SxSW 2011: Adventure

Adventure: Carpark/Paw Tracks Official Showcase, 512 Rooftop

The Note Well SXSW Friendship Chronicles

My first time watching Adventure is unforgettable. After much debating, I decided to join my friend Michael for what then to me was a random band in a random Brooklyn DIY space. It was a weird show, but our group dutifully danced through what seemed to be an unhappy time for Benny, Adventure’s then-only member.

Riding the fascination with that experience, I dragged my friend Ashley to cover Adventure opening for Dan Deacon in New York. Benny seemed to be having a wonderful evening, and we could not have had a better gig between his set and Dan’s. Adventure became one of my favorite musicians to literally watch.

It follows that I do not want to miss a minute of his SXSW showcase performance. But things had changed: I have no friends with me this time, and it seems Benny had picked up a couple himself. No longer is Adventure a one-man carnival of hyperactive samples and lazy solos, massive MIDI and missed cues. The result: Benny sings karaoke to a live band. And it is still amusing. But the increased professionalism makes me yearn for the awkward days wherein half the fun was trying to follow Benny’s aural stumble-through of an epic and imaginary world, and the other half was in enjoying what was there--my dancing pals and his bitchin’ beats.

Photos happily provided by Team Note Well