Shakin’ Ass for Charity: Deelay Ceelay @ Berbatis

contributor: Shep Mayo Jan. 18, 2009

live photo by: Chris Burdick

Matt Sheehy, Weinland and Deelay Ceelay played this past Friday night (Jan 15, 2009) at Berbatis. Wilamette Week put on the show as a thank you to donors who raised almost one million dollars for local non-profits through their Give!Guide. It was rather odd lineup, with three very different artists performing. Matt Sheehy’s enjoyable set featured lots of loops and some fine songwriting. Weinland, whose 2009 release Breaks in The Sun is one of my favorite local albums of the last year, followed. The highlight of the night for me, however, was Deelay Ceelay.

To call Deelay (percussionist Delaney Kelly) Ceelay (video artist/musician Chris Lael Larson) “musicians,” or even a “band,” in the traditional sense, would be something of a disservice and an understatement. I would describe them more accurately as “collaborative mixed-media artists.” On the stage are two drum kits played perfectly in sync with pre-recorded baselines and layered melodies. All of these elements blend into a multifaceted wall of sound that is expertly integrated with the astounding, kaleidoscoping animations projected above the fervent human-drum-machine duo.

I don’t know how many songs were played because it really didn’t matter where one song ended and another began. Their set is more of a homogenous event without clear boundaries, blurring a diverse collection of avant-pop music into one giant dance party. Beyond dancing, however, Deelay Ceelay seeks to do something more. It’s something I’ve seen before with artists like YACHT and Dan Deacon, where the event of the show taps into something more primal in the collective dancing unconsious, creating a kind of ecstatic group experience. As the duo closed with a fantastic mashup of The Knife’s “Heartbeats” and Jay-Z’s “Dirt Off You Shoulder,” the crowd was thrown into high gear.
Deelay Ceelay’s album, Thank You is available to download free from their website and they also have a tour DVD available. Since I don’t think either does their live show justice I can only say, given the opportunity, don’t miss out on Deelay Ceelay.

Myspace