This past week, concerts abounded and the plethora of live shows night after night made my head spin: Can I afford to go to all of them? The money wasn’t the issue, of course, since most shows at the ’Sco tend to be about $4 (and journalists get to wear nifty press passes and get in for free), but I wondered whether I could afford to spend all my time watching live music instead of spending it in Mudd.

None of the shows were flawless by any means, but I think that my nights spent at the Midwest Fun Fest on Thursday, Oct. 4; Matt & Kim on Friday, Oct. 5 and Old Time Relijun and Monotonix on Tuesday, Oct 9 were all filled with deep reflection and great learning.

The Midwest Fun Fest turned out to be a little less fun than expected. It was a beer-less night, which was a disappointment to all regular  ’Sco-goers. The night turned out to be Dan Deacon-less, which was a disappointment to his many Oberlin fans who had been anticipating his return.

Dan Deacon’s booking agent sent a letter explaining, “Dan Deacon is having some really tough health problems and severe fatigue…He’s VERY sorry and would love to try to reschedule it for a later date if that’s possible.” The majority of us accepted Dan Deacon’s apology with the hope that sometime later this year he will return to Oberlin with a performance in good spirit and excellent health. 

The Midwest Fun Fest went on despite the initial glitches; it was a night defined by small sets and although the new headliner HEALTH was not the best of the acts, the show was filled with experimental and ambitious musical performances.

Crime Novels is a one-man act: A dude wearing a black hoodie creepily yelled out indecipherable rants in an affected voice. At least, I think they were rants. He sounded cutting edge. How do you say that without sounding clichéd?  Well, maybe it is.

Videohippos is a band based out of Baltimore and consists of Kevin O’Meara, Jim Triplett, OCDJ and DV tapes. While listening to their music, I imagined momentarily that I was staring at kids running around in a playground, stopping occasionally to whistle and then picking up again to swing on the monkey-bars. Their psychedelic noise pop is a little bizarre, but their music makes you feel innocently happy, and they got the crowd dancing and smashing into one another.

HEALTH, the last band to perform at the Midwest Fun Fest, began its set with heavy drumming, and the three other band members banged their heads simultaneously to the rhythm of the drums. Their performance continued in this manner as they attempted exaggerated ostentatious moves on stage, which for the most part repelled the audience. Clearly, they should focus their energy on their music like Crime Novels, which they do well, even if it is somewhat eccentric and inaccessible. The band carried a good beat that, while not turning the audience off, made it move at least a little bit. HEALTH is an innovative post-rock band, and the members don’t need to bang their heads around to capture the hearts of potential fans.

Featured at the ’Sco last Friday was the adorable duo Matt & Kim. Matt Johnson and Kim Schifino, who named their duo appropriately and obviously after themselves, both share vocal responsibilities while Matt plays guitar and keyboards and Kim plays drums. Formed in 2004 in Brooklyn, the group plays amiable energetic indie pop songs that are reminiscent of Mates of State. (They also date.)

In between songs, the pair spoke to the audience, saying bubbly and sweet things. Their music and stage presence is something that could easily divide indie fans as their happy pop rhythms are definitely not for everyone. But by the last song, the audience was completely enamored with them, so when they invited everyone onto the stage, the crowd readily accepted. 

And lastly, this past Tuesday night brought me the most obscene and fascinating performance I have ever seen. Monotonix is a band that is not trying to change the world. They are simply hairy Israeli men who want to rage. And this is what they did, and they did it brilliantly.

The band hails from Tel Aviv and consists of Ami Shalev, Yonatan Gat and Ran Shimoni. The frontman — the ring leader who resembled a pirate — stole beers from members of the audience and threw them on himself, onto the drum set while the drummer kept playing and beer droplets soared into the air and he even poured beer into his own shoe, from which he then proceeded to drink.

A band that stands still for nothing began its show on the floor of the ’Sco instead of the stage, but quickly proceeded to move into, around and through the audience. As they tried to start mosh pits in their own audience, most people were frightened and backed away from the pirate-man, but a few were pulled helplessly to the ground. The band moved its drum set while playing it and even attempted at one point to set it up behind the bar.

Further pissing off the bartenders, it lifted a recycling can into the air and dumped all the beer bottles on to the floor. Confrontational art rock at its best. I can barely recall what the garage-prog-rock sounded like, but I am pretty sure it doesn’t matter because the band members know how to put on a wild live show.

This was a hard follow act to follow, but Old Time Relijun put on a dynamic and spirited performance. The band is based out of Olympia, WA, and consists of Arrington de Dionyso, Ben Hartman, Aaron Hartman and Germaine Baca. They play experimental-rock-jazz that is lively and upbeat. DeD  ionyso has an unusual but captivating voice. The most impressive moment of their show was when the saxophonist played two saxophones simultaneously. Their music is accessible and enjoyable and may not have had the same absurd raw energy as Monotonix on stage, but they are all talented musicians creating unique music.

 The things that I learned at the ’Sco this past week: (1) people will notice if you look like/are a tool; (2) make music with your lover; it’ll be happy; (3) don’t break bottles on the floor of the ’Sco they’ll never sell you beer again.