L.A. Gets Wild With Dan Deacon At KCRW's First Friday Series

Dan Deacon It's one thing to see a show surrounded by elephant-sized concert-goers who block your view. It's another  to catch live music surrounded by actual elephants and other very large land mammals. Though an unusual setting, it actually lends itself quite well to the indie rock and intimate acoustic set experience, as exhibited once again at the most recent monthly First Friday event at The Natural History Museum. Featured artists Japanther and Dan Deacon brought a first to last week's First Friday presented by KCRW and Spaceland: moshing. Surrounded by nature's majestic creatures, the crowd let loose with its own (respectfully) beastly behavior. When technical difficulties kept Dan Deacon from performing, he had the crowd sing a few rounds of "Happy Birthday" while techies worked out the issues, then led the group into a gigantic dance circle. On his blog, KCRW DJ Anthony Valadez exclaimed "Holy sh&*&*t I have never seen one man command a crowd with such showmanship!" Deacon was there to promote America, his frenetic and sweeping 2012 concept album which drew influence from both the corporate evils and the pastoral majesty of our country. Check out the highlights of the night in the slideshow or go wild with our full coverage.