Continuing an epic and outlandish tour, help  Beats Anitique brought their Creature Carnival tour to the House of Blues. A mish-mash of music, capsule visuals and general pageantry, the show offered a wild fury of stimulation that was in keeping with the group’s psychadelic nature. Along with openers Emancipator and Shpongle, they threw down an experimental and interesting set which provided an excellent time for anyone who wanted to get weird on a Tuesday.

Portland-based trip-hop producer Emancipator opened things up wonderfully, bringing his smooth beats to the stage. Built around atmospheric synths and clip-launched loops, the set was evocative and moving while maintaining a steady intensity. Violinist Ilya Goldberg was also on hand to lay some wonderful strings over the proceedings, providing the perfect offset for some of the key moments in tracks. The duo ran through popular tracks such as “Nevergreen,” “Anthem” and “Soon It Will Be Cold Enough to Build Fires,” as well as an impressive rework of The Fugees’ track “Ready or Not.” All in all, this was a pretty standard Emancipator setlist and performance, a far cry from the more experimental approach of this year’s Emancipator Ensemble tour, which featured a four-piece band. However, for previous fans and new listeners alike this was an excellent example of what makes him such a standout artist.

Legendary British psytrance artist Shpongle (aka Simon Posford) followed up in grand fashion. It’s important to note that for many in attendance this epic set was the main draw- his North American dates are few and far between and his vocal and dedicated fanbase flocks to every one. Despite his status as an opener Posford put in a ferocious performance, clearly on a mission to trip the audience out as much as possible. This was about as high-energy as psychadelic music goes, layering a multitude of sounds over powerful tribal drums. This was genre-defying stuff too, with Posford mixing in everything from mandolin sounds to salsa music into a set which would have been considered incoherent were it not for the deftness with which he strung together sounds and articulated sonic ideas. While Shpongle might not be the most accessible music for those who haven’t already dug deep into the recesses of electronica, this positively pulsating set provided a great time for both the hippies in attendance and fans of more traditional dance music.

Beats Antique took the stage at last and proved to be a different beast entirely. While the previous acts were all about the music, flanked by decent lighting and a couple of modest LED screens, Beats took theatricality very seriously, rarely going a song without adding some kind of performance to accompany it. This was most evident in the burlesque elements, with 3 incredible dancers, including group member Zoe Jakes, performing elegantly choreographed dances in a variety of outlandish outfits to match the trippy music. These moments ranged from a cheerleader routine to belly dancing to a standout moment when one of them burst into opera singing. However, the highlight was when they came out with the musicians holding upright drums and performed an extended drumline routine. This really exemplified the ethos of meshing theatricality with musicality.

There were also a number of other elements on stage to both wow and confuse the audience. LED screens were used to their psychedelic potential, throwing well-designed visuals up throughout the set and occasionally getting into some earnestly terrifying stop-motion animation. The moment when two carnies came up on the screen and asked the audience whether they would like to play a game for their soul was also a great use, getting to the core of the weird, vaudevillian qualities of the set overall. Beats truly brought their A game in the props department, though. This was the first time I could honestly say I’ve seen a Wacky Waving Inflatable Arm Flailing Tube Man and not thought it was silly, and there were about six of them. They also brought out their trademark “Cyclops Kitty,” a massive and outlandish inflatable thing that enveloped most of the stage. It was all the kind of stuff that would make your parents wonder what the hell is wrong with the youth.

Audience interaction was also an important part of the set. The idea behind the tour was that everyone would come as their favorite creature and people generally went along with this, sporting a variety of both goofy and impressive costumes. This allowed for some cool moments near the end where the group asked people to form a dance circle and called out animals to bring out their primal side through dance. The mix of hippies and music fans took well to this sort of stuff, which made for a crowd that was very lively without ever being out of control.

Of course this was a music performance primarily and it definitely came through in that regard. The band busted out impressive grooves throughout and worked in some awesome extended jams in between the more choreographed numbers. Working in their various world influences with some electronics, they produced an impressive set that consistently defied genre. It was easy throughout to focus on the stagecraft rather than the musicians, but in a way that worked as a testament to their craft- the music was so faithfully reproduced and honed to the rest of the performance that it worked perfectly in tandem. By the end of the set when they played signature tracks “Beauty Beat” and “Cat Skillz” they had more than shown that their very different approach to concerts was one worth following.

During the dance circle, the guy on the mic asked the audience “who’s feeling squiggly tonight?” This got to the heart of what the night was about- divergent visions, seemingly unlimited imagination and adapt talent coming together to create something gloriously weird. The show was by no means for everyone, but those willing to check their sensibilities at the door and experience something completely different from the norm had a wonderful time.

See some of the faces of Creature Carnival Below: