Future Islands 1000.

Future Islands @ FI1000
Future Islands @ FI1000
Future Islands @ FI1000
Future Islands @ FI1000
Future Islands @ FI1000
Future Islands @ FI1000
Future Islands @ FI1000
FUTURE ISLANDS

Dan Deacon @ FI1000
Dan Deacon @ FI1000
Dan Deacon @ FI1000
Dan Deacon @ FI1000
Dan Deacon @ FI1000
Dan Deacon @ FI1000
DAN DEACON

Danny Brown @ FI1000
Danny Brown @ FI1000
Danny Brown @ FI1000
DANNY BROWN

Ed Schrader's Music Beat @ FI1000
Ed Schrader's Music Beat @ FI1000
ED SCHRADER’S MUSIC BEAT

Valient Thorr @ FI1000
VALIENT THORR

FI1000
FI1000
Future Islands @ FI 1000
FI1000
Future Islands @ FI1000

Earlier this summer I made the trip down to Carrboro, NC with noted Baltimoreans Kevin Sherry and Mark Brown to watch Future Islands play their celebratory 1000th show. I wrote the following for Noisey:

FUTURE ISLANDS BRING IT ON HOME TO NORTH CAROLINA FOR THEIR 1,000TH SHOW

Future Islands capped off their first 1,000 shows (and a tremendous year) with an all-fam celebration in Carrboro, NC this Sunday, appropriately dubbed FI1000. Not wanting to miss it, I packed into a car with a few other Baltimoreans and road tripped it down there. Though known primarily as a Baltimore band, the boys grew up in North Carolina and started the band there, so it felt right for this party to be down south.
Located at the open air Carrboro Town Commons, the show had kind of a block party or family reunion vibe with a lineup filled with old friends of the band. NC buddies like Valient Thorr and Lonnie Walker, along with Baltimore friend Dan Deacon and Ed Schrader’s Music Beat. Add in Danny Brown and about 4,500 exuberant fans and that’s a recipe for quite a party.

The relaxed atmosphere was pretty perfect for a intimate fest like this, with the artists mingling with the (mostly young) crowd, who seemed appreciative of even the early bands on the bill. But once Danny Brown took the stage, the energy of the crowd spiked sharply, with people dancing exuberantly, grinding, chanting along. The stage fencing almost gave way at more than one point. I don’t think the Carrboro Town Commons security staff had seen a show like this before.

Dan Deacon kept the energy high, performing a set mixed with both new tracks and old classics like Wham City and Crystal Cat. I’ve seen him do his audience participation parts more time than I can count, but it never ceases to amaze me how he can coax a huge crowd into seemingly anything. He also took time to speak about police violence and how it affects us all, the most somber moment of the night but delivered in a classic uplifting and reflective Deacon manner.

All the artists told stories about Future Islands, some dating back to even before they were a band. The anticipation was super high for them to take the stage at dusk. Always charismatic on stage, it was obvious how pleased the guys were to be playing in front of friends and family. Throughout, frontman Sam Herring kept the crowd engaged with anecdotes and stories (told in a Southern accent that grew throughout the night) about their time as a band, growing up in North Carolina, and about the other bands who played. It was a great set, full of both intimate moments and big stage moves – confetti and huge balloons kept the crowd bouncing. They played a packed set which of course included songs like Seasons and Tin Man, but also ranged to older, little heard songs like Pinocchio and New Autobahn, to the obvious pleasure of the crowd. They closed the show out with a promise to return to Town Commons when they hit 2000 shows, though I guess they’ll need a larger venue next time.

VIEW THE FI1000 SET HERE | READ THE STORY ON NOISEY HERE

Dan Deacon: Reflektor Tour 2014 @ Verizon Center

Dan Deacon @ Verizon Center
Dan Deacon @ Verizon Center
Dan Deacon @ Verizon Center
Dan Deacon @ Verizon Center
Wham City members Robby Rackleff & April Camlin lead the crowd in interpretive dance.
Dan Deacon @ Verizon Center

The other day I shot Dan Deacon and Arcade Fire for the Washington Post at their Verizon Center stop of the Reflektor tour. I initially was a little worried that the show would be a little empty, or that the crowd wouldn’t ‘get’ Dan’s typical group-participation antics. I was wrong – though it took a minute for the large venue to fill in, it eventually got packed in there and it seemed like everyone was super happy to join in with Dan.

Some funny moments of the show for me: at these big shows, photographers always have media handlers who take you where you are supposed to be. However, since Dan set up at front of house to play, they were like “wow, I don’t know what’s going on, just do your thing,” which rarely happens. Also, was surprised to find that grindcore legend Scott Hull was in attendance. He asked me what Dan Deacon was all about, I tried to explain it, and assumed it wouldn’t be to his taste… but he loved his show!

See all the Dan Deacon : Reflektor Tour @ Verizon Center photos here!
See all the Arcade Fire photos from Reflektor Tour here!

Dan Deacon for City Paper.

Dan Deacon City Paper cover

I shot Dan Deacon for last week’s City Paper cover story, which highlighted his new album, America. We shot on his roof, and in his studio, with one of his flags behind him (the flags are the cover of the record and he is having them made to be included with the album!). I’m scared of heights, so the roof shoot was harrowing, but I think it came out pretty well.

Here are all the shots from this shoot, including many which didn’t make the story: Continue reading

Dan Deacon portraits for XLR8R Magazine.

Dan Deacon.   Dan Deacon.   Dan Deacon.

I shot these with Dan in his house in… 2009? Wow. Don’t know why I never posted these. These were for XLR8R Magazine, which no longer exists in printed form (RIP). The fabric in the background is the fabric that was used (he had it hand-made) for the tent that is on the cover of Bromst (which was photographed by the lovely & talented Baltimore photographer Frank Hamilton).

Continue reading

Dan Deacon Ensemble, Celebration, Matmos @ Ottobar.

Dan Deacon Ensemble @ Ottobar
Dan Deacon Ensemble @ Ottobar
Dan Deacon Ensemble @ Ottobar
Dan Deacon Ensemble @ Ottobar   Dan Deacon Ensemble @ Ottobar
Celebration @ Ottobar
Celebration @ Ottobar   Matmos @ Ottobar

Awesome show, from beginning to end. 3 very different, yet complimentary Baltimore music groups, all on one bill! A great weekend for the Ottobar, who also hosted a sold out Wye Oak show the following night… anyway…

I have seen Matmos several times, and they are always different. This night, they chose to create a droning/grooving sort of atmosphere with a Caribbean (to my uninformed ears) feeling type of beat, very noddable and swayable. One of their songs got pretty minimal industrial, again to my uniformed ears, and I would SWEAR that on one song they used the same sample as Ministry does on one of their “Land of Rape And Honey” era records… but maybe I am just a goth.

Celebration remains one of my absolute favorite bands to see live in Baltimore… I love their old material and their newer stuff is growing on me more and more now that I have seen it played live a few times. Their set has morphed into only having one or two songs from the “The Modern Tribe” era, and they are still a treat to watch.

Dan Deacon used this show to introduce his new five piece ensemble (who I have posted about here recently) , and I really enjoyed the additional instrumentation. I think it worked best on the newer songs, ones that I assume were written for this group, but even on the classic Deacon songs, I think they added alot, especially the dual percussion. Live drums really can create a feeling like nothing else. The crowd seemed to agree, they went CRAZY, which is too be expected, and it was a really really fun set. Somehow I managed to stick it out the whole time at the front… a bit of a while since I managed that, but I was having a blast!

See the rest of the photos here!

Dan Deacon Ensemble.

Dan Deacon Ensemble.
Dan Deacon Ensemble.
Dan Deacon.

Dan had me shoot a few photos last month, to go out along with the announcement of the new Dan Deacon Ensemble, the planned new record, and his signing to Domino Records. Above are a few of my favorites from the session.

Along with Dan, the other members of the Ensemble are:

– Denny Bowen (Double Dagger, Roomrunner)
– Chester Gwazda (Nuclear Power Pants)
– Jordan Kasey (Zomes)
– David Jacober (Dope Body)

Click here to see more photos from this session.

Trans Am, The Psychic Paramount, Dope Body @ Sonar.

the Psychic Paramount
Trans Am
Dope Body

The other week, I checked out Trans Am playing the entirety of their FUTUREWORLD record, along with local stalwarts Dope Body and the blissfully droney (and foggy) The Psychic Paramount. An all around great show, in the club room at Sonar, but to me the best part of the evening were The Psychic Paramount, who I had somehow never seen before… a great set, a wall of noise, feedback, fog, light, riffs… really good experience. Check them out.

Dan Deacon, Future Islands, Ed Schrader’s Music Beat @ Current Gallery.

Dan Deacon @ Current
Ed Schrader's Music Beat @ Current   Future Islands @ Current
Future Islands @ Current
Dan Deacon @ Current   Future Islands @ Current
Ed Schrader's Music Beat @ Current
Dan Deacon @ Current   Dan Deacon @ Current

What a fun show! A combination “back to school”/”Dan’s birthday” show, 350 or so people packed into the parking lot behind Current Gallery at 6pm sharp and got to see great sets by 3 local acts. What Cheer Brigade also played, and were great! They are a 12+ piece brass band from Rhode Island… really fun to see live. They stressed that everyone should be there on time or they would be sold out, which ruled, show started on time, ended on time. The rain managed to MOSTLY hold off, and we got to see an acapella performance by Future Islands after Garrett’s laptop shorted out from the drizzle… hopefully it’s okay. All fun!

Wham City Comedy Tour first night!

Wham City Comedy Tour.
Wham City Comedy Tour.    Wham City Comedy Tour.
Wham City Comedy Tour.
Wham City Comedy Tour.    Wham City Comedy Tour.

Me and Michael Byrne went to the opening night of the Wham City Comedy Tour, a DIY night of comedy, skits, music, video and performance art by the Wham City Collective (and friends). Wham City is a (mostly) Baltimore-based group of artists in all media, including Dan Deacon, Ed Schrader, Dina Kelberman, Connor Kizer, Adam Endres, and many more.

Since it was the first night (and, as I found out later, the first time the whole program was performed in it’s entirety), there were a few timing issues and a few off beats, but all in all it was really entertaining… the various pieces that were performed managed to change moods, from absurd slapstick, to bleak dark comedy, to wry intellectual wit. For every gag that fell flat, there were several that hit hard and I don’t think anyone there could say they didn’t laugh out loud many times. The first leg of the tour is done, but they are going out on another soon! Check them out!

Read the SPIN review here | See the full photo set here, with NEW stuff I just uploaded!

Dan Deacon Ensemble, Future Islands, Teeth Mountain @ 9:30 Club

Dan Deacon Ensemble @ 9:30 Club
Future Islands @ 9:30 Club   Dan Deacon Ensemble @ 9:30 Club
Dan Deacon Ensemble crowd.
Teeth Mountain @ 9:30 Club   Future Islands crowd.
Dan Deacon Ensemble @ 9:30 Club   Dan Deacon Ensemble @ 9:30 Club

Sunday, Dan Deacon and his Ensemble rolled back into the area (along with Future Islands and Teeth Mountain). It was awesome to see so many friends playing on the big stage at the 9:30 Club. It was especially great to see Denny Bowen (of Double Dagger, Smart Growth fame, and part of the Ensemble) up there, as I have known Denny for years, and used to have his high school bands playing in the basement of my old house, the Dirtfarm. Such a good show, so great to see Dan’s songs performed with instrumentation, and to see him work his showmanship magic on such a huge crowd, and a “professional” space.

Future Islands and Teeth Mountain were really good as well, I was especially taken by Teeth Mountain, their set really benefited from the big sound that is possible at a venue like the 9:30.

More Dan Deacon Ensemble photos here!

Big Ears Experimental Music Festival 2009, Knoxville.

michael gira @ big ears.   fennesz (with sparklehorse) @ big ears.
big ears.   matmos @ big ears.
matmos @ big ears.   DJ Dog Dick / Baltimore Round Robin @ big ears.

This weekend I went to the big ears music fest in knoxville. I saw so many artists, but the highlights were: philip glass, michael gira (swans, angels of light), christian fennesz (performing with a variety of collaborators), negativland (performing It’s All In Your Head FM), dan deacon and the baltimore round robin (ed schrader, cex, smart growth, adventure, dj dog dick, height)… It was a really great festival, small, low key, with the emphasis on the music and the artists and not a million sponsorships. Seriously, it was a great event and I really hope the organizers can keep it up with this level of quality in the future! Don’t miss out next year!

Oh yeah, and here is the full Big Ears set!

Dan Deacon & Jimmy Joe Roche @ Zodiac.

jimmy joe roche.

dan deacon.

Art collective Wham City has been regularly having shows at it’s space Zodiac (formerly a resteraunt, right next to the Club Charles)… last week I stopped in to check out Dan Deacon performing some newer material and the new piece by Jimmy Joe Roche. Also performing was Adventure, (who has a split LP out now with Dan), but I didn’t get any photos during his set.

Jimmy Joe Roche (co-creator of last years’ Ultimate Reality performance piece/DVD and wicked Magic: the Gathering player)’s piece was CRAZY and deserves a special mention : he had loops of millisecond samples from metal songs, and video loops of various satanic imagery, all hooked up to a laptop… and a EKG, attached to his forehead. The EKG recorded electrical activity in his brain, and would make changes to both the audio and video images as his mood changed. Since he was thrashing in place and basically freaking out, you can imagine there was ALOT of activity! It was pretty awesome and really appealled to the dormant headbanger lobe of my brain.

full set here!

Look out for the upcoming XLR8R feature on Dan Deacon, with photos by yours truly, for his appearance on Andrew WK’s new talk show, and for his new record BROMST.