Last week, vcialis 40mg pop iconoclast Robyn and electronic innovators Röyksopp brought their ambitious Do It Again tour to the Blue Hills Pavilion. Presented by the Brain Trust, sick the show saw both legendary acts put on solo sets before teaming up for an epic collaborative finale. While some fans may have been left befuddled by the choice of tracks and general approach, particularly those who were there for just for Robyn, the result was an epic and consistently vibrant spectacle that was well worth the price of admission.
Röyksopp started the night in a grand fashion. The Norwegian duo, who rode to fame with their excellent contributions to the downtempo and trip-hop aesthetics but have more recently been focused on electrohouse, made the excellent decision to play the show with a six-piece live band. This made for a noticeable change in the feel of many of their popular songs, though it generally worked for the better. While the dubby take on “Happy Up Here” threw me at first, the live saxophone worked perfectly with the bouncy nature of the track. More ambient songs like “Remind Me” also received a rework, adding heavy plucking synths and a more driving rhythm to bring them in line with the high energy mood of the night. The use of vocalist Susanne Sundfør for three songs was an interesting one, insofar as it would have been a treat for fans to see Robyn tackle the vocals on some of Röyksopp’s classics, but Sundfør did an admirable job and showed great tone and energy.
The only real negative of the set was its short runtime, clocking in at around 35 minutes. While Röyksopp did a good job covering cuts from each stage of their career, nine songs really didn’t feel like enough for them even with the promise of the later collaboration. Despite the length though, between the brilliant reworks of old favorites mixed with a bombastic stage presence and standout visuals (the laser show really had to be seen to be believed) there was plenty here for Röyksopp diehards to love.
As Robyn smoothly took the stage, retaining much of the live band, the crowd immediately densified and got louder; it was clear that a lot of the people were here for this set. Performance-wise, she didn’t disappoint. Showcasing her trademark off-kilter dancing, Robyn worked the stage admirably, playing to fans on every side of the amphitheater and never losing any momentum. Her voice held up very well, and like Röyksopp, her tracks benefitted greatly from the live band.
The choice of songs was quite odd though. Playing 9 tracks as well, Robyn trotted out 3 new, as-of-yet untitled ones. They sounded absolutely great, but given that the final act of the show would be made up almost entirely of recently-released material it seemed like overkill. She also played a lot of deeper cuts of her discography, such as “Be Mine!” and “Stars 4-ever.” Again, these are good songs, but they didn’t seem worth skipping radio hits like “Hang With Me” and “Fembot” for. Near the end of her 40 minutes though, she brought out the heavy hitters, playing stunning renditions of “Call Your Girlfriend” and “Dancing On My Own,” going silent for the first refrain of the latter to allow the audience to sing. Overall this was a great set with enormous pop payoff at the close, but given that a lot of the audience was assumedly there to hear the hits I could see it being disappointing.
The stage went dark for a few minutes following Robyn’s exit, then coming to life again with the Do It Again EP highlight “Sayit,” a dirty electrohouse banger. Robyn lay in the middle of stage writhing as she sang, with the two members of Röyksopp standing on either side in reflective masks. No one was really doing much, but the stimulation of the driving beat mixed with the positively epileptic visuals made this a standout of the night. They played almost all of the tracks off of the new EP, including the electro ballad “Every Little Thing” and the slow and melodic “Monument.” They even mixed in a lively and colorful rendition of their 2009 collaboration “The Girl and the Robot.”
The supergroup worked incredibly well together. Both Röyksopp members came out from behind the decks to duet with Robyn (using heavy vocoders to match the mechanical aesthetic of the music) while Robyn came back to jump on their mixing table. The friendly but passionate energy was intoxicating and truly added to the quality of the show, while the live band continued to push the music to dazzling heights. The accompanying black and white visuals were also consistently terrifying in a good way, laying down a dark atmosphere for the artists to play with. At only 5 songs, this was by far the standout set of the night, made even more special by the fact that it was so exclusive and unlikely to be toured again. The group finished with new hit “Do It Again,” (which was accompanied by a seemingly never-ending confetti storm) before returning for an encore of the Röyksopp-produced “None Of Dem.”
The show was a massive success overall, and the use of similar elements and band members helped weave the sets into something that, while often musically different, felt pretty cohesive. The best characteristics of each artists were highlighted in their personal sets and the collaboration took things one step further. While the short lengths of the solo sets could have turned off some of the more singularly-minded fans, it made for a fascinating three-tiered experience that is sure to stick in punters’ minds. Bravo.