written by Sam Freund
There’s something to be said for a good crowd: packed shoulder to shoulder, singing every word and hanging on to an artist’s every move…that’s just the kind of audience that greeted Porter Robinson and Madeon on Tuesday night at their sold out show in Royal Oak.
Though treading familiar territory, neither artist was afraid put new spins on their songs with seamless remixing and sampling. For every “here it comes” moment anticipating our favorite beats, a “wait, what?” followed as they turned entire songs on their head to incredible effect.
The production quality of the stage show itself demands a mention with a dazzling light show, streamer and confetti cannons, and screens displaying visuals that plugged in perfectly to Robinson and Madeon’s aesthetics. From low-poly landscapes to dramatic anime glares and threatening glitch freak outs, the art was in sync throughout the show. It’s a small detail, one that can be easily overlooked, but I was consistently impressed from from the moment they took the stage.
I walked into this show already a Porter Robinson devotee, so it was Madeon who would come under more scrutiny. To be perfectly honest, all Robinson would have had to do to keep me happy was play the hits, but instead I was treated to was a truly collaborative performance. Both artists played off each other at every opportunity, pounding away at a sequencer, hammering drums, furiously twisting knobs, and all with precision and boundless energy. This was not one artist featuring another, this was Porter Robinson and Madeon coming together to create an entirely new experience for a very eager crowd, and Madeon’s haunting refrain of Robinson’s “Goodbye to a World”, suggests that this tour is only a small hint of what’s to come from both of them.