Life Is Beautiful Day 1: Porter Robinson LIVE

I’ll have to admit that with Stevie Wonder and Porter Robinson performing at the same time on different stages, I was torn as to where to end this epic night. Thank the rave Gods I headed to the Troubadour stage and witnessed Porter live.

“Indian Summer” producer Jai Wolf says, [after seeing Stevie Wonder] “you’ll walk away with a new-found respect. With Porter you’ll get a crazy cinematic experience and catch dem feeeels for days.”

So I chose dem feels. Seeing Robinson live was a mind-crumbling experience. It’s a rare sight to see a DJ mix in right before the audience’s eyes, let alone juggle his computer, drum system and microphone to sing his popular “Sad Machine” live.

I normally close my eyes and get lost in his airy, psychedelic rhythms, but I couldn’t take my eyes off of him behind his clear booth bouncing to his beats the entire time. When did I close my eyes, I abruptly opened them to find Porter, drum sticks in hand, banging his drum and making the audience go nuts with every passionate clash.

The background animations made me realize that anime is still cool (was it ever) but between the visuals and the absolutely electrifying tracks I felt like I was on some kind of drug and dancing on a cloud or something. No adjectives could possibly do this euphoric set justice.

I have a new found respect for not only Robinson, but for DJs in general for how intense and passionate their performances are. Playing his hits “Sad Machine,” “The Thrill,” and “Unison,” the crowd was raging the entire hour-long set. He didn’t talk much at all through his set, he let the airy grooves speak for themselves.

Porter had the perfect balance of trance-y vibes and dance beats, he succeeded in transporting the ravers into an alternative realm of a fantasy paradise. Chiming in with vocals on “Sad Machine” overwhelmed the crowd- there’s nothing the North Carolina native can’t do.

Check out this video of Porter killing the end of Day One.

The eclectic artist went through his entire set with no headphones and no breaks. So far, Porter has stolen my heart and swept Stevie Wonder under the rug. Even if you’re more of a deep house kind of person, any EDM enthusiast can appreciate Porter’s live performance. Even the next day I’m inexplicably happy and calm and I can’t even describe it.

Will any act compare to Porter Robinson’s flawless fantasy-land set at Life Is Beautiful? Stay tuned…

Connect With Porter Robinson:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/porterrobinsonmusic
Twitter: https://twitter.com/porterrobinson
Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/porter-robinson