Animal Collective has been known to have one of the most eccentric liveshows of the modern era. One wouldn't think their music would translate well to the stage, with obtuse arrangements and crackling but hypnotizing synths providing a backdrop for layered screaming and yelping vocals.  

Their newest album "Centipede Hz" further colors the picture by being more like earlier work than their breakthrough album "Merriweather Post Pavilion." However, their show at the Hollywood Bowl this past Sunday was extraordinary.

Tuvan throat singers Huun-huur-Tu started off the night. Their set was good to relax to during the early picnic hours at the Bowl. They also served a dual function of letting the show fall under the umbrella of radio station KCRW's World Music series.

Flying Lotus came on next and the whole set was amazing, shoutouts to his grandmother included. His set was less of an actual set than a DJ mix with only his tracks for thirty-plus minutes.

Audible groans ensued when he cut off "...And the World Laughs with You," a track from his most recent album featuring Radiohead frontman Thom Yorke, suggesting only a passing familiartiy with his work from the audience. Even with the audience less than completely engaged, the crowd was littered with people dancing along to his work.

During the transition to the headliners, the stage art became alive as more pieces were moved on. Crazed, inflated teeth and spikey tentacles made the center of the stage something out of a nightmare carnival with the stage sitting in the middle of a giant grinning mouth.

Opening with a track from "MPP" was a wise move as the crowd erupted to the sounds of "Also Frightened." The eerie intro and slow build inherent to that track were present in all of their songs, making their live show less of a set and more of an epic, hour long medley.

Throughout the show, the teeth and tentacles would be lit bright neon from the stage, making the stage even more of a circus. Bright yellows, blues, reds, and purples colored the teeth as the dome of the Bowl was lit with them, giving more of a psychadelic edge to the show.

This lent a theatrical air to the proceedings. The band was mostly visible as silhouettes as they played, perhaps more comfortable that way. About half of their setlist was made up of songs from "Centipede," which has gotten some of the most negative reviews the band has ever received.  

If you had just judged the album from the crowd, you would give it an absurdly high score. From the terraces down, there was barely a single person sitting instead of dancing.

Even though the crowd was enthusiastic throughout, some of the biggest cheers came for a throwback track off of "Strawberry Jam," their 2007 record; "Peacebone" came right before the other crowd-pleasing hit "My Girls" at the very end of their main set, which let them go off on a high note.

Perhaps most fitting was closing with "Amanita," the closer from "Centipede."  Though the critics might still be divided on the album's worth, the crowd was definitely and defiantly for it.

Reach Staff Reporter Matthew Gumport here.