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The world famous Knitting Factory looks surprisingly small when you walk into the main stage area. Looking at Dan Zimmerman and his band, followed by Ortolan (two of the no-less than four opening acts leading up to the headliners!) one had to wonder how the stage – deeper than it was wide – would accommodate the eight-piece Danielson, a band made up of friends and family members and known for a very visual birthday-party of a show. Lower Manhattan on Halloween night can be an entertaining but potentially intimidating experience, but was somehow an appropriate date for the kick-off of Danielson’s first domestic tour in over two years. Interestingly, on this October night the members of Daniel Smith’s entourage (simply called Danielson these days) didn’t seem out of place at all in their stage uniforms: the women, Nedelle and Megan, resembling two World War II era Andrews Sisters (minus Laverne?) and the men in their modified postal worker/boy scout garb, all set off by the specially designed Danielson footwear. Had there been any trick attached to this treat, it would have been the band showing up in normal clothes…

Certainly, normal was not the operative word at this show, populated as it was with artists from the Sounds Familyre, Asthmatic Kitty and Secretly Canadian family of labels – home to such acts as Cryptacize, the musically jarring three-piece band that immediately preceded Danielson, with their unique sound: the musical approximation of a film by David Lynch. Nedelle, the stunning singer/ guitarist/keyboard player, along with the bandaged-from-head-to-toe Chris, who played refined yet manic electric guitar and sang exquisite harmony, both reappeared after their set as members of the headlining band, sans capes and bandages, and sporting appropriate Danielson attire,. Danielson, full-strength, included the standard drums and bass, along with two electric guitars, a keyboard, two back-up singers and, of course, the eye of the storm: Daniel Smith.

Smith, looking like a cherubic Dutch Boy on a mission, accompanied his high-pitched child-like vocals with acoustic guitar (festooned with a large ‘D’ on the body) as he led the band through new songs and songs reaching back to the ‘90s. Red-faced and fully-involved in the moment, Smith frequently turns and make contact with band members to make sure that the ship is running smoothly. Clearly in charge but refreshingly unpretentious, Smith clearly enjoys the connection with his audience, encouraging the all-too-willing crowd to sing along, clap along and even snap fingers-along (!). The songs have a child-like quality that sometimes masks the fact there’s a lot of musical complexity going on. This is a cross between rock band and small orchestra, with complex timing and careful interplay of rhythms, notes and textures. 

On this opening night of the current tour, Danielson was: Daniel Smith (guitar, vocals); Chris Palladino (keys, vocals); Megan Sloboda (vocals); Joshua Stamper (bass, vocals); Patrick Berkery (drums); Ted Velykis (guitar); Chris Cohen of Cryptacize (guitar); Nedelle Torrisi of Cryptacize (vocals, glockenspiel). The eight-member ensemble was a veritable clockwork of sound and activity throughout the show.

His music being an outgrowth of his art school experience, Dan Smith makes Danielson concerts conceptual as well as musical events. The show is certainly about music but it’s also about band and audience as community-of-the-moment, communication of a spiritual reality and a sharing of artistic ideas, both tangible and intangible. When the music is over, alongside CDs and Vinyl albums (and seemingly just as important), band members produce bags and boxes of custom designed T-shirts, patches and chotsky of more artistic merit than is usually found at most 'merch' tables following your standard-issue rock band show – of course, there’s nothing standard-issue about Danielson.

A Danielson concert is an almost primal experience. Musically, the songs are a curious combination of sophistication and play-time – a children’s TV show with a sub-plot. Romper Room for music majors.

It’s certainly true that Smith’s vocal style (which features heavily in the music) is an acquired taste, and I wouldn’t begrudge anyone who would walk away confused or even annoyed, although that would be a pity. Danielson touches the child within us while challenging the heart and intellect.
It was a pretty cool Halloween party.

Words and pictures - Bert Saraco