M83 Finally Makes Proper Miami Debut at Fillmore Miami Beach, September 26

Photo by Ian Witlen

M83
Wednesday, September 26
Fillmore Miami Beach

Better Than: Dreaming ... IRL.

A "nightmare" is the word Anthony Gonzalez used last night at the Fillmore Miami Beach to describe M83's disastrous appearance at Ultra Music Festival in March. But if Ultra was a nightmare, than the band's performance at the Fillmore could only be described as a dream.

Well, dream-like.

See also:
-The 30-photo slideshow of M83 at the Fillmore Miami Beach
-M83: After Disastrous Miami Debut at Ultra Music Festival, Dream Poppers Try Again
-M83 at Ultra Music Festival 2012: Technical Issues Ruin Live Performance
-M83 on Ruined Ultra Music Festival 2012 Performance: "Our Deepest Apologies"

Photo by Ian Witlen

From the moment Gonzalez took the stage, it seemed as though his mission was to transport the audience into a dream world with a twinkling sky and flashes of light. It wasn't necessarily a complex light show, but it didn't need to be.

"Thank you so much, Miami!" Gonzalez said as he looked over a nearly sold-out Fillmore. "We are glad to be in such a beautiful venue."

It almost made the six-month wait worth it. At Ultra, the band was playing for a crowd that might or might not have been there to see them. At the Fillmore, everyone had made a conscious effort to see this one band.

Photo by Ian Witlen

As soon as the battle cry "Carry on! Carry on!" of "Intro" came on, the band quickly set the mood and pace of the show, as LED tubing changed from color to color, almost like synapses firing in the brain.

Most bands feel obligated to play material off their newest release during live sets while punctuating it with past hit singles. But M83 didn't really follow that pattern. Yes, there were quite a few tracks from Hurry Up, We're Dreaming. However, the set spanned Gonzalez's entire career with very few of those so-called hit singles. Instead, it seemed that Gonzalez carefully choose the tracks that'd fit the mood he was going for -- a quiet loudness that M83 seems especially skilled at.