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Live Review: Dan Deacon, NOW Ensemble, and Calder Quartet at Ecstatic Music Festival (3/20) BY JAKE COHEN ON MARCH 21ST, 2012 IN CONCERT REVIEWS

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At last year’s Ecstatic Music Festival, Dan Deacon created a bit of a stir when, for 10 minutes, the audience listened to the sound of soda draining from microphoned two-liter bottles. Things got uncomfortable. Grievances were audibly uttered. Deacon likes to stretch things out, to see how far they’ll go, to make people a little uncomfortable. But his aim is true: MORE IN NEWS He does it for fun, and he hopes you’ll see the humor and absurdity of his twisted ideas and MOST POPULAR MOST COMMENTED find some joy in them. JET BREAKS UP

Deacon was back for more humor and absurdity RECORD STORE DAY 2012 REVEALS FULL LIST but much less draining soda at this year’s OF RELEASES Ecstatic Music Festival, writing a nearly SKRILLEX PLANS MASSIVE NORTH AMERICAN hour-long piece for a more standard chamber TOUR ensemble than last year’s all-percussion soiree with So Percussion. Using the combined ALBUM REVIEW: ODD FUTURE – THE OF TAPE forces of the eclectic NOW Ensemble (piano, electric guitar, clarinets, flutes, and double VOL. 2 bass), the Calder String Quartet, and himself on electronics and live processing, Deacon SIGUR RÓS TO RELEASE NEW ALBUM VALTARI presented the world premiere of his latest effort in the world of classical music, An Opal IN MAY Toad with Obsidian Eyes.

ABOUT US ADVERTISE CONTACT US PRIVACY POLICY TERMS & CONDITIONS COPYRIGHT © 2007 - 2012 CONSEQUENCE OF SOUND MADE BY doejo Deacon revealed a few of his tricks in a pre-performance chat with WNYC’s John DATES, TICKET INFORMATION Schaefer, such as the use of Auto-Tune as a pitch-quantizing device, and the use of a click track as a pulse in the second part of the work (he invoked both and Terry MADONNA TO RELEASE NEW ALBUM IN SPRING

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Riley as possible influences in this regard). At times, the sound of those two great 2012 minimalists was noticeable, especially in the second section, “Fleece Needs”, which used THE MORNING BENDERS CHANGE NAME TO POP a quintessentially Reichian timbre. With the echoing, wood block sound of the click track ETC grounding the music in even rhythms, guitar, and piano, the string quartet provided a THE TALLEST MAN ON EARTH ANNOUNCES NEW rhythmic backdrop, while bass, flute, and clarinet played long tones unfolding in waves ALBUM: THERE’S NO LEAVING NOW of intensity over the chugging background. It brought to mind my favorite moments of Music for 18 Musicians or the Double Sextet.

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LOLLAPALOOZA AUG 03-AUG 05, 2012 - CHICAGO, ILLINOIS (GRANT PARK) In fact, Deacon’s piece was, in many ways, much more conventional than his drum-heavy BUNBURY MUSIC FESTIVAL foray into classical composition last year, Ghostbuster Cook: Origin of the Riddler. Using JUL 13-JUL 15, 2012 - CINCINNATI, OHIO (SAWYER more standard modern instrumentation, and borrowing heavily from minimalism, POINT AND YEATMAN'S COVE) Deacon seems happy to explore this very 20th century sound world using his own 21st BONNAROO MUSIC AND ARTS FESTIVAL century electronic timbres and harmonic language. The opening movement, “Mirkwood JUN 07-JUN 10, 2012 - MANCHESTER, TENNESSEE Dance”, was the most successful, based entirely on layering sine wave drones. These (GREAT STAGE PARK) waves and the sounds of the instruments were processed through Auto-Tune devices to OPEN'ER FESTIVAL create a lush, consonant wash of rock-friendly harmonies. The “dance” unfolded as one JUL 04-JUL 07, 2012 - GDYNIA, POLAND (BABIE DOLY AIRFIELD) huge crescendo of dynamics, texture, and pitch, as the unmetered, amorphous blob of sound grew and grew. See all Festival News

The third section, “Caddyshack Batman”, utilized a player piano device that allowed Deacon to turn a grand piano into a nearly electronic instrument. Recalling the mathematically precise and impossible-for-humans player piano works of Conlon Nancarrow, Deacon’s piano erupted in frenetic bursts, playing rapid notes on at least VISIT OUR FRIENDS 30-40 keys, creating a shimmering and absurd sound that his fans will instantly recognize from albums like Spiderman of the Rings and . ALPHABET ARM MUSIC FOR ANTS ANTIQUIET NERDY SHOW BEATCRAVE ROCK IT OUT! BLOG BROOKLYNVEGAN SLICING UP EYEBALLS BUMPERSHINE SOME KIND OF AWESOME COVER ME STEREOGUM CULTURE BULLY TEXTHOG DOEJO THE AUDIO PERV ELBO.WS THE MUSIC SLUT HIDDEN TRACK THE RICH ROFFMAN SHOW HIPSTER RUNOFF THE TOP 13 HOW'S MY LIVING? THE WEEKLY FEED HYPETRAK THE WHISKY DREGS INFOROO TWENTYFOURBIT MEDIA POTLUCK WINDY CITY ROCK

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2 of 5 3/29/12 2:43 PM Live Review: Dan Deacon, NOW Ensemble, and Calder Quartet... http://consequenceofsound.net/2012/03/live-review-dan-deacon...

What Deacon perhaps needs to add to his classical compositions is the act of self-editing or restraint. Without a sweaty mass of dancers feeding off his repeating music, the piece seemed to remain stuck in a single, static harmonic and rhythmic block for too long. There were some small changes within these meditative moments, but for a musician as dynamic as Deacon, some additional variety would have been appreciated.

In contrast, the evening began with two works better attuned to a sense of proportion, complementing each other perfectly. The NOW Ensemble played their own guitarist Mark Dancigers’ Cloudbank, which he described as an exploration of the group’s extremely heterogeneous and disjointed timbres. The piece began with light, airy, staccato notes from the players, creating a composite melody that repeated many times. Just as it seemed this section was becoming stubbornly unchanging, the piece switched gears into an expansive flute melody with long, legato tones from the entire group. Flutist Nathalie Joachim soared, her playing building like a mind-blowing guitar solo, passionately bringing the piece to a climax before falling back into the opening sound.

Just as Cloudbank was hopeful, impressionistic, and playful, Daniel Wohl’s Glitch for string quartet and electronics was dark, sinister, and heavy. The four movements explored the concept of a mistake as musical manifestations, and in each movement, there seemed to be some kind of “glitch.” The first movement prepared the audience for Wohl’s sound world: Electronic string-like drones laid a basis for violinist Benjamin Jacobson’s glitch – nervous, twitching melodies and trills. Cellist Eric Byers used a variety of extended techniques, hitting his instrument for percussion and occasionally making glitch-y sounds by scratching his strings.

The entire piece featured many dissonant glissandos, dark tremolos, and heavy-handed bowing that brought out a certain weightiness and severity in the sound. The Calders, who commissioned the work, were outstanding not only in their sound but in their communication and the ease with which they moved between romantic, melodic fragments, minimalist rhythmic pulsating, and Ligeti-esque modern string effects. The final movement was perhaps the most fascinating, as the full sound of pentatonic rock harmonies gave way to muted scratching and finally to a major key apotheosis of consonant arpeggios, building slowly from the depths of each instrument. It had an almost Wagnerian scope, a sense of awe and grandeur that provided a hint of light at the close of such a dark piece.

Listen to the whole performance now via NPR.

TAGS Dan Deacon, NOW Ensemble, The Calder Quartet

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PARTY: STOUH X SMES SHOUT 2 SOUTH BY SOUTHWEST 2012: A DAILY GUIDE SOUTH BY SOUTHWEST REVEALS 2012 MUSIC SCHEDULE LIVE REVIEW: DAN DEACON AT THE NEW PARISH IN OAKLAND, CA (11/30)

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Doejo

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