Daft Punk celebrates 'one more time'

By Lindsay Eanet

Published Nov. 30, 2007

They stood rapt and waiting at Coachella, Lollapalooza, Red Rocks and Vegoose. Tens of thousands of fans, armed with glow sticks, dancing shoes and an impressive arsenal of every drug imaginable, ecstatic to see two guys in expensive robot suits perched above the stage in an elaborate pyramid. The stage lights up in brilliant neon as French disc-jockey duo Thomas Bangalter and Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo begin their minute-and-a-half monotone exchange.

"Human." "Robot." "Human." "Robot."

The crowd explodes into a frenzy as the pounding guitars of "Robot Rock" crash through the sound system.

Welcome to Daft Punk's Alive 2007 tour.

Despite being hailed as the must-see show of the year, Daft Punk is the anti-live act and in many ways the exact antithesis of tour-heavy bands such as Pearl Jam and the Grateful Dead. Unlike most other festival-happy artists who record live albums, there is absolutely nothing organic about Daft Punk's live show. Everything — every transition, every flash of light, every blip and every synth stab — is calculated down to the last second. Each night of the band's 2007 tour had a nearly identical set list.

So what keeps the duo's live album fresh, exciting and full of surprises? The answer is simple: energy. Pure, frenetic, Katie Couric-in-the-middle-of-an-ecstasy-binge energy.

As expected, the album and the live set both consist of Daft Punk remixing and mashing up its own songs.

It was fun listening to the crowd's reaction to these remixes and rehashes as the Daft duo will tantalize their fans with bits and pieces of songs mixed into others (usually eliciting a cheer, or two, or several thousand) before launching into powerhouse versions of their essential tracks. "Touch It/Technologic" begins with a set of fresh beats over the "Touch it/Bring it/Play it/Watch it" refrain from "Technologic" for a seamless transition and just enough of the song to intrigue the crowd. Gradually, the pieces are layered on, with guitars backing them up, before the whole track is put together.

Bits of "Around the World" pepper "Television Rules the Nation/Crescendolls," fitting in perfectly with the pulsing club beat of the track. The mash-up makes both songs sound better live, and hearing fans vocalizing the bass line from "Television" is an added bonus.

The album peaks for the first time early on with a mash-up of two of the duo's most recognized tracks, "Around the World" and "Harder Better Faster Stronger." The former is pretty straightforward but brimming with energy and fans shouting back the words, while the latter is a classic example of the power Daft Punk has over its fans. An ominous synth riff backs the hypnotic, mantra-like lyrics as the crowd chants them back as though they are completely submissive to these mysterious robot overlords.

By the time the album reaches its final stretch, beginning with "Prime Time of Your Life/Brainwasher/Rollin' and Scratchin'/Alive," the album feels like a full-on rave with beats that bounce and collide with each other to the point where the listener is so engaged, he or she might forget this is a live album until an audience member starts flipping out in the background. Old-school Daft Punk tracks such as "Da Funk" and the pulsing "Superheroes" are brought into the mix on this explosive house-heavy stretch.

On the last track, the duo brings it on home by remixing the sing-along "One More Time" and the cult-house classic "Music Sounds Better With You" by Bangalter's side project, Stardust.

The transition is perfect, and the fans eat it up, closing the set with an appreciative roar, a bang-up ending to both the band's show and your living-room dance party.