How can I? How can I write an entire blog entry about the night that will forever be placed on a mantel in my mind as the night that I.. shit, for lack of a better word.. had as close to a religious experience that I will probably ever know? How can I formulate the right words to rightfully express the emotions that I felt, and still feel now? I cant. That's the simple truth. But, I'll be darned if I dont give it my best shot, people.
After a few false starts trying to find the right tram to take us past the King's Domain parklands where the Sidney Myer Music Bowl is located (seeing people all walking in a certain direction and asking ourselves "do they look like people who would go to Daft Punk?"), we finally made it to the parklands, and found a hoard of people making their way up the hilly walking trails into the heart of the Domain, to where the Music Bowl was situated in the middle. The gates were all well managed, and we went in easily without a long wait.
The venue was already very full, the big roaming grassy knoll full of thousands of individuals all excited as hell with the knowledge that in a matter of hours they would be witnessing the biggest show of the year. We walked around a bit, I bought an ALIVE t-shirt, with the awesome pyramid image on the front, and the world tour dates on the back. Bought a couple of drinks, and while they did have inflated prices, weren't as bad as what I imaged (same as the t-shirt, which was only $40), and the lines were quite good. We (and by 'we', of course I mean Ana-Maria) familiarised ourselves with the location of the restrooms and then headed down to our awesome 2nd row position in the stalls section.
The stalls were great. The stage was, fuck, it was RIGHT THERE. The excitement was high as we suddenly realised how close we were going to be. The Robots, their pyramid... it was going to be directly there in front of us. It was all getting real.
Muscles was the act to start off the proceedings. And while he was alright, he really didn't play a lot of the songs I wanted him to play, and the crowd didn't really get to into him. Although, when he played his "hit" 'Ice Cream', the crowd did participate a little bit, with quite a few "WOOO"s and "AHHHH"s coming from the audience. Playing songs like Chocolate, Raspberry, Lemon & Lime, and One Inch Badge Pin, he really could have done a lot better, missing out awesome songs like Jerk and Lauren from Glebe. His voice seemed a bit flat, too. Maybe he was under the weather (as I think he's dropped out of the tour).
After a short 15 minute set from some random Modular DJs, Aussie indie-dance outfit Cut Copy took to the stage and didn't fail to impress. Opening with their new single So Haunted, they thoughtful lyrics and pumping basslines kept the crowd happy. A nice moment was had when the lead singer simply said "I can't believe we're opening for Daft Punk". Their energy was high, and kept the tunes coming. Highlights from their set were That Was Just a Dream and, of course, one of the best dance-anthems of the year, Hearts on Fire, which the crowd lapped up.
It was at this time that we realised what we were in for. The crowd that we were in - the people in the stalls - were going to walk away with a totally different concert experience to those up on the grassy knoll behind the stalls section. We were right into it because we were forced to - the acts were right in front of us. Those up on the hill nearly had no choice but to do the complete opposite. While the roadies set up for The Presets, the Bang Gang Deejays played a set that we didn't really pay too much attention to, and either did the rest of the crowd. We went and got some more drinks, just in time to see The Presets grace the stage.
The Presets were great. So much energy - they know how to hype up a crowd, and that's exactly what they did. Opening with Down Down Down, the stalls section lapped up everything they gave us. The GA area was a bit hard to get moving, but there were many patches in the crowd that were enjoying it as much as us. It has been a long time since The Presets have played shows on Aussie soil, and a nice little "Melbourne, it's been so long since we've danced" was mentioned. Are You The One was played suprisingly early in the set, and the crowd went wild. The highlight of their set was, without a doubt, their new single, and easily the hottest summer anthem of the year, My People. That went off harder than Are You The One, in my opinion. They closed with I Go Hard, I Go Home. That didn't really sound as good live as it does on the album, but it was awesome, none the less.
The wait between The Presets and Daft Punk was awesome. Brilliant French DJ duo Sebastian & Kavinsky, who have been opening for Daft Punk on this entire world tour, played an absolutely flawless set that the crowd loved. These two DJs were the highlight of the openers. Playing great remixes of songs such as The Gossip's Standing in the Way of Control, Jay-Z's 99 Problems, and, of course, Sebastian's awesome remixes of Kavinsky's Testarossa Overdrive and.. the best remix of the year, without a doubt.. Rage Against The Machine's Killing in The Name of. That remix is just so fucking epic, the distortion and the all-round electro vibe that song now has is great. I love it even more than the original track.
By this time it was already after 9pm, and it was pretty dark, especially due to the overcast sky that hung above the Music Bowl. People started chanting "DAFT PUNK! DAFT PUNK!"... but, none of it seemed to be working. The crowd was so excited, the vibe was amazing. The stalls had become very crowded - no doubt many people from the general admission area had somehow made their way into our section. It was packed. Looking up the grassy knoll to see a sold-out 30,000-strong crowd was amazing. We stood there, unable to speak, somehow communicating in squeels... and then... it happened..
The classic tune from Close Encounters of the Third Kind sounded through the speakers, and the crowd just knew. Everyone who was close enough just jumped up on a chair, and then everyone who didn't have a chair either lined the isles or tried to squeeze their way to the small pit that had formed in front of the seating directly in front of the stage. The black curtain were pulled back to reveal, through all the smoke and the haze, the pyramid.. and, on top of it, the two greatest individuals in the history of dance music... Thomas Bangalter and Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo... better known as "The Robots"... or, as mother fucking DAFT PUNK. I couldn't believe what was in front of me - the image that I had for months been watching countless amounts of time on youtube... it was right there in front of me. And I couldn't believe it. The youtube videos... there are some things they just dont capture. They dont capture the haziness of the smoke, they dont capture the shine off their helmets.. they just dont capture the awe-filled vibe of 30,000 people who couldn't believe their eyes.. and who were about to lose their shit.
Suddenly the speakers burst to life, with a robotic voice - "ROOOOOOOBOOOOOOOOOT". A light shining from behind the robots. And then, BAM, the lights switch and their on us. The crowd. "HUUUUUUUMAAAAAAAAAN". This repeats, building up pace, sometimes Daft Punk dropping the robot vocals for the crowd to scream out "Robot".. they pace got faster and faster, until... Robot Rock exploded in all it's Daft Punk glory. The simple, yet effective, white lighting that was used during this song was great. And the crowd went nuts for it. Everyone orgasmed at the same time as the electronic guitars exploded through the speakers and into our ears. And the bass.. my god, the bass. You could feel it all the way down to your arsehole. And it was amazing.
Going straight into Technologic, with the lighting changing to reveal a screen behind the pyramid that had all the lines to the song on it. People tried to sing along, but, of course, it was a bit hopeless. The set was exactly the same as all the others on the tour.. but, the pitch and distortions were very different to what I have heard from several bootlegs. The robot on our side, who I do believe is Bangalter, was working overtime on the controls - and he was really getting into it. A lot of dancing and head-banging.
Highlights from their set were... well, it's hard to pick a certain favourite. Television Rules The Nation was great when it just burst to life, with the static screen behind them.. but, the Around The World/Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger remix was great, too... so was One More Time/Aerodynamic... as was Da Funk, and Human After All. Ohhh, choices, choices. I'd probably say One More Time/Aerodynamic and Da Funk were the best of the night, One More Time being just for the great sing-a-long aspect and the way it just fitted in so well on the night, and Da Funk for being a song that I found could be a great dance/slow-mosh song. Who knew?
When Human After All finished they stood there for a solid 3 minutes, just acknowledging the crowd. They looked at all of us, they scanned the knoll, the stalls, everywhere.. and they applauded. They applauded us. I know they were in robot costumes and you couldn't really be sure.. but, I tell you, they were really blown away by the crowd and the response they got in Melbourne on that Friday night. It was special - not just for us, but for them, too. They dissapeared, and then the chanting started again.
"DAFT PUNK! DAFT PUNK!" "ONE MORE! ONE MORE!", etc, etc. The screams were constant, and the excitement was massive. Everyone wanted to know what they would encore with, with everyone believing that all their big hits had already been played. They finally imerged and played the most badass electro remix of Stardust's Music Sounds Better With You (pretty much a Bangalter song, anyway). Their suits during the encroe were amazing. Red LED lighting was around the rimming of their suits to create a kind of outline effect. Couldn't believe what I was seeing. When their set finished, they turned their backs to the audience to reveal, in the red lighting, their Daft Punk logos. And then.. they were gone.. but, not forgotten. They left us with one more treat. Through the loud speakers suddenly started a familiar tune, and everyone looked at each other and we all just had it written on our face. Elvis Presley's Can't Help Falling in Love playing, and all of us singing along, people embracing everywhere. Everyone just shared this religious experience with each other. We realised that night that there isn't one god, there's two.. and they're robots.
And there it was, the best night of my entire life had just happened. It was over. But, the memory shall remain forever. Sure, it will one day be replaced with person memories of a marriage or a birth or something.. but, until then, this is my life. This is what I live for. Everything that night.. that's what my life is all about. I am serious - I can honestly say, without a shred of exaduration at all, all fanboy-ism aside... it really was the best night of my life.
To think I may have never have gone makes me shudder with disgust. And I owe going to Ana-Maria.. here's an excerpt from the email I sent her on August 30 when the tour was announced..
"I want you to come with me. Please. This isn't one of those things that I say and doesn't happen. I honestly want you to come to Melbourne with me to see the best show we will both ever see... You're my favorite person ever.. I want you to be there when I go insane because of Daft Punk."
.. and there she was, right next to me on Friday night, miles from home, a few hundred dollars poorer.. and sharing the experience of a lifetime that I promised her. In all seriousness, big concerts will come and go, so will money.. but, friendship and love and loyalty and everything that I feel for that girl will stay the same. The biggest event in your life is nothing if you have no one to share it with.
ROCK. ROBOT ROCK.
* * * * * out of * * * * *
~Film-Fanatic
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