Dan Deacon creates gleefully spastic electronic music, but he's known perhaps more for the experiences of his shows than the jagged bits of ear candy he creates. The Baltimore prankster's concerts are never the kinda thing you experience passively, he encourages everything from dance-offs to synchronized dance circles. I saw him in Oakland for the traveling Station to Station performance, where he was easily the star of the event after he had fans download an app that turned the space around the stage into a sea of flashing colors glowing from people's iPhones.
So it makes perfect sense that Deacon is coming to San Francisco to perform in a space that encourages massive creativity — The Exploratorium. He'll be here on December 11 as part of the museum's Resonance program, which invites a different cutting-edge musician to experiment in the fancy sound lab of the Kanbar Forum. This particular show will focus on player-pianos, specifically the work of composer Conlon Nancarrow.
Since the evening begins with an interview about Deacon's creative process, the whole event promises to be pretty inspiring for both your ears and your brain. There are only 150 seats available, which means it's gonna be an intimate show — and that you should jump on it if you want tickets. Admission is $20-$25 and includes entry to the museum's After Dark programming as well. More info here.
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Photo by Shawn Brackbill