Dan Deacon Entertainment Art Grant Park at Lollapalooza Chicago, IL August 9, 2009

Whichever path one takes may depend to a large extent on which album they hear first. Deacon’s work is varied and changed over time. His Masters in Electro-Acoustic Composition studies at SUNY Purchase had him tinkering with sine waves and live ensembles. This progressed into the Acorn Master E.P., with its short songs/pieces combining neo-classical synthesizers, beat loops and the introduction of his trademark Alvin and the Chipmunks-pitched vocals. Spiderman of the Rings cemented his name in the electronic music world, and this year’s Bromst fuses all his talents into one dense, seriously amusing album that stands as his most ambitious yet smartly restrained one yet.

Deacon himself stated in interviews that he doesn’t pitch his works to be mainstream or obscure. But he wouldn’t want anyone to listen to it who doesn’t understand where he is coming from. Though his pieces could be enjoyed by casual listeners, a good understanding of music would really allow one to get his drift-he’s not just trying to be funny for funny’s sake.

Recently, Deacon expanded upon his live setup by including an ensemble. He use to set up his gear in the middle of the crowd, fusing stage and spectators into a whole. Now, an entourage of marimbas, keyboards, and drums join him to add a new dimension.

At Lollapalooza, with so much anticipatory energy in the air, even Deacon and ensemble’s false starts were cheered. The sound issues at the beginning of the set had Deacon playing the role of concertmaster: “OK, everyone give me a concert C. Now a B-flat.” The start-and-stop of noise resembled his early student piece, “Sound Events”, and was strangely interesting. Then, Dan said, “Let’s pretend the last ten minutes never happened.” The head-spinning performance was not surprisingly Bromst-heavy, filled with voice-pitch-altered nonsensical lyrics, a torrent of marimba and drums from the backing orchestra, and even a cadre of brass-trumpets, tubas and trombones filling the stage for the final third of the show. “Red F”, “Paddling Ghost” and “Snookered” were played while Deacon roamed the stage, fine-tuning the show-in-progress like a hyperactive jazz band leader.

Starting with “Of the Mountains”, the second half of the show was played to the crowd games Deacon likes to initiate. Everyone tried to form a human tunnel, and then do a weird dance in a large circle per his request.

This is all part of the Dan Deacon experience, and each element is crucial to the mass dance-ritual that his shows evolve into. Minus a few of his musical quirks that become a tad too tried after extensive listens, Deacon’s work cements him as one of the most forward-thinking musicians and performers of today’s indie/art scene. His albums are understood when listened to over a good pair of ear buds, but the live aspect is a great way to see him in action-it’s where his creativity and energy mix.

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