last night's gig

Daft Punk, the Future’s Most Lackadaisical Robots

The 22nd century comes to Keyspan Park.Photo: Alex Littlefield

Daft Punk’s Thomas Bangalter once claimed that an exploding sampler in the duo’s studio turned him and partner Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo into robots. Seeing them onstage at Coney Island’s Keyspan Park last night, we had no trouble thinking that Bangalter may have been telling the truth. Not an inch of skin was to be seen beneath the pair’s streamlined helmets and black leather jumpsuits, and their getup, combined with the strobing triangle-themed stage set and flickering Astroland rides in the background — not to mention the hundreds of waving Mini-DV cameras concertgoers were asked to bring — would have made for a decidedly futuristic concert even if no music had been played.

Music was played — mash-ups of apples-and-oranges songs like “Around the World” and “Harder Faster Better Stronger” — but the whole performance seemed rather effortless. Some may have felt annoyed at the lackadaisical nature of the show; holed up inside a giant separated-cap pyramid (not unlike the one on the back of a U.S. one-dollar bill), the robots nodded intently and occasionally pumped a fist. Their frenzied fans seemed unfazed, though, perhaps because during lulls in the music they could be heard comparing pill dosages and soliciting each other for pot. —Alex Littlefield

Daft Punk, the Future’s Most Lackadaisical Robots