Dan Deacon - El Rey Theater, Los Angeles, CA, 10/20/12

8.7

Dan Deacon is tired. His LA date comes weeks into his America tour. He is not reluctant to harp on this fact and it showed in his performance. Normally, Deacon has an infectious live energy, able to enthrall an entire room with his one-man show. But on Saturday night he brought backup in the form of a full ensemble band. The live instrumentation elevated the music to grandiose levels but dulled the spark between solo performer and audience.

The venue itself is one of the loosest and most intimate in town, giving the friendly audience ample room to move and shake to the band's electric whirr. The crowd worked as an understandable unit, moving together but reflected the band's depleted energy. Compared to other live acts, the show was fantastic but lacked that urgent sense of community only a participatory show like Deacon's can muster. That night, as the crowd jumped and sang together, each revelation or catharsis happened internally and mirrored the tone of America.

As with any Dan Deacon show, the fellow Baltimore openers are quirky and awful. These include a bone-dry Powerpoint comedian who fell flat and a forgettable rock act. A tongue-in-cheek guitar-rap duo picked up the pieces and warmed up the crowd, despite everyone saving their energy. Seconds after  the Dan Deacon ensemble took the stage, the room's energy exploded with a vivacious rendition of "The Crystal Cat." Musically speaking, the band was both tight and sprawling at once, flying through an America-heavy set. The first half highlights include a "Crash Jam" dance-off that blew the pants off the album's noisy racket.

The night lacked the cohesive crowd participation necessary for Deacon to do his thing so he cut the night's activities short midway through, deciding to focus on the music instead. For those familiar with the magic this playtime can create, this was a momentous let down. The second half bounced between Bromst and America and even included the first half of "Wham City." "True Thrush" and "Lots" leveled-up the audience to frightening heights, reassuring LA that the band still had fight left in them midway through their tour.

"Of the Mountains" calmed the sweaty tribal circus but still faltered due to clunky audience participation. The encore rightfully consisted of the 20-minute opus "USA" and played out as expected. By this point, the band seemed weary of such a feat but were grounded by an excellent drummer. When translated live, the album's highlight is easy to lose yourself in. It flew by and before I knew it, the show had ended. Looking back, it was an enjoyable way to spend a Saturday night but failed to reach the genuine joy Dan Deacon shows are capable of. Then again, maybe the LA stop in his America tour represents the norm.