Triple Rock Memories: Jon

Dan Deacon’s first show at the Triple Rock was such a whirlwind of chaos, weirdness, and pure glee that it will forever be cemented in my memory as one of my favorite shows. To start the show Deacon (who performed from the floor, surrounded by the crowd) selected myself and another guy who also happened to be named Jon and made us join hands to form what he called “The Pyramid of Jon,” which he got the whole room chanting. That was just the first part of the bizarre and wonderful spectacle that was the show. Everyone was dancing like crazy. Everyone was soaked in sweat. Everyone was crammed in next to one another in a way that would be a gross violation of personal space in any other context. It was pretty amazing. I think NOMO were great too but they couldn’t really compete with what followed. 

 

 

This was another one of those utterly insane shows that was just a big, fun, sweaty mess. I am still not sure how my camera managed to make it through this one intact. At one point I was completely blindsided by a body hurtling through space – the guy had enough air that the first thing he hit was my face. Nothing broken though I got up and kept shooting. At another point my camera bag was accidentally hooked and kicked across the floor underneath an energetic mosh pit. Again, luckily I was able to retrieve it and all lenses were still intact. 

 

 

This was just another fun, fun, crazy show. It wasn’t my first time seeing Khan and the Shrines (nor would it be my last) but it was quite possibly the best. It was utterly chaotic in the best way possible – one of those shows where the band and crowd kind or merge and just vibe in a rollicking fun way.

 

 

This was from before I was really shooting shows so I don’t have photographic proof (pic above is from when I saw them again years later at the Varsity Theater).  What an amazing show though – my expectations were low due to the band being “past their prime,” but holy shit did those old guys deliver. This was probably my first experience with a super crazy punk show so it opened up a whole new world for me. 

 

This was my first time seeing the Black Lips. I can find very little about this show online so my imperfect memory is my only guide. But I believe this was the show where a couple of guys picked up another dude and ran around running him into people like a battering ram. The Black Lips were great. As were openers (and one of my favorite local groups that is no longer with us) Private Dancer. 

 

Apparently these guys are still around but I haven’t heard anything from them for years. They are/were essentially a Brazilian Carioca Party Rap/Funk band. Their show back in 2007 was a ton of fun. Even though it wasn’t super well-attended it was incredibly high energy. 

 

I went to this show because I was a big fan of the openers, The Soft Pack (formerly The Muslims). They were great but the show also opened me up to the world of Kurt Vile. In retrospect I feel lucky for having been able to see him in such an intimate setting as this day and age he’s kind of a big deal.