Animal Collective’s Josh Dibb (Deakin) and David Portner (Avey Tare) explains the situation to the crowd at the dark 9:30 Club. Photo by Elizabeth Brown.
Experimental pop superheroes Animal Collective were scheduled to start the first of three sold out 9:30 Club shows at 9:10 p.m. last night. When the 9:30 Club’s lights went black at 8:55 p.m., the crowd shrieked in anticipation, assuming that the quartet was ready to grace the Club’s stage for the first time in four years. There was even the vague promise of some new material since they’ve been playing their Centipede Hz songs since their first Merriweather Post Pavilion show in 2011.
It didn’t take long for the audience to realize that something was wrong. The band never appeared and the music never started. What’s more, the oversized inflatable teeth and Seussian limbs that had stood erect during ex-Dirty Projector Angel Deradoorian’s woozy opening set had fallen limply onto the stage and the club’s only lighting came from a few emergency ceiling lights and flashlights held by 9:30 Club’s security.
Anyone who had not yet figured out that the Club’s power had gone out got the point quickly when Animal Collective’s Josh Dibb (Deakin) and David Portner (Avey Tare) took the stage roughly fifteen minutes later. Dibb effectively silenced the crowd (but for a few isolated shouts) so that he could tell the club sans microphone that the power was out and to sit tight while they figured out what they could do.
The 9:30 Club crowd, which was bereft of the face paint clad and glowstick toting dancers of their 2009 show, stuck around chattily but patiently even as the lack of air conditioning became a more obvious nuisance. Meanwhile, conversations between 9:30 Club staffers revealed that the power had gone out on the entire block, affecting businesses as far away as Dodge City. While awaiting a call from Pepco, the 9:30 Club staff reminded questioning patrons that electronic wizard Moby played on buckets for a while when a power outage effectively ended his show and that if Animal Collective didn’t reschedule the show or refund tickets, that they could potentially play an acoustic set.
What the show should have looked like. Photo of Animal Collective by Brandon Hirsch
Nevermind that they haven’t recorded an album of anything remotely resembling acoustic material since 2004’s Sung Tongs (or if we’re being completely honest, since Campfire Songs). But they did a Take Away Show shortly before the release of Merriweather Post Pavilion using entirely acoustic elements and could improvise! How awesome would a set of unplugged Campfire Songs and Sung Tongs tunes be?! Plus, Ted Leo once combated a power outage at the Ottobar in Baltimore by playing unplugged in the parking lot, so surely they’d find a way to make it work. Right?
At roughly 9:30 p.m., the entire band took the stage and gave the crowd the bad news: that the power outage probably would not be dealt with until 1:00 a.m. They then delivered the better news: that they would try to get a generator and play a truncated set if the crowd could hold out until 10:30 p.m. for the generator to arrive. The crowd gave a resounding shout of approval.
Dibb and Brian Weitz (Geologist) also encouraged patrons to drink the 9:30 Club’s beer before it went bad, although that presented its own problem. As patrons crowded the bars, the 9:30 Club staff had to close out everyone’s bar tabs manually due to the lack of electricity. At 10 p.m., they finally called the show, encouraging the audience members to hold onto their tickets and to check the 9:30 Club’s website for further information. Barring any weird acts of nature, Animal Collective will be back at the 9:30 Club again tonight.
