REVIEW: Daft Punk
- Posted on June 22, 2007 12:34 PM
- 0 comments
Daft Punk
02 Festival - Hyde Park, London
16 June 2007
Review by Tim Kernutt
London is summer is an exciting time, with the city offering a myriad of festivals for the music punter to choose from. Whether you decide to head to Clapham Common, Regent's Park or Hyde Park within London, or head to a festival such as Glastonbury or V Festival in the country, there is definitely no shortage of choice. And also no shortage of people paying up to attend any festival, free or otherwise.
And so it was last weekend in Hyde Park as the city's green belt hosted the 02 Festival. As thousands of revellers queued to gain entrance into the arena, the heaven's opened in a typical display of English "summer" weather. However, by the time I strolled in unfashionably late some time into the early evening, the skies had completely cleared and I walked straight through the turnstiles as everyone had more intelligently got to the festival in the mid-afternoon to check out the supporting acts.
As I walked in, the crowd was going wild. People were scattered everywhere at the various stages and tents to the various bars to food-stores and chill-out zones. I arrived at an opportune time as everyone was well and truly licking their lips in anticipation at the main event - Daft Punk.
Daft Punk, who have been the mainstay of the French house scene for just less than a decade, have gathered quite a reputation lately for their live acts. It was clear that despite there being several other impressive acts on the day, including the Klaxons and LCD Soundsystem, that most people had come to see the headline act. Daft Punk rose to domination in the dance scene in the late 1990s, and were famous a long time before other French house acts such as Air, Cassius and Dimitri from Paris began to rise to prominence. Their last album, Homework, was a lot heavier than previous efforts, however it was an understandable creative adjustment for the electronic act after years of being on the circuit.
By the time the duo, Thomas Bangalter and Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo, made their entrance in metal space-suits, the crowd was jumping. My group of friends tried to wrestle our way to the front, however the crowd was impenetrable and we ended up setting up a good 50 metres from the main stage. Little did it matter. Incorporating some of the new album layered over their main hits, Daft Punk entertained the crowd with their set for a good one a half hours which included no less than three encores and a great lighting display. The stand-out tracks were, of course, the more famous tunes including "Around the World", "One More Time" and "Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger".
As the sun went down over London and the many airplanes flying overhead towards Europe, the atmosphere lifted and by the time Daft Punk threw "Music Sounds Better With You" into the mix, the whole crowd was jiggling as one. Daft Punk's set was truly one of the best sets I have seen for a long time, which I am certain that everyone in attendance could attest to.
Were you there? Post your daft Punk reviews in the comments section.
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