In the country for appearances on the Summer Tones and Golden Plains bills, Baltimore-based Dan Deacon held aside a cold Thursday evening for a show at Melbourne’s much loved Tote.

Opening proceedings to little more than a couple dozen punters was local experimental act Ouch My Face. Leading lady Celeste Potter’s bloodcurdling wails are the focal point of this act, occasionally screeching to a halt as her male co-stars chimed in with similarly earth-shattering results. A feature of the trio was the quirky riffs and bass lines used throughout the set, with one such moment on the four-string sounding eerily similar to that of Marilyn Manson’s Beautiful People.

Another Melbourne product in Baseball provided the second line of support, with frontman Thick Passage seemingly vying for the honour of loudest set of pipes after witnessing Potter’s earlier efforts. In saying this Passage was at his best when showing off his extraordinary skills on the violin, paving the way for drummer Evelyn Morris to step into the vocalist role on various tracks. Like Ouch My Face, Baseball played what seemed like only a brief set, but certainly mustered some elements of intrigue and a shock factor that those in attendance wouldn’t soon forget.

The crowd had gathered slowly over the course of the support acts, although as Deacon put the final touches on his slew of bits and bobs on a table in the middle of the room, the attendance appeared surprisingly mediocre. Not one for a big entrance, Deacon suddenly grabbed his microphone and stated ‘Alright I think I’m ready to go!’.

You’d be mistaken if you thought this is when the music starts, as the performance opens with a solid five minutes of banter between Deacon and an increasingly annoying young attendee. Experience wins out, as Deacon challenges the now shirtless individual to act as a vessel for the energy of the crowd, with surprisingly effective results. The room remained lacking in music for another ten minutes as Deacon, looking balder and geekier than ever, prepared the crowd for the imminent madness.

Finally the first electronic samples pounded through the speakers, bringing frenzied dancing from those who had piled into the sunken floor of the Tote bandroom. Just a few tracks in it was silence again, as two unsuspecting patrons were plucked out at random to commence a tag-team dance-off, for want of a better term. Capping off the crowd participation soon after was Deacon’s gauntlet, which saw all in attendance pairing up and raising their arms together to create a tunnel that snaked out into the beer garden for excited fans to run through. Cheesy as it may seem, the enjoyment taken from the gauntlet was immense.

Bringing the gig to its goofy climax was Deacon’s popular yet unreleased track, Silence Like The Wind, bringing a raucous sing-a-long to the fore. The night was wrapped up on a sentimental note, as Deacon announced the fact that the Tote Hotel had been passed in at auction earlier in the day, bringing a great round of applause for the Melbourne music icon that keeps on keeping on. After the show Deacon further proved his fan-friendly nature by happily welcoming those who stuck around to have a chat or grab a photo.

While not setting any benchmarks in the way of musicianship or pitch-perfect vocals, Dan Deacon is certainly a unique talent the world could use more of. Better yet, he knows how to put on one hell of a good time.

CHECK OUT THE PIX FROM THE GIG HERE