The Decibel Tolls

It’s worth noting immediately that the Round Robin Tour – Deerhunter, No Age, and Dan Deacon performing “in the round,” as it’s called – was one of the best times I’ve had at a show in recent memory. The show was intense yet lighthearted, and loud as hell throughout. The music, in all aspects, was simply impeccable. Case in point: I walked into the show more or less liking No Age and Dan Deacon, but not really feeling either way about them. As far as I was concerned, I was there for Deerhunter and that’s that. However, with solid, incredible performances by every act, my attitude was altered about 15 minutes into the show.

Of course, the comfortable nature of Newport’s historic Southgate House, with its balcony seating, cheap drinks, good air circulation, and general professional level of production played no small part in this as well. There were four opening acts for the headlining threesome (zomg! unintentional pr0nz). So, by my arithmetic, seven different artists played – all of whom had varying instrumentation that was probably challenging to mic and mix. Yet there was absolutely no change-over time. You were treated to music non-stop from 8 p.m. doors to 1 a.m. curfew. Tickets for this show were $10. That’s value you don’t get much too often in these economic times. So bravo to Southgate House for keeping the tickets low and the music rolling without a hitch. I love this venue.

The first act was already performing on the ballroom floor by the time we made it in (the line slithered all the way up to York Street). It was a mostly-female noise group whose name I did not catch, and were not terribly remarkable anyway. But I hadn’t had a highball in me yet, so maybe I was just being Grouchy Jones.

White Rainbow played next, and he was the best of the four openers. A menacing one-man sound machine, White Rainbow plays it just like I like it – simple drones building up to loud washes of gentle oscillations. Then he rips a funky guitar line, loops it, and builds a technicolor wall of sound. It was very reminiscent of Growing, whom I oft spring chub for. I wish his set was longer than the alloted 15 or 20 minutes he played. He’s got a new club banger coming out on Kranky in October called New Clouds. No doubt that shit will be tight.

The crowd was really into one-man act Ed Schrader. I still can’t figure out how I feel about him. I guess that’s challenging performance art in practice? And if that’s the case, does that mean he’s “good” or “artistically relevant” (cue Hipster Runoff)? Dressed in his Heavens Gate best (all white), Schrader banged on a tom and throatily sang surreal lyrics in rockabilly fashion. And that was it – drum, voice, and inter-song banter and antics. I felt like I had a confundus charm cast upon me during the jam. I dunno, maybe it was cool. I went and grabbed a cocktail in the middle of it. Shit confused Bloggins.

Infinite Body, in theory, was good, but very taxing to listen to at the height of anticipation for “No Deachunter.” After two rather excitable openers and the funky fresh brain rape from White Rainbow, it was very difficult for me to enjoy light space drone that seemingly went nowhere (though L-Train said she enjoyed him the most of the four openers). His lights were cool, though.

At this point, it was already 10:30 p.m., but we did not wait long for Deuce D to appear first, then the ‘Hunters, then the two Bro Agers. The show began with a three act collaboration on Deerhunter’s “Cyrptograms.” It didn’t sound terribly different with the others’ input, but it was certainly fuller. No Age added extra drums and guitar to the song’s climaxes, and Deacon sprinkled electronic flourishes where applicable. After “Cryptograms,” the three acts began to take turns playing their songs in order -  No Age, then Deacon, then back to Deerhunter. Most of the show operated in this fashion, and that was just fine with us.

No Age was impressive. As mentioned, I liked No Age going in, but never found them anything to write home about – ya know, on record, the collective act as a general noisy punk group who ocassionally throw in ambient tracks for continuity. Live, they’re a different beast; a firey, snarky acid punk juggernaut. The band, as a duo, was chunky, full, and clear. It’s amazing what a little reverberation and amplication on the drum kit will do to up the ante. Each song they played was compact and succinct, ripping though much of Nouns, and keeping it all punk as fuck. They catalyzed a lot of crowd surfing, which is rather unusual at most of the shows I go to. You could cut the intensity with a knife. I see now why No Age is not overrated.

Deerhunter definitely delivered the goods. They kept the improvisation to a minimum compared with other bootlegs I’ve listened to, but hey, they were sharing the show. No time for dickin’ around with effects pedals. More importantly, Deerhunter has developed into a tighter entity over the years. The group certainly isn’t just a collection of studio dudes, they’ve got chops, too, and hearing the zenith of “Nothing Ever Happened” over thousands of watts was boisterous and Biblical. The band kept their set pretty Microcastle heavy, delivering the aforemtnioned, as well as “Cover Me/Agoraphobia,” and “Never Stops.” Though I would’ve enjoyed some deeper cuts – anything off of Turn It Up, Faggot or the latest Rainwater Cassette Exchange, it was awesome hearing the bombastic rendition of the title track off Fluorescent Grey:

Dan Deacon, perhaps unsurprisingly, was the showman of the evening. A veritable PT Barnum, Deacon decorated the stage with his various contraband – party lights, battery-powered flood lamps (for passing around the crowd), a trippy green skull staring into your soul – and ripped right in to his Future Shock synth assault, including the infamous “The Crystal Cat.” Antics abounded, including ample audience participation and human architecture experiments… like the one below. Unfortunately, the camera’s memory card was full during the song’s climax so the video cuts off. But you get the jist – a Dan Deacon show is basically a carnival (or a carnivale):

The show ended the way it began, with a everybody-gather-’round performance of No Age’s “Everybody’s Down.” If you’re familiar with the song, you know about its quite-loud dynamic. When the song kicked in after a minute and a half, six guitars, two drummers, and a madman behind a green skull and various analogue equipment extended the four-chord progression for over five minutes, with guitarist Randy Randall handing over his divining rod to the audience to let everyone else get a strum in. The bands were noticably having a blast, the crowd was ecstatic, vibes were good… I couldn’t think of a complaint if I was paid to… except maybe for being unable to figure out what Ed Schrader’s all about.

The seven date Round Robin tour ends tonight in Milwaukee, so if you’re in the SoWisc/Chicagoland area, make haste. It will be worth a scalper’s price if ya gotta.

Major industrial-sized props are due in the direction of mah boi Jim Lerza and Emily Crothers, who, after hearing about my recent camera issues and lack of funds, donated one for us to use. Secondly, Lana again came correct on the photo tip and snapped some of the best of the set, which are included below. If you like her stuff, visit her Flickr – dissonantobjective.

More photos after the jump. Continue reading ‘[Photos + Video] Deerhunter, Dan Deacon, and No Age with White Rainbow and More – 8.4.09 – Southgate House, Newport’