Monday night on the Memorial Union Terrace was a night the terrace was made for.

Beneath the peculiar orange moon and beside the gentle waves of Lake Mendota, fans of the San Francisco-based indie rock band Deerhoof gathered together to revel in the onslaught of pure creative force.

Despite it being a Monday night, the venue was packed with listeners ready to be provoked by Deerhoof's idiosyncratic melodies. The show opened with the short but evocative Madison local Trin Tran. A one-man band whose MySpace describes his type of music as "crunk/Afro-beat/visual," he freestyled vocals in addition to playing the keyboard, bass, snare, ride cymbal and guitar. Basically, there was a lot of unintelligible mumbling and hearty percussion. His emphatic shouts and deep bass lines were not quite fluid enough to inspire dancing, but everyone enthusiastically bobbed his head in response to his imaginative performance.

Upon taking the stage themselves, Deerhoof launched into a short set that could be categorized, if possible, as an exhibition of their experimental rock ‘n' roll. The band is composed of Satomi Matzusaki, the hypnotizing vocalist, as well as bassist Greg Saunier on drums and Madison native John Dietrich on guitar.

The first few songs sounded like an unusually compelling soundtrack to a tense horror film. The clarity of sound and soaring guitar riffs were constantly interrupted by silence–and would promptly announce themselves with the same intensity. This contrast in tempo, as well as in dynamics characterized Deerhoof's set. Songs often included distorted, yet distinct anthem-like guitar solos as well as subtle, dissonant bass parts that provided depth and vigor to the band's overall sound.

The most incredible part of this performance was the joy and enthusiasm evident in both the performers and the audience. The band summoned everyone's instinct to groove.

The highlight of the performance was Matzusaki's vocals. Calm, clear and yet energized, her voice was rarefied. Her vocals were the perfect complement to the frenzied, syncopated music itself, and it left the listener wanting more.

Her bandmates displayed serious talent as well. At times the guitar would carry itself from section to section, daring the listener to think "shoegaze." Undoubtedly left to his own devices, guitarist Dietrich could improvise for hours and still engage his listener. Drummer Greg Saunier, a founder of Deerhoof, was sometimes so involved he'd just begin to hit the drums with his hands. His passionate percussion and very unsteady rhythm challenged me to listen harder and try to anticipate the tempo changes. It would be a foolish endeavor; Deerhoof's music was as unpredictable as the blood orange moon overhead.

The last few songs were unabashedly loud, erratic and brash. Matzusaki's high-pitched vocals were jarringly familiar at this point, but the music avoided formula and continued to travel in countless different directions. The encore was a song that had intense, throbbing vocals and an alt-country feel that surprised and delighted.

The set was only an hour long, but the nuances to Deerhoof's performance were not taken lightly, or without feeling a little bit assaulted.

At the end of the night, listeners were forced to disperse from the Terrace's light-hearted playfulness, trudge back to their respective rooms and mournfully engage in a night of homework. The show's great turnout was a testament to this band's skill and ability to perform live. Their vitality and inventiveness were enthusiastically recognized by a crowd of all ages, all entranced by the moon and music.