The day’s heat was masked by humidity. Some of us stood under the shade of the few trees we could find on the festival’s grounds. Stage left of where The Rapture was playing. The Sears Tower behind a drawn curtain. The first day of Lollapalooza 2007 began. I was only looking forward to two bands. One of them being LCD Soundsystem. The other headlined the night opposite of Buckingham Fountain. There were two men. Humans or Robots? Daft Punk dared you to make a decision.
LCD Soundsystem rocked their set with as much energy as I had read about. Hearing “All My Friends” and “Someone Great” live is something I can somewhat remember. I remember the emotions those songs brought to me. But I still feel those same emotions when I listen to them now. Daft Punk, though, after seeing them, well, lets just say I still get goose bumps thinking about that night in Grant Park. August 3rd, 2007.
My friend, lets call him...Clayton, and I were feeling very good to say the least, we hadn’t drank much but other things had entered out system.
The sun set but you could still taste the humid air of the Chicago summer. The noise of the crowd rose and the remaining lights dimmed. The word Human blasted onto a 200 foot screen while a manipulated voice said the same word. Then Robot blasted with the same effect. They gradually repeated until a backbeat broke into the forefront and a synthesizer played the role of a guitar. Everyone around me started to move. But not just move, they were controlled by the beat. And that’s when it kicked in, with three chords behind it.
An explosion of multi-layered lights filled each and everyone’s enlarged pupils at the same time. Two men or robots sat in an enormous pyramid, manipulating and distorting every sound available to the ears. The build-up into each progression meant more movement from everyone around me. Clayton hadn’t moved, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t having fun. The show took him over.
Every song I wanted to hear was being spliced together like the greatest Daft Punk mixtape of all time. “Too Long” mixed with “Steam Machine”. “Harder Better Faster Stronger” and “Around the World”. Poppy moments of musical bliss. Everyone around me had to feel what I was feeling. There was and is no denying it. I’d like to make everyone understand, but there are some things in life that words won’t do justice.
Chicago and all its glory surrounded me. Where ever I may be coming from, whether it’s Missoula or anywhere else in the world, I will always call Chicago home. There’s nothing like the city life or the feeling of familiarity. And culture. Where else would I see Daft Punk? It is the only place I could imagine seeing these two individuals.
The show went on in ways I can’t necessarily verbalize or communicate. Bright lights matched my dancing feet and the beat outlined everything I’d ever want out of an ideal show. People were moving but I can’t remember how. At one point I remember turning around and looking at the Sears Tower, the John Hancock, the city’s skyline, and thinking that in heaven they must play house music. There must be lights guiding you down every street and buildings taller than your eyes can see.
I knew it couldn’t get much better when they came on for their encore. People were screaming for ten minutes, no one wanting the experience to end. Human/Robot was chanted again in the same fashion through manipulated voices. I decided they must be human because no robot can have this much soul. “Human After All” mixed with “Together”. The word together was manipulated to sound like “Gather”. A reprised beat of “One More Time” came in, repeating one of the best choruses I have heard: “One More Time/Music Got Me Feeling So Free/We’re Gonna Celebrate/Celebrate and Dance/ So Free/One More Time.” Next thing I know, the sampled guitar riff of a Chaka Kahn comes in. One of their solo hits of the late 9o’s, “Music Sounds Better with You” breaks in. They don’t have the vocals on the live release, but at the Chicago show at Lollapalooza, the vocals to one of my favorites were put at the forefront. And just as the title sounds, it’s those five words that make this song so important. “Ooo Baby/ I Feel Right/ The Music Sounds Better With You.”
The show ended. I looked at my friend Clayton. Neither of us could speak, really. We walked back by Buckingham Fountain. Thousands of people were walking out, all talking but not really saying anything as important as what any of us had just witnessed.
Yes, in Heaven they must play house music.
