Live Review: Porter Robinson & Madeon, LIDO, Elk Road

The grass is green, the breeze is cool, the sun is setting, and it’s a beautiful Friday evening at the Brisbane Riverstage.

There’s a small, dedicated following pressed tightly against the stage for opening act Elk Road, and a spattering of others strewn across the hill. Producer Rory Garton-Smith (Elk Road) stands on stage behind his decks, enjoying himself and the interaction he can get with his fans. The best way to describe his act is definitely more that of a DJ. While he throws a few original numbers in the mix, such as his 2016 triple j Hottest 100 single Hanging By A Thread, most of his short set is comprised of remixes and (although quite good) just doesn’t stack up to expectations.

During the interlude between acts, the last few rays of sunshine disappear, and an almost-purple dusk settles over us, broken with the occasional cloud and a handful of stars. The throngs of people walking around seem to only get bigger, thicker, more excited, until finally, amid a blast of music and the luminescence of two big screens on stage, our next artist appears.

The two screens go black as LIDO walks onto the stage, the suddenly tripled crowd pressed against the barrier screaming. Slowly, like two giant eyes opening, the screens go red as he begins, building anticipation as he moves from his mixing station over to a live drum and sample kit set up across the stage. His performance is intense, all live mixing and samples, and he looks like he’s having the greatest time of his life — just like us. He’s incredibly humble, and knows how to interact with his crowd.

In-between songs, he has a bit of a chat, talks about his latest album, Everything, and then announces, to uproarious applause, his intention to play the entire album for us, for the first time ever. The set changes after this, and becomes something more — LIDO takes us on an emotional journey through his life, song after song, the screens behind him telling us a story behind his music as well. Finally, he announces one of his newer songs, and evidently one a lot of people have been waiting for: Crazy, an Alison Wonderland remix. The set ends with a bang, as LIDO waves to us all one last time before departing the stage.

The atmosphere in the audience never dulls though, the anticipation building minute after minute, and unfortunately the tension is too much for some as a small fight breaks out, but it is quickly subdued and we go back to waiting. It seems to stretch for a lifetime until, suddenly, lights and music start to pulse from the stage. It’s delicate, it’s teasing, and they make us wait a further five minutes before we finally see the both Porter Robinson and best friend Hugo Pierre Leclercq, better known as Madeon, walk to the front of the stage.

They give us a bit of an excited wave, say hello, and then jump straight into it, surprisingly bringing out joint single Shelter straight off the bat. It’s eclectic and beautiful, and they’re mixing it live and changing it up from the song we all know, and they never stop moving for a second. Leclercq’s pure voice pours out over us, washing away our insecurities, and Robinson’s deeper melodies are humbling. A few songs in we’re treated to Robinson’s Sad Machine, which seems to be a favourite among fans, and later down the track we hear the much-adored Vocaloid voice associated with Flicker. This sends the crowd into an absolute frenzy, as the screens set up behind the boys literally flicker and the lights pulse, and what look like excerpts or characters from unknown animes dart across the screen. Other favourites such as Divinity and Leclercq’s You’re On and La Lune appear, each sounding incredibly different live compared with the originals, and we even hear parts of other artists’ songs sampled along the way, such as Kanye West, Daft Punk and Gorillaz.

Towards the end, Robinson announces he’s going to play his version of one of his favourite-ever songs, Madeon’s Beings. It’s incredible, with Leclercq performing with perfect grace and precision, and Robinson’s voice giving the song renewed strength. The two different artists work together brilliantly, recrafting each other’s songs, and in the purple fog and bright lights, we’re almost brought back to how these boys started, playing music together from across the globe, in their bedrooms. Suddenly the stage is dark and the music has stopped. Robinson and Leclercq are nowhere to be seen, as we realise the night is over. Agonisingly, the swollen crowd is screaming for just one more song and, after what seems like forever, just as we’re about to give up hope, they walk back on stage.

They’re standing right at the front; Robinson starts playing the gentle notes of Shelter once more on a solitary keyboard, and Leclercq voice serenades us again, this time a slower, simpler version, bringing out the real emotions of the song. With a flash of lights and a surge of synthesiser, the pair race back up to their stations and pump out one last song, full of energy and enthusiasm. It is pure magic. After their final song, they come back to the front and wave goodbye, having a final little chat before they leave, both calling out “Bye!” to the hundreds of waving, adoring fans.