Super Secret Summer Surprise with Dan Deacon at the ICA

How did the ICA screw up so bad? Well, most folks could point it out from the get go: a $25 cover charge and no one under 21 allowed in. Bostonist thought something was off with these requirements before attending the event, considering how outspoken Deacon is about allowing people of all ages into shows and keeping prices low. After all, this is the same guy who orchestrated the two-night Baltimore Round Robin extravaganza that featured a dozen acts each night for a combined price of $15. So, it was comforting to hear Deacon question the ticket price when Ultimate Reality were about to set up. Again, more points for Deacon, nothing for the ICA.

It was this high cover charge and lack of a youthful presence that tail-dove into the evening's other problems. For those who were concerned about the high ticket price, it only foreshadowed the inevitably high price of beverages, the cost of which made the House of Blues look like the Dollar Store. And without kids being able to enter the ICA and relatively-sober adults, no one was enticed by the pre-show antics involving a giant game of Twister, a heavily-advertised component of the Super Secret Summer Surprise.

The weather may have also been to blame, as the Experiment was initially meant to be held outside. Though a beautiful summer's night was just outside the ICA's glass walls, the sound from the night's performers bounced around the inside of Diller Scofidio + Renfro's acoustically inept - though aesthetically beautiful - museum innards. The space issues not only affected the aural moments of the evening, but the interpersonal ones. Simply put, the ICA's atrium is an awkward space for a concert. The awkwardness may also have been due to the fact that an unusual crowd of folks gathered last evening for the show. The noticeable lack of people aged newborn to 7,664 days old was offset by an odd mix of attendees that included people in their finest clubbing attire, ICA members, those who chose to dress like an archetypal bro or hipster, and people who just looked generally confused or lost. It may have created an odd atmosphere, but on the bright side it's another step toward Deacon's goal to appeal to all different kinds of individuals.

Of all the screw-ups-and-downs that the ICA stumbled through the night making, two factors were absolute killers: scheduling and preparedness. Or, a lack thereof. The event was scheduled to start at 8 pm, and though something may have been happening in some corner of the ICA somewhere, the actual event didn't kick off until Videohippos hit the "stage" at 9:30. The ICA should take a cue from another museum just across town, the MFA: when the MFA advertises that a show will start at 8 pm and doors will open at 7, one can expect for that to happen. Not so at the ICA.

So when Dan Deacon was "set" to perform at 11:20 pm, the ICA's lack of preparation kicked into gear. Deacon spent 25 minutes grappling with the museum's faulty DI boxes, searching for quarter inch cables, and acting generally bemused. And for good reason. Considering the man has performed in the grungiest basements with PAs on the brink of catching on fire, one would think that a museum that cost $41 million to build would have some sound equipment that worked when it needed to. Unfortunately, that wasn't the case. Sure, come a quarter to midnight, Dan Deacon was on his feet, launching into "The Crystal Cat." But roughly four minutes later, something was amiss again. Before the newest sound problem was solved (if it was solved), Bostonist had already taken off, hightailing it to the T in order to catch the last train home.

True, there were a lot of variables in this experiment that went horribly, horribly wrong. But, the components that went well made the painful effort seem worth it. Videohippos performed a solid set of fuzzy, poppy art-punk to kick off the evening, lashing away even while most of the crowd kept to themselves outside. Jimmy Joe Roche's video art presentation, while wholly odd in its own right, was mesmerizing as its accompanying soundtrack sent waves of trance-like sound through the ICA.

The Ultimate Reality presentation persevered on the personalities involved. On Deacon's beckoning call, the crowd moved towards the double drum kit and screen set up in a corner of the ICA to witness Videohippos' Kevin O'Meara and Ponytail's Jeremy Hyman bash away to some contorted images of Arnold Schwarzenegger. Though the ludicrous "plot" of Ultimate Reality is hard to discern - an assortment of stories stemmed from classic and classically-bad Schwarzenegger films - Deacon's composed backing track, Roche's composed film, and O'Meara and Hyman's kinetic interplay got people moving and exciting.

Then came the disaster that Deacon unfortunately encountered. The man was clearly frustrated with the faulty equipment, the lack of help, and the sheer confusion on so many people's parts during the evening's events. Any other person in his position would have packed up and called it a night, but he persisted through the faulty signals and messed up DI boxes until everything seemed in place. For what it's worth, "Crystal Cat" was an ecstatic event, with Deacon letting loose after nearly half an hour of scrambling to get his set together. Though this Bostonist isn't sure what happened at the ICA past midnight, he certainly has gained more respect for Deacon. Even when the experiments he decides to try out backfire, he's willing to see it through. And that's a win for everyone.