Last night I had the great opportunity to see Dan Deacon play at Sneaky Dee’s, here in Toronto.
I had first heard about Deacon after a friend in Vancouver pointed to me to a glowing review of his performance last year at Richards on Richards(which is now a condo, btw).
The artist is known for highly interactive shows in which he engages the crowd to dance, pose, or move around based on his suggestions.
When he’s not working the room, his setup is blaring a noisy synth-pop mix which he sings over. It’s kind of like chip-tune meets punk meets yoga class.
But that’s just the beginning. We were lucky to get one of his most well-known routines last night, and that is the one where he gathers up the crowd, has people form a tunnel with their arms, and everyone runs though the tunnel and goes outside to the street.
When you finish getting through the tunnel you have to keep forming it at the end so it goes to infinity. Dan winded it around so everyone would go back into the venue to hear his last songs of the night.
The show was great, except I couldn’t really see what he does since he plays at ground level off the stage.
I must admit though, a lot of the songs weren’t for me. Too much noise and energy, but everything else that went on made up for the music that I didn’t enjoy. Deacon reminds us that it’s not always just about the music. A good performance needs more than just showing up and playing a few songs.
Tonight he played at The Great Hall, but one show was enough for me. I must say that both events were about $10 each, so if you’re a die-hard fan that was a pretty good deal.
In a weird time for the industry, Dan Deacon seems to be pushing all the right buttons.
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