Rockin Out Tuesday- M83

If you know anything about me, you know I'm a concert junkie. There is something about the rush of a concert that I can't get anywhere else that keeps me hooked. Whenever I see that a band will only be playing for an hour, I have high expectations that it better be near-perfect. This past weekend's sold-out, one hour M83 concert nailed my expectations. It was beyond perfect. The energy was insane, the set list was brilliant and they rocked out hard. You could tell that they loved what they were doing and were excited to be there to perform. They fed off of the crowd's energy and kept it going. It was completely dazzling.

M83 is a French indie pop band, created and led by Anthony Gonzalez who is insanely adorable and beyond gracious. He was supported by a four member band who rocked out as hard as he did, each part of a balanced formula for dream pop perfection.

They started the show with a figure wearing a monster mask that I am pretty sure was supposed to resemble something from Where the Wild Things Are. The crowd went wild as stars lit the background and the band started playing "Intro." They continued to build up the show with songs from a variety of their past and current album.  Every song was immaculate and dare I say sounded better than their album recordings. Gonzalez would stop every once in a while and engage with the crowd by telling them how thankful he was for them and even said "This is the best crowd I've ever performed for in Seattle!" They had played an earlier sold out show that night at the same venue and I caught the tail end of it. He was spot on about the later show being much more engaging and responsive.

They ended the concert with "Couleurs" that created a massive dance party both in the crowd and on the stage. At the end of the show and before the lights were turned back on, Gonzalez high-fived the front rowers and made a heart shape with his hand as he left the stage.

As I made my way back to my car, I kept thinking about how perfect it was and was washed over with nostalgia. I lucked out by buying my tickets for $15 in July since they were going for about $150 on craigslist that night. Maybe it had to do with their 9.1 rating of their new album Hurry Up, We Are Dreaming on Pitchfork?

Last year, when Gonzalez announced that he was working on a new album that was going to be "very, very, very, epic" his confidence paid off. It is completely epic. Go ahead and be blown away.