Dan Deacon is everybody’s homeboy

September 23rd, 2011 | By Geo Gomez gomezgeo@grinnell.edu | Section: Arts

Today’s popular electronic music scene can be characterized by a few choice bands: Crystal Castles, Skrillex and Deadmau5 dominate raves and house parties alike. Their music appeals to the youthful lust for dance and loud noises. And then there’s Deacon.

Dan the man leads the congregation in a ceremonial head touching, preparing them to get down. Photograph by Emma Sinai-Yunker

The jolly performer did his thing Friday, Sept. 16, in Gardner Lounge, where students got a taste of his classic down-to-earth personality.

“I went in there and he was just eating pizza,” Jackie Reynders ’15 said. “It was unsettling.”
While Reynders may have been a skeptic, there were plenty of Deaconites in the crowd.

“He touched my hand. I’m never washing it again!” Joanna Silverman ’15 said.

Gardner was teeming with people even early in the night.

“I can’t willingly not go to a Dan Deacon concert,” said early-arriver Richard “Big-Dick Rick” Montalvo ’15. “It would just seem wrong.”

Utopia Park, the first act, tore the roof off the proverbial house. The artists, themselves students and brothers (adorable), spat fiery chords with explosive bass, rocking the room into a dance fury. Born Gold, the second act, doled out just as many of the jive vibes. Unfortunately, their fog machine proved to be too much for the crowd and the music was quickly replaced by the moans and groans of students filing out of the emergency exits.

Although the night  faltered, the urge to dance lingered,  in the air and students didn’t travel far.
“I still wanna dance my ass off to Deacon,” Yohei Takatsuka ’15 said. “Dude’s sick! You wanna dance your ass off you, go to a Dan Deacon concert.”

After a short hiatus, the audience returned to see Dan Deacon set up, not on stage, but on the floor in front.

“He always does that to get closer to the people,” Benjamin Schemper ‘12 said.

Deacon’s set-up included a large switchboard and gothic inspired decoration: a neon green skull on a pole chilled above the heads of the crowd.

Deacon soon delved into his energetic, breathless smash of electro music. The crowd grew dense (something like a swaying stampede) and so did the sweat. A light set-up alternated between frantic strobe lights and kaleidoscope flashes. Deacon’s familiar hit Crystal Cat set the crowd into synchronized chaos.

After a few more classics, Deacon hushed the music and grabbed the mike. “Look towards the center of the room,” he said, “and think of your guilt. Think of any guilt, from something you did in the past or even something you’re still doing. Think about that guilt, think about it hard.”

The crowd was still in an energetic mood but there were half-smiles all around.

“Now put your hand on the head of the person in front of you,” Deacon whispered.

After hands were on heads he resumed, “Now let go of that guilt and let’s dance and have a good time!”
The crowd skyrocketed into a calamity of grooving, bumping, grinding and all around getting down. Deacon’s interactive performance fueled his audience to a dance bonanza. Even those who didn’t exactly mesh with Deacon enjoyed themselves.

“I didn’t know what to do,” Linnea Hurst ’15 said. “So I just danced!”.