Dan Deacon:

...what came out of the PA was a barrage of cheap-sounding, rainbow-hued, breakcore-tempo electronic noise. It felt like I was hearing my entire childhood record collection of cheerful kiddie 45s sped up on a hotrodded Fisher Price record player. Deacon himself was dancing along with a joyous palsy, singing through a scrim of squeaky effects. In a night where I'd shown up wanting dance music, Deacon had completely upended my expectations. He also made me a fan for life. A small handful of the grouches stood with incredulous arms folded across their chests and everyone else proceeded to freak the fuck out, almost as wildly as Deacon himself.

Videohippos:

Teetering on the fringes of happycore™, techno, and noise, the Baltimore duo VIDEOHIPPOS have concocted heavy pop rounds on their debut "Unbeast the Leash." Jubilant at points, dark at others, VIDEOHIPPOS seem to have a sense of foreboding about the future. Some could point to hints of Manchester, and possibly Providence, but the end result is ultimately Baltimore City and the VIDEOHIPPOS home in the phenomenon that is Wham City (Ponytail, Ecstatic Sunshine, Dan Deacon et al).

As their name suggests VIDEOHIPPOS perform live with both audio and video. Backed by a giant screen while performing, VIDEOHIPPOS project personal and pop culture video collages in synch with the music. Though captivating its hard to distract from the stick skills of drummer Kevin O'meare (drums, vocals, keys) and pop weavings of guitarist Jim Triplett (guitar, vocals, keys). Pummeling his 4-piece kit with precision and power, O'meare draws drooling mouths agape, as well as creating the centerpiece for the VIDEOHIPPOS ballads. With beats in place Triplett works in waves of guitar melodies either via 6-string electric or a small toy guitar. Sampled beats and tones fit snuggly between the two while both Hippos share vocal duties.