Rich Aucoin goes so far as to cover the crowd with a rainbow parachute at his live shows.
“There are essentially two breeds of music lover in Canada,” reads popular music blog CokeMachineGlow. “Those who believe Rich Aucoin to be one of the best live performers currently working, and those who’ve yet to have the pleasure of experiencing Rich Aucoin perform live.”
Meanwhile, those of us in America who read that lofty claim are forced to wonder — who is this guy?
A lucky crowd will get to find out, when Aucoin brings his live show experience to DC9 tonight.
“I like playing for new people,” Aucoin said when asked about performing for American audiences. The musician, who blends epic indie rock, orchestral music and dance-pop into one package on his debut album, has played in America before, but still hasn’t gained the same following he has in Canada. For the next few weeks, he’ll try to build his reputation in the states, crossing the nation from Washington, D.C., and New York to California, with a stop at Texas and other states along the way.
So what is it about Aucoin’s live concert that’s such a big deal?
“I try and create a really communal atmosphere at my shows,” he said. “It’s all focused around positive energy, so it’s a really good thing to come out to and meet some new people — while, like, floating on each other.”
The singer often performs in the middle of the crowd and has a variety of tricks up his sleeve. He literally crowd-surfs on a surfboard; he has a giant rainbow parachute he uses to blanket the crowd; and he encourages singing along to every lyric of every song.
“The way I perform,” he said, “the music has all the words up on the video screen — not with the bouncing ball, but sort of like karaoke. It’s like crowd karaoke.”
Aucoin developed his performance techniques after starting out with a low-energy live show.
“Originally I just played some sit-down shows,” he said, “or I would essentially almost stand behind the screen that I projected my videos onto.”
After opening for artists like Girl Talk, he figured it was time to change it up.
“I thought, ‘I should probably make this a bit more lively,’” he said.
That was probably for the best. Now, Aucoin’s show is known as a cathartic, uplifting experience that one has to see to fully understand. While Aucoin said he still likes the idea of playing as an accompaniment to a video, and occasionally will do a lower-energy show that fits the mold of his original concerts, those attending his Washington show will be expecting the transcendent performance they’ve been promised. After all, it’s Aucoin’s mission statement to “play every show like it’s your last show.”
Rich Aucoin will be at DC9 tonight. Doors open at 7:30 p.m. and the show begins at 8. Tickets are $10.
