January 17th, 2014
Deacon, an artist whom P had long championed, came to the (area in front of the) stage and broke out a recording of Queen's We Are The Champions.
Many in the crowd sang along. Between choruses, Deacon hyper-ranted
about how insane it was to consider that Freddy Mercury -- or any human
being for that matter -- could write such a glorious song. He led up to
the final chorus shouting, "...and then this just pours out of your
brain!" The chorus blasted and the sold-out crowd sang along
emphatically. It was clear from the start that this night would not be a
mourning for the demise of 285 Kent. It would instead be a celebration
of music itself and the power it can have to bring people of all shapes
and sizes together in communal fashion.
Deacon worked his magic in front of the stage,
allowing crowd members to come onstage until he was enveloped by those
in attendance. The set-up was simple. One man, his computer, a mic,
and a single, strobing light. The simplicity resulted in a memorable
experience. Throughout his set, the crowd jumped up and down here,
writhed about there, always in unison. Deacon makes intelligent party
music. What sounds like hundreds of instruments (and with the recording
of Rail, it's not far off), the music had people moving from the start,
changing up without notice, and always crescendoing to a frantic
climax. His songs are classical in nature, but something like Woody
Woodpecker's laugh may be chopped into bits, rearranged, and repeated to form the rhythm of the song. His
vocals were high-pitched and cartoonish, only adding to the spastic
nature of things. Dan Deacon makes classical music for people who
are more crystal meth than chardonnay.
Ever the showman, Deacon the MC connected with the
crowd in between songs. At one point he took it further, instructing everyone to open up a circle in
the middle of the floor and kneel around it. Having already earned the
crowd's trust, everyone obliged. He asked Todd P to come into the
circle for a dance off. As the owner made his way, Deacon attributed his
success in great part to P and explained how the owner was "all of the Batman villains and Spiderman heroes in one person." Patrick challenged Deacon to a dance-off. It
wasn't pretty (see below), both guys moved back and forth laterally,
palms out, until P did a forwards leapfrog over Deacon. They each
tagged in a member of the crowd. It turned into a bromantic comedy
before a few gals were pulled in, elevating the dance moves. Soon all
were dancing.
For
the finale, the crowd again followed instructions and took out their
phones to open the Dan Deacon App. Yes, he has an app. Deacon
transmitted onto about 40 phones, turning them into microphones with
pulsating lights. The crowd grew silent as Deacon played the track on
the phones. It was all very Zaireeka.
After a few minutes of dancing to an iPhone beat, Deacon engaged the sound system, shifted gears, and floored it. The crowd went wild. A
bartender crowdsurfed from the back of the room, getting to the stage
just as Deacon finished, landing a foot from Todd P. She was a
champion! We all were on this night.
Links:
Odd Future crash show...
Dance-off:
Zaireeka
