Concert Review: Dan Deacon at The Whitney

Have you ever experienced Dan Deacon live? This was my first time, and it took me by storm. This isn't a pansy-ass concert, it's an out of control experience. For starters it was at the Whitney Museum of American Art, which is in a pristine neighborhood surrounded by Carolina Herrera, Searle and Christian Louboutin boutiques. When I walked up to the Museum the line went from the entrance of the museum, up Madison and as far down 75th street as I could see. Yes, a full avenue block. I thought this was going to impact my ability to see the show, except the Walrus has a corporate membership with the Whitney (thanks Walrus!) so I just walked right in, and got in. The Tortoise met me, and after a few snafu's, we both got in (thanks entirely to the corporate membership). We sort of unwittingly got caught in the middle of the crowd, with our bags and coats on the floor in front of us.

First, Dan Deacon has us do some stretches, by way of telling us some sort of bizarre story. I really cannot describe this and accurately and do it justice. I also missed the memo on mixing and matching drugs. Holy shit, everyone was so fucked up, I don't know what these kids were taking. When the "dancing" (read: wild flailing, jumping, and shoving) began, being in that crowd was like standing in the ocean and getting absolutely pummeled by a wave, just completely over taken and not being able to do anything about it. Tortoise and I scrambled to get the HELL out of the crowd of teenage hipsters (not intended to be derogatory). We managed to meet up with some friends that we standing on the wall unit radiators overlooking the crowd. From there we were able to watch all of the crazy rituals, including a costumed dance off and the tunnel. Frankly. you should just experience this for yourself. If you can use some sort of substance prior to the show, I would encourage that. I think a few beers would have helped me out, but I enjoyed myself nonetheless.

So, in comparison to The Dodos, I would say that they aren't in the same category. Dan Deacon is performance art/social experiement, while The Dodos are just focused on music. I personally prefer The Dodos type of concert, but I had a blast at Dan Deacon. I didn't leave with the interior glowing feeling that I get after a great concert. Sometimes I still feel glowing and happy the day after a show. That is the true gauge of the quality of the show in my opinion. Dan Deacon was just such a unique experience that I would highly recommend it to anyone is isn't faint hearted (or weak spirited).

<3 Elephant