I still can’t believe it happened so long ago. April of 2006 was the first time of three that I would see my one of my favorite all time bands, Daft Punk. I had ventured all the way to Indio for Coachella, basically only to see Tool and Daft Punk. From the extreme success of that single show, they would embark on another tour during the summer months of the following year. That tour, the “Alive 2007” tour, would end up becoming a live album. I, along with my sister, my mother, and my now wife, would be lucky enough to witness this groundbreaking show at the other worldly venture known as Red Rocks, Colorado. Now, while I won’t be taking about this show specifically, the live album was recorded during the tour, so it’s essentially the Red Rocks show that we witnessed. Number 5, Daft Punk’s “Alive 2007.”
Live albums as a whole tend to be tricky. You don’t want to overdo and play only hits, but you always want to give the people a certain amount of what they want. It’s hard to say what Daft Punk actually choose to do. This show, along with most of the shows it helped to spawn, doesn’t really follow a traditional song pattern. Throughout the 12 “tracks” displayed here, each one has at least two songs constantly intertwining. Sometimes, a beat from a song will disappear entirely from a song, only to make it self known down the line. This is the mastery that these French fellas were able to pull off. When you witness the show, it’s literally non stop for the duration of the set. Time flies. From the opening beats of “Robot Rock” that propel you to a happy movement unlike anything else you’ve experienced, to the ending notes of the returning “Human After All,” you don’t really stop moving. It’s simply infectious.
Just as a warning, I’m gonna do my best, but this likely will turn into a very long-winded tale of the 3 nights myself and my changing group of friends were held prisoner by the brilliant European beat makers. By this tour, I had gotten the chance to see this tour twice, so going in you are pretty aware of what you’re about to see. This is both true and untrue. Since the show was unveiled 14 months earlier, the show had been tweaked in small but very noticeable ways. The “Fuck It Fuck it Fuck it” coursing through track two “Touch It/Technologic” wasn’t presented at the previous shows, but that’s the kind of thing you can do when you spend a year or so making a perfect show even better.
The story goes that the only reason they even accepted the Coachella offer was because the amount of money was enough to put on the stage show they had ideas for. This idea became known as the pyramid, and it kinda changed how live shows are approached. ESPECIALLY for dance acts. Now its common place to see a edm artist with a giant high energy stage show, but it wasn’t always so. After the monumental success of the Coachella set, the band decided to tour for the first time in ages. The shows were awe-inspiring to say the least, and after having conquered the whole, they again disappeared for many years. Even though they haven’t played a proper show since 2007, rumors still persist that they will be at every music festival.
Probably my favorite section of the show comes pretty early on. The beats from “Television Rules the Nation” bust out of the speakers, while “Around the World” gloriously rips through on the audio vocal end of the music. The music, on top of th e accompanying visuals really do the job of capturing human existence. It’s hard even now just listening to it not be grateful to be on Earth. The buildup is something to behold. “Crescendolls” joins the fun created by the first two tracks and things get wild. The build up and explosion is maybe the best thing I’ve ever seen in my entire life. Even at the shows, I remember being torn between filming it or enjoying the moment. I think in the end I filmed maybe 5 seconds and chose to lose myself to dance(see what I did there?).
There’s a reason these two men are supremely important to the current electronic music scene. Their hands are the only ones that are responsible for so many artists giving it a try. Much like Kraftwerk were instrumental in the 70’s and 80’s, Daft Punk have taken similar risks in bringing their unique style of “Robot Rock” to mainstream audiences. The contribution is incalculable and utterly important. The impact that this band has had on my life only has been incredible. I’ve witness this show with quite a few people who I deeply love and respect, and those moments are forever a part of the great experiences we’ve had. I mean for fuck’s sake, my groomsman at my wedding WAS the Daft Punk helmets. They came out amazing. I honestly don’t know what kind of person I would be if I hadn’t discovered Daft Punk in high school. They were among the first non-metal bands I liked during that time, and they’re still one of the best things to ever happen in music.
I picked this album specifically because while I do have a favorite stand alone album, the sheer talent and skill represented in this live album brings everything to the table. It has songs from every album, mixed and arranged in a way to make them their own unique songs. The cut it up, slice it, and transform these songs to work in the live setting. One of the best examples is how “Steam Machine” enters at the end of one section of a beat and carries the tone and elements over to the next section where “Around the World” returns and is joined by the beat of one of the better songs in their catalogue, “Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger.” It stops abruptly, but slowly a singular beats lays down under the vocals and gradually brings the tempo back up to a party atmosphere. The band had mentioned that this show felt like an opera to them, in the way that opera’s have movements that flow effortlessly, and little things in each movement are allowed to change as long as the end goal remains the same. You can really see the motivation on this track. It seems like a mess at times, but it might just be because no one was used to hearing so many elements from so many songs happening at the same time.
From this point, the show keeps on going in the same way it has been. Over the next three songs we’re treated to re working of at least 7 songs. I imagine if you had only seen or heard this album, you might not be aware that these aren’t the album versions, but it’s totally understandable. That’s a testament to what great producers Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo and Thomas Bangalter are that as two individuals they can mix multiple things and bring an incredible stage show and have the end result be a seemless mix of beautiful visuals, gorgeously layered sounds, and leave the crowd still wanting more after a full concert.
This is where the set begins to change a little bit compared to the Coachella show from a year earlier. Basically it only changes in terms of things being added, but we’ll get to that in a bit. The familiar bells of “Aerodynamic” give way rather quickly to the unmistakable ding of hopefulness that is the mega hit “One More Time.” I swear I’ve heard this song hundreds of times and it’s still as awesome as it was the first time it ventured into my life. If there’s a single part or song that captures the full message of the show and the energy it brings force, it’s easily “One More Time” The breakdown and blatant add-on of the “Aerodynamic” beats imposed over the previous beat is also really smooth and precise.
This is the part of the record where they slow things down again simply to bring it up again. The double whammy of vocals provided from “Primetime of Your Life,” interlaced over the rough scratching of “Brainwasher” really make it a deliberate entry into the set. On traditional records both of these songs are super heavy in terms of rocking bass, but in the live setting, it’s pretty killer. The beat also only ramps up as the song goes on, but at a full on dance party, you kinda have to do so. You want the crowd to go away thinking this was the best show I’ve ever seen, and for many of the people I’ve met and/or discussed this live experience with, it ranks among the best.
With two songs left, we find the group doing something that they’ve perfected by now: Very quietly inserting segments from the next song into the mix in such a way as you can barely hear it until it’s at your door ready to party. This time, the track in question is maybe the song with the best beat to it, “Da Funk.” How they do it though slightly varies. You can hear the intro in the previous song, but it ends mid way through, only to have it re-emerge in full force on this track. It’s one of the few parts of the show were this song is the only one on display, even if it’s for a brief moment. “Da Funk” is clearly an incredible song, and the placement here is quiet appropriate.
This, unfortunately brings the last “track of the album,” and as far as show closers go, it doesn’t disappoint. We open up with the heroic vocals from “Superheroes,” but that isn’t the only thing prevalent here. The beat from “Human After All” is also there, and that’s where the song really soars. If you’re trying to make a complete show, it’s logical for a band who opens with “Robot Rock” to then close with “Human After All.” I like to think it’s to demonstrate that while they have been performing for the crowd, in a way we’ve been performing for them, and making them feel good. We’re gifting each other with a legendary experience.
In closing, This band is likely the most important electronic band every to make music, and this collection of songs proves why. It’s timeless, fun, and thoughtful all at the same time. This is also a band that has been apart of a few awesome memories involving people I care about, and in the end, “Music Sounds Better With You.”
So we’re down to the final four of our list. Next, we’re gonna set “Somewhat Damaged” and try not to break. Thanks for reading.
The Death of the Mix Tape 