Porter Robinson played Orlando and Miami this past weekend to close out his live North American Worlds Tour. We stopped by the House of Blues Orlando date to see what all the fuss was about.
I hadn’t listened to Worlds in its entirety before the show, purposely to experience the music live for the first time. It’s much more impactful that way. Porter Robinson was highly impressive and here are the 3 reasons why:
1. Production
There are giant LED walls, loads of confetti, fog, and a table that looks like the main control board for a space ship. It’s an art to craft a production setup that can take you to another world for a little while without taking away from the musical productions.
Porter is a great producer, and you can see how much he has evolved from his “Spitfire” days. There was an array of keyboards, pads, and microphones for him to perform and sing with. His productions have become much more powerful and mystifying, and he made sure to match his stage production appropriately. It was massive!
2. Controlling the Vibe
Mr. Robinson gave us a whole new World to hang out in for a night, not the easiest task to accomplish. Being able to control your audience for an hour and a half is difficult, especially with everyone itching to touch their phones every 30 seconds.
Porter kept it fresh the entire time, playing all the songs from the varied new Worlds in ways unlike the album version. There were calming ambient sections of the show with a sea of fog covering the stage and thought provoking messages being displayed on the huge LED walls. There were hyphy explosive sections of the show with truckloads of confetti and streamers.Both flowed together beautifully and never once threw the vibe off.
Porter seems very careful about dwelling on one style for to long but gives you a nice transition from one style to another. Controlling the vibe is a crucial part of being a successful performer. Porter Robinson gets the DubEra stamp of approval for vibe setting.
3. Having Fun
If you have been to a concert or two in your life it’s easy to tell whether or not the person/people on stage are having fun. You can fake it a little, but you can’t replicate the smile of a musician who is engulfed in doing something they genuinely love.
Porter seemed to be completely emerged in an ocean of sweet emotion throughout his set. He kept smiling big while playing his new music for fans, new and old. It was like the music was controlling him at times. You can tell he’s been dreaming about performing something like this Worlds Tour for a while and his dream has come true. He thanked the crowd after his set before coming back out for an encore. He seemed speechless as he told everyone how incredible we had been.
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