Photo Credit: Liz Colville
Remaining true to their namesake, Animal Collective performed Saturday at the Celebrate Brooklyn! benefit concert alongside fish, sharks, jellyfish, and Merriweather Post Pavilion
-crazed man cubs. To those unable to attend the Prospect Park Bandshell venue, fear not: Here are the nine things you missed.
1. Keytar Solo. DJ Dam Funk was personally selected by Animal Collective to rock a keytar into oblivion. The crowd was stunned — not since the glory days of Snoop Dogg’s “Sexual Seduction” has anyone felt such unbridled passion for piano-guitar breeding.
2. Finding Nemo. The theme of the set was water-life. Three layered, carved out boards moved back and forth in front of a green screen, imitating the rocking of waves. Later in the night, lanterns surrounding the venue lit up to reveal their true form, jellyfish. Prior to performing “Fireworks” a…
3. Huge Shark took the stage. Incredible.
4. Leaf House. Despite the two album absence of guitarist Deakin, Animal Collective still played their 2004 classic, “Leaf House,” from Sung Tongs. Considering that the band has freed themselves from traditional instrumentation, the tune was recreated with their current DJ formation.
5. Sonic the Hedgehog Rings. The light show on the blue screen featured bloodshot rising suns and what appeared to be golden rings from the Sega Genesis video-game.
6. Inflatable Phallic-like Tiki Statues. They were there. Two to be exact.
7. For the Fans. They opened with “Grace” and later played “#1.” Every song had transitions/tribal chanting. Avey Tare played guitar and looked like he was going to explode. Not everything was electronic — Panda Bear still played drums during “Fireworks.” Geologist was, well, Geologist.
8. For the Newcomers. Much of Merriweather Post Pavilion was played, including “My Girls” and “Brothersport.” “Lion in a Coma” was performed during the encore.
9. Glow-Stick Balls. Midway into the set, Animal Collective’s cronies tossed clear, inflatable beach balls into the crowd. These glow-stick containing balls were gutted within a half hour. The raving began shortly thereafter.