The Blurring Lines of Entertainment

Despite the cold weather, My husband, son and I were nice and toasty last Saturday at the Girl Talk/Dan Deacon show at Metro. Markus and I stayed in the balcony while my son, Mars (aka Button), joined in the fray below.

Both Girl Talk and Dan Deacon blur the line between performer and audience. Dan Deacon performs in the middle of the crowd instead of on the stage. He becomes, not a showman for the audience, but the leader of a massive party experience. Everyone participates. Everyone is an entertainer.

Girl Talk (Gregg Gillis) performs on the stage, but invites people up on stage with him. Like Deacon, the crowd becomes the entertainment. Of course, Gillis became part of the crowd several times by crowd surfing or jumping in and dancing.

I'm not sure if the decision to break down audience barriers is because the performers are both solo acts and it's difficult to pull off a full set by yourself or because of the personalities of Deacon and Gillis. Both seemed to be humble and accessible - a sort of anti-rock star.

Both Deacon and Gillis are products of the current digital age of user generated content (can we think of a new name, please? DIYc?). With the collapse of the industrial music complex and the speed of exposure on the internet, it's no longer anointed stars that make it on to the stage. It's people like Deacon and Gillis who understand that creating an environment of social participation and interaction is the future of entertainment.

In the future, everyone is famous.

Tech Cocktail 7

My law firm, Fitzgerald & Hewes, LLP, is one of the sponsors of Tech Cocktail 7. Stop by our table and say hello if you're there.

Details:

Date
Thursday, February 21, 2008

Time
6:30 pm CT - 9:00 pm CT

Location
John Barleycorn Wrigleyville
3524 N Clark St
Upstairs
Chicago, IL 60657

Be sure to register right away. The event is often fully booked.