Since the release of new album Bromst, it seems everyone wants to be Dan Deacon right now. And this was no exception for most of the crowd at Vancouver’s Richards on Richards. My head started to spin from all the crazy colored shirts and two-inch thick granddad spectacles that were surrounding me and making me see a thousand replicas of Mr. Deacon himself. Once my sight was clearer, and after an hour of meticulous stage set up, at least 15 people shuffled onto the already cramped Richards stage. Included in that group of people was the main man himself. With one arm wrapped across his chest in a sling, Dan Deacon looked around, pushed his oversized glassed up his nose and informed us tonight will be an “interesting one.” Standing behind his rainbow table of colored tape and a thousand knobs and buttons, he blasted through “Get Older,” “Of The Mountains” and “Red F” while his glowing, neon green skeleton head bounced next to him.
Everyone obliged and for the next ten minutes, arms and legs were waving and kicking all over the place as the crowd let everything loose.
The crowd was eager to join in on the party as Dan leapt off the stage and used his one-armed power to make the crowd form a circle and propositioned them to a huge dance off in the middle of the floor. Of course, everyone obliged and for the next ten minutes, arms and legs were waving and kicking all over the place as the crowd let everything loose. Instructions soon followed to find a partner, put your hands together and form a huge arm bridge for the whole crowd to conga under. They did just that and danced their way up stairs, passed the bar, behind the bar, down the fire escape and back at the foot of the stage.
As Deacon and his crew bashed drums and tapped xylophones under the burning flashes of light, they finished the night with even more craziness with “Snookered,” “The Crystal Cat” and no encore—probably because the clock was closing in on 1am for a Sunday night. As hair stuck to shiny foreheads and cheeks flushed pink, boys and girls arrived looking for a party and tonight, Dan Deacon proved this was where the party’s at.
Words and images: Lauren Keogh
