Dan Deacon’s Delusions of Grandeur

Baltimore's electro-wizard likes crowds, loves Ethan Hawke.

By David Callicott

Click here for more photos of Dan Deacon at CMJ!

The Deacon and his disciples, above.



It was a sold-out late show, with a sad mob of denied fans cluttering the sidewalk outside. Inside, a different story. It was a claustrophobic madhouse—typical for a Deacon show, but maybe one notch higher. The Baltimore electro-wizard had his banquet table of knobs and gadgets set up on the floor, overseen from the stage by a glowing green skull and a murder of stroboscopic paparazzi. With the house lights completely turned off, Deacon started the set off with a non sequitur chant: “Ethan Hawke. Ethan Hawke.” And from there, things went ballistic, a stark-raving rave.

Photography by Alexander Wagner

We watched from the balcony above as the congregation of disciples pushed towards the alter of sound like a horde of Deadheads going for a gate rush. The throbbing crush warranted a break in the music and an admonishment from the emcee: “This level of shoving is absolutely ridiculous!” Ridiculous, yes, but it did look like fun—if you are into hyperventilating, seizure-inducing stimulation, and suffocating human contact. Which, depending on the circumstances, we are.

It was the most intense set we’ve seen so far this week, and a breath of charged air after a slight overdose of indie rock. Deacon’s beats and blips and vocal weirdness make for a good show, and his absolute command of his obedient people is remarkable. In the middle of the mayhem, the self-described “narcissistic dickhead with delusions of grandeur” brought the room to silence, asked for all of the lights to go up, and then cleared a path through the crowd for a chosen few to run through “like you are Diplo, high-fiving everyone in the room.” It was like an impromptu version of adult duck-duck-goose. Without the geese. Or the adults.

Download Dan Deacon’s “The Crystal Cat” here!