Dan Deacon leans over a low table of electronics, encircled by a thousand swirling teenagers.
Or, Dan Deacon stands stoically on stage at Carnegie Hall. Silence. He cues the xylophone.
Or, Dan Deacon, alone behind a keyboard, dances on NBC Morning. He’s singing, almost -- really sort of mumble-singing -- and flicking a pretend cat paw.
Any of these Dan Deacons would make impressive building blocks for contemporary fiction -- the cult hero, the composer, the surrealist. But the fact that all three men exist in one is what makes Dan Deacon, the real-life Dan Deacon, so compelling.
His music is pulsing and shamanic. He’s been heralded as the next John Cage. His indescribable YouTube video “Drinking Out of Cups” has been viewed more than 17 million times.
Now Dan Deacon -- any or all of these Dan Deacons -- is coming to Savannah. For $8.59, you can see him do his thing at Dollhouse Productions on Dec. 10, most likely in the center of the crowd.
Last time he was in Savannah, Deacon recalls, a drunk patron at The Jinx kicked over his electronics, prematurely ending the concert.
“That show sorta ended in chaos,” Deacon says. “There was a real drunk idiot who knocked over my table.”
That won’t be the case Monday night. The event at Dollhouse, which also features local indie rockers Triathalon and Pittsburgh hip-hop duo Grand Buffet, is all ages.
Deacon’s newest album, “America,” debuted earlier this year. Pitchfork called it his “most expansive … and inward-looking,” and that seems fair. The album was shaped, Deacon says, by his recent travels outside the country.
“I think it’s an odd time to be an American,” he says. “So much media is American-driven, it’s just peculiar.
“I’m not really into the idea of nationalism in any capacity, but it’s impossible to deny it has some sort of influence on shared cultural traits. … I feel like for a long time I didn’t recognize that.”
Throughout his career, one of Deacon’s themes has been using technology in surprising ways -- taking the personal aspects of mobile devices, for example, and turning them outward during his performances. For the “America” tour, Deacon and his team released a smartphone app that does just that.
“The whole function of it is to synchronize all the phones and the light in the room,” Deacon explains. “Everywhere we do it, it tends to go over pretty well.
“Your photos, your memos, your email -- a lot of your personal elements exist within that phone. The technology is designed to fit that single-person use. But when you use it in a macro sense, with a group of people, it completely changes the way the phones interact. They’re no longer phones, they’re lights. They shine on an area, not just one person.”
Deacon is currently working on a large performance piece for the Museum of Modern Art in New York. He’s also planning a return to Carnegie Hall.
“It was awesome to do,” he says, “and I’m looking forward to doing it again -- performing in the classical realm, experimental pop, the club realm. They all have different outcomes and goals.
“It’s insane any of them exist at all.”
IF YOU GO
What: Dan Deacon with Grand Buffet and Triathalon
When: 8 p.m. Dec. 10
Where: Dollhouse Productions, 980 Industry Drive
Cost: $8.95 and up; tickets may be purchased in advance at www.safeandsoundsav.blogspot.com or Graveface Records, 5 w. 40th St.
Info: 917-582-1903, www.dhouseproductions.com