Cole Cuchna

They then use the digital meltdown section of Short Circuit to symbolize the robot's collapse, signaling a victory for humanity.

Now I need to point out that this ending of Short Circuit occurs about 42 minutes into the set.

A set that runs roughly 84 minutes long.

That places this critical narrative moment exactly at the halfway point.

And what follows this moment is a set of songs that center humanity.

So that means on top of everything else they were doing, Daft Punk have divided the entire set in two, one half centered on robots and technology, the other on humans and humanity.

A large-form expression of the show's central theme, which, as you'll recall, is foreshadowed at the very beginning of the set, when they started by repeating the words human and robot.

I mean come on, how fucking cool is that?

Daft Punk even marked this division sonically.

Following the digital meltdown, we hear the iconic bell tolls that open aerodynamic, signaling a transition into the second half of the set.

And what follows is the first song on the human side of the narrative, a track that celebrates the joy of people gathered together, united through music and dance.

Of course, at such a critical juncture of the set, Daft Punk come prepared with a visual surprise.

As I noted earlier, they slow play the light show, revealing different aspects of the stage structure as the performance unfolds.

And remarkably, more than 40 minutes into the set, they still haven't activated the large LED panels that cover the outside of the pyramid itself.

Now let that sink in for a moment.

Waiting over 40 minutes to use the lights at the heart of your stage design, the very structure the entire show is built around, is the kind of decision only Daft Punk would dare to make.

But in doing so, they create a spectacular payoff, saving it for the perfect moment, the thematic turning point of the show, where the now glowing pyramid is revealed during the performance of their biggest song.

The second half's emphasis on humanity continues for the remainder of the set.

For example, the vocals of Prime Time of Your Life, lyrics that urge us to live in the moment and make the most of our time alive, are layered over the track alive.

But perhaps nowhere is the theme of humanity more explicit than in the set's closing mashup, which begins with the song Superheroes and its repeated refrain, Something's in the Air.