Home > Denver Music > CD Review > Daft Punk, "Alive 2007"

Backstory: When Daft Punk first brought the “Alive” pyramid stage show to America at the 2006 Coachella Music Festival, no one could have predicted that it would set off a world tour that would stand as one of the most talked-about and galvanizing of the past two years. The tour’s multimedia sensory assault created a new generation of Daft Punk devotees that trailed the duo across America like dance-crazed digital Deadheads.

Why you should care: Daft Punk’s live show is a dazzling display of proto-disco taken to heavy metal extremes, combining their larger-than-life party robot personas with massive underground dance beats and a light show comparable to Pink Floyd on two hits of E. To capture even a fraction of the spine-tingling crowd energy created at any of their “Alive” shows would put it on par with another classic live release: KISS’ legendary album that happens to share the same name. Coincidence? We doubt it.

Verdict: “Alive” is everything that electronic music supposedly isn’t: engaging, emotional and full of very real human energy. Boasting songs and hooks as catchy as any pop hit, Daft Punk make music that’s truly for the masses. Borrowing from the original Chicago house template of Saturday night dance party turned soul-reviving church service, they’ve proved once and for all that drum machines and computers do possess souls. You just have to know how to program them.

X-Factor: Hardcore fans will definitely want to track down the special limited-edition double-CD version that comes with five extra songs from the “Alive” encore, a 50-page booklet of concert photos and the live video for “Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger.”

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