Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger

I know that it seems like I'm on a bit of an unnecessary Daft Punk kick over here. Which of course I am. The beginning of last week's tour pumped me out so much for the show I'm going to see later this summer that I've been listening to the French robots quite a bit lately.

Another unintended side effect of the tour's recent kick-off is the reemergence of a considerable amount of Daft Punk-related material on the web.

Take these videos. None of them (except the last one) is officially sanctioned. They're all a video of the same song but they couldn't be more different. I like how art of one kind influences art of another, but there is no expectation of how the influence is going to manifest itself.

This first pick is entitled Daft Hands, and the creator of the video has claimed that he created this masterpiece in one take. Dunno if that is the case or if he is being a little dishonest, but regardless it's pretty incredible. I do not have the coordination to do something like this at all.

For a little more musical talent (though not digital talent, the last d00d had that in spades), here is an a cappella version from the Carleton College Singing Knights. They have a pretty interesting set of songs that they perform on a regular basis; videos of most of them can be found at YouTube. If you've ever tried to sing anything in harmony, you know how difficult what this group of guys is doing truly is.

Click here (damn Flash-based pages) for an uber 8-bit version. If anyone know what game this is from (I'm looking at you, Perc) please let me know.

If those Nintendo throwback graphics brought you back to the future, then this one will bring you back. I spend at least ten hours a week with my feet planted firmly in front of my television, standing with a plastic guitar in my hands. I'm super-anxious to get my hands on a modified Play Station 2 so that maybe I can play things like this (though no where near as well).

And here, finally, is Daft Punk's version from their animated film Interstella 5555

pro shot Daft Punk video!

Until now, if you wanted to see the epic audiovisual experience that is Daft Punk live in concert, you either had to see them play live yourself (which I strongly--and repeatedly--urge you to do) or watch grainy, compressed audience video shot by amatuers.

That all changes now.

These two videos capture the robotic duo playing live this past weekend at London's O2 Wireless Festival. These videos (which not only are pro shot but also utilize multiple camera angles and some pretty spiffy editing) were broadcast on UK Channel 4 (note to American broadcasters: there is an audience for this stuff and you should maybe think about giving the consumers what they want).

"One More Time" / "Aerodynamic"

If the setlists bear any resemblance to last year, this tune was played near the middle of the set. I think that the twilight conditions verify that. Funny, I never in a thousand years would have thought that Daft Punk would begin their set while it was still light out.

"Rollin' & Scratchin' / "Da Funk" / "Superheroes"

Last year, this was the encore. I wish i would have brought a container to put my brain into after it ended, since my mnd slowly but surely dripped out my ears during the set.

How long until Brooklyn?

Daft Punk kick off summer tour in Scotland

So I spoke too soo when I claimed that Daft Punk's summer tour starts tonight: it actually began this weekend with an appearance at Scotland's Rock Ness Festival. The duo convinced the promoters tha they needed their set to be in a tent rather then on the main stage, and it seems that a bit of chaos resulted. From a story in the Lochabar News:

But the good news was that dance pilgrims lured up the North road with the promise of a genuinely special event – the return of Daft Punk to Scotland after a 10-year absence – were not disappointed. They just had to be very, very patient for their treat.

A 50-minute delay in the appearance of the masked duo as the climax for many people’s festival on Sunday night tested the faith in the masked Frenchmen. The queues to get into the tent had begun up to six hours before the scheduled start in the 10,000 capacity tent. And even with the side lifted to allow the thousands standing around the tent to get a view of the genuinely jaw-dropping light show planned by da funksters, it was still almost certain that very few saw the show as it was truly intended by Daft Punk.

And the more cynical among the fans might have wondered if the duo shouldn’t just have settled for the chance for everyone to enjoy the spectacular from the main stage in the gloaming, rather than the darkness of a tent they insisted their show needed.*

Emphasis added by me... holy shit, that's just crazy. I would have went insane if that were me waiting...

Regardless of the wait, these lucky folks got to experience Daft Punk in much the same way I did back in November. I wondered if they changed their stage setup for this tour: some photos searching showed me that theat they were using the massive pyramid/grid system from last year.

during the show (taken at the Tim Festival 2006, São Paulo, Brazil)

during the show (taken at the Bang Festival 2006, Miami, FL, USA)

after the show (taken at the Rock Ness Festival 2007, Scotland)

So the stage set is the same (no complaints here); I can only wonder if they changed up their musical set at all. Last year's performances all featured a similar setlist, though the mixes for each performance were distinct to my ears.

*when I saw Daft Punk last year at the Bang Festival in Miami, the stage was setup outside.

Daft Punk's Electroma to be Screened in Miami

I had a quasi-religious experience last year when I saw Daft Punk. I saw some sort of higher power at the apex of their pyramid of simultaneously pulsating light and sound. And I'm not the only one: when the French DJ duo announced their summer tour (which, coincidentally kicks off on Thursday with a gig in Paris) hordes of music fans (myself included) made plans to be at one of the dates scattered throughout North America this summer.

During Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo and Thomas Bangalter's nine year absence from the United States (they returned and played a legendary set at last year's Coachella) they directed a silent film entitled Electroma, which is a classic buddy/road-trip tale. Except that the buddies are robots and their journey is a mission to become human.

Pretty fitting plot line for a band whose most recent live show began with a tune called "Robot Rock" and concluded with "Human After All". Subconscious plot spoiler? We'll have to wait and see...

This morning the first set of North American screening dates for the film were announced, and I am ecstatically shocked that South Florida (alright, Miami) will have a showing on Saturday, July 28 at Studio A. No information on their website or how to get tickets, but when I find something out I'll post it here.

Oh, and there's no Daft Punk music in the movie. And I've heard that it is not very good. Which doesn't really matter... I'll check it out anyway.

Full listing of Electroma screenings:

6.14 Toronto, Ontario - Xpace
6.28 Calgary, Alberta - Stride Gallery
6.29 Los Angeles, CA - New Beverly Cinema
7.28 Miami, FL - Studio A
9.08 Montreal, Quebec - Osheaga Festival
9.09 Montreal, Quebec - Osheaga Festival