back to partying! At two points, Dan has us clear the floor and form a giant circle to dance. One was more of a dance party; the other was a follow the leader interpretive dance. Both were the fun-est of fun!