NeverEverLand feat. Daft Punk @ The Esplanade, Perth (16/12/07)
After several months of hype and anticipation, the NeverEverLand event finally arrived in Perth on Sunday 16 December. When Perth gets into something, it gets into it in a big way – it positively tries to suffocate it. And so it was for NeverEverLand. It seemed everyone under the age of 30 in Perth was present, along with a fair few on the other side of the ledger. Although the size of the crowd created queues at the bars and bathrooms, it also ensured an electric atmosphere at what promised to be one of the music events of the year.
With Australian acts like Cut Copy, the Bang Gang DJs and The Presets kicked off things under grey skies, the so-called festival was only ever going to be about one performance. French duo SebastiAn and Kavinsky had the enviable task of warming up for Daft Punk and, as if acknowledging their subordinate status, mysteriously played their entire set from behind a black curtain. It was impossible to know whether the Ed Banger boys were actually spinning tunes, kicking back with a cold ale and playing a CD, or simply goofing around in Daft Punk’s pyramid. In any event, SebastiAn and Kavinsky did a good job keeping the crowd’s energy levels high, playing a fun if somewhat unadventurous set. It included their reworkings of The Prodigy’s Smack My Bitch Up, Rage Against The Machine’s Killing In the Name and The Black Eyed Peas’ Weekend, which all generated positive responses from the crowd.
Just before 8.30pm, the black curtain was finally opened and the mighty Daft Punk pyramid was unveiled. Looking resplendent in their spacesuits and robot helmets, Thomas Bangalter and Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo assumed their positions at the pyramid’s control deck. From there it was straight down to business as the androids of the hour launched into a thumping mix of Robot Rock and Oh Yeah. Technologic/Touch It had the crowd chanting, before the mashed up medley of Around The World, Crescendolls and Television Rules the Nation sent it into overdrive.
A brief pause around 9pm allowed the audience to catch its collective breath after the frenetic opening, and it also provided an opportunity for a closer examination of the multimedia setup. Massive screens either side of the stage provided visuals of the performance, interspersed with crazy graphics ranging from Daft Punk self promotion, through to green 1980s Acorn computer graphics. From their position inside the pyramid, Daft Punk controlled the lights and visuals of the show (with the assistance of light and video engineers), allowing for the synchronisation of lights, visuals and sound.
Musically, the show is run through Ableton Live software on custom-made “super-computers” with the assistance of classic Minimoog Voyagers and Behringer BCR2000 midi controllers. This, in Bangalter’s words, allows them to “mix, shuffle, trigger loops, filter, distort samples, EQ in and out, transpose or destroy and deconstruct synth lines”. So there you have it. It’s not entirely “live” (a term which, in dance music, is liable to be largely misconstrued), but rather a supremely well-organised setup that allows the duo to bring freshness, vitality and a whole lot of layering to a bunch of pre-recorded sounds in a live setting.
But I digress, back to the music. With the rapturous applause from the crowd imploring them to continue, Daft Punk embarked on a slightly heavier electro journey after the 9pm pause, gradually building up a blend of Around The World and Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger, into more banging electro. The frenzied guitar opening to Aerodynamic then served as the precursor to a crowd-pleasing mix of One More Time. Soon after came a vintage rendition of Da Funk, before the main set was rounded out by another mad mash-up, this time featuring Superheroes, Human After All and Rock’n’Roll.
Fully aware of the strict 10pm curfew imposed by our Nanny State, Daft Punk returned for a brief encore. One More Time got another run (to the delight of the fluoro kids and the frustration of the purists), this time worked together with Music Sounds Better With You (originally produced by Bangalter under his Stardust moniker).
The NeverEverLand show has variously been called “the musical event of our generation”, “the best event of the year”, and a “near-religious experience”. Lofty praise indeed, but after witnessing the Perth show I would argue each comment is justifiable. With the threatened rain never arriving, it seems even God is a fan of the French duo. As the crowd filtered out of the venue, the message was clear: no one rains on Daft Punk’s parade.
voodooladie says...
Being one of those on 'the other side of the 30 yo ledger' and having grown up in Sydney attending raves/gigs/parties of huge magnitudes both here and in Europe over the past 15 years, I have to say this simply was THE BEST light and sound experience ever.
Rebecca Hill says...
Great review, a pleasure to read! Now if only I could turn back time and actually go to this event ... :)
benjiswan says...
Mmmm, religious experience indeed! How will we ever look at a dance music show the same again? Just have to wait for Alive 2012