Dan Deacon performs at Bumbershoot in 2009 (photo by Josh Bis).

Surrounded by the crowd his shows were equal parts stand-up comedy, sweat-soaked dance party and adolescent goofiness. He’s just as likely to start a dance contest amidst a crowd circle as he is to command the audience to stage a relay race in the middle of the set.

His latest album, “Bromst,” is a much more, dare I say, mature effort. The songs are more fully realized and stretched out. Amidst pounding beats and a wave of synthesizers Deacon also adds softer glockenspiel tones for a much more varied and effective album start to finish.

For this tour Deacon brings himself and an ensemble of 14 musicians to the Vera Project on Saturday, April 25.

The show starts at 7:30 with Future Islands, Teeth Mountain and Skeleton Breath opening.

Tickets are $11 and available at The Vera Project.

The stripped-down trio is comprised of Shannon Perry (keyboards/vocals), D.W. Burnam (drums/vocals) and Eli Chukovich (bass).

The group just self-released “Stand Up,” an eclectic mix of lo-fi pop that is at times goofy (“Shake It”) and others somber and serious (“Meaning of Your Face”).

The album packs 17 diverse songs in a quick 30 minutes. Among the highlights are “Elevator,” in which Perry playfully sings “I wish I were an elevator, bring you home and see you later.” In “Stupid Stimulants” Perry lists and bemoans her vices all at once: “Cigarettes. Alcohol. Marijuana, but that’s all.”

As a songwriter Perry is lyrically clever and vocally restrained. Listening to these 17 songs I get the impression she has a much more commanding voice, but is holding back for the sake of subtly–which she does to great effect.

KHV celebrated the release of “Stand Up” with a show at the Sunset Tavern on March 20 with Partman Parthorse. Both bands are prepring for a run of shows down the west coast in April.

KHV will play an all-ages show with the Drug Purse at 8 p.m. on March 26 at the Josephine, 608 N.W. 65th St. N, in Ballard, $5-8.

SMD’s Jameses (Ford and Shaw) twiddled and tweaked knobs on a stack of vintage synths and analog drum machines.

The duo’s live rig was a messy maze of midi cables, digital effects and obscure gear that looked like it would require an advanced degree from MIT to assemble.

Visually stunning to watch? Hardly, but the music made up for it and the crowd was there to dance–or jump in place amidst a sweaty mass of people packed in the club.

Surrounded by towers of pulsing strobe lights the duo remixed many of their best songs (“It’s the Beat” and “Tits and Acid”) while adding flourishes of sequenced arpeggios and phased-out string parts.

The sweat-drenched crowd was having all of it and some.

The absurdist electronic composer is known for his frenetically paced and sweat-drenched live shows.

Dan Deacon performs at Bumbershoot in 2008. (Photo by JoshC)

“Bromst” will be released March 24 and Deacon will be playing the Vera Project on April 25 backed by an 11-piece band.

If the M’s are in a rebuilding mode, what does it say that they are investing in an aging and surgically-repaired player who is in the twilight of his career?

This premier cycling event draws cyclists from all over the region to compete for cash and  liquid prizes as well as some decent biking gear donated by top-of-the line companies.

The course is a knee-crushing, 33-mile ride around Bainbridge Island, but there’s an all-you-can eat chili feed (vegan and meat) at the end so it’s totally worth it. The race is $7 and it will also cost you $8 to ride the ferry to the starting line. Meet at Alaskan and Washington under the Viaduct at 8:30 a.m. (look for riders sporting the home-made, Elvis-themed pirate bibs).

“It’s really about the spirit of cycling and promoting unity within the community,” lied an extremely belligerent and noticeably intoxicated Derrick Ito, FHR Organizer.

“The prize lists includes cash, booze and a ton of great bike schwag from our great sponsors,” Ito said, while trying hard to maintain his balance and hide the fact that he was slurring his words.

Ito has a an expanding prize list that includes a lap dance from a local stripper, liquid prizes from Cafe Metropolitan and a complete Hammerhead 7 bicycle from Dahon. The bicycle will be raffled off with proceeds to benefit a locally-owned bike company.

For more information, visit point83.com.

Fuck the Hills Race Flyer

The Fremont Wine Warehouse (#) is a veritable wine-lover’s paradise that’s tucked in the old Red Apple Market space in the heart of Fremont.

Owner Michael Cawdrey, former owner of the Red Apple Market and Wine Bar, hosts weekly wine tasting events featuring wines by local vintners along with top-notch imports from around the world.

I popped in last Saturday and was warmly welcomed by Cawdrey, who had invited two importers to showcase wines imported from France and Argentina in a sort of head-to-head competition.

The space, which is sparsely decorated and brightly lit, is focused on offering quality wines at an affordable price. Cawdrey seems as passionate about bringing fine wines to the neighborhood as he does about offering them at discount prices.  No bottle is more than $25.

2006 Malbec by Henry Lagarde

I chose the 2006 Malbec by Henry Lagarde from Argentinia over one of the French wines I sampled. The Malbec was priced at $10.96 and sells for $12.99 at most other stores. It was amazing and according to Cawdry the top seller for the weekend. The six wines featured ranged in price from $7.97 to $16.

For this Saturday’s tasting Cawdry has invited Dave Marks of Cascade Trade to present wines that are new to our region from Oregon and California.

Cawdry keeps a log of customers purchases to cross reference in case you enjoyed a particular wine in the past, but forgot the name. He also sends out weekly email blasts to update customers on each week’s coming event.  Included in his emails are tasting tips that make it fun and interesting for aficionados and novices alike.

The Fremont Wine Warehouse, located at 3601 Fremont Ave. N. Ste 212, hosts wine tastings every Saturday from 3-6 p.m. For more information, call 206-632-1110.

Photo by Rabid Child Images.

The group has since been banned from performing at Neumo’s and possibly Chop Suey, the Showbox and King Cobra. Prior to the brawl they they were scheduled to perform at Neumo’s on March 16 with Blue Scholars and Common Market.

Mad Rad is scheduled to play at the Lo-Fi Performance Gallery tonight. The show is 21+, doors open at 9 p.m., $5 before 11 p.m. and $10 after.