The rumor at the Capitol Hill Block Party over the weekend was that Friday evening's Blood Brothers show might be one of their last. Supposedly, the band is dissolving in the very near future, possibly so that singer Johnny Whitney can pursue an alt-country project. We'll report more info as it becomes available.
But the biggest news of the Block Party has to be Girl Talk, or more specifically, the throng of people who couldn't get into Neumo's to see Girl Talk perform. The venue filled up fast before his show, and a disappointed mob was left outside. Apparently, some people tried to force their way in, and Neumo's security responded by cutting off all entry entirely. I got down there around 11:30 p.m., while the Trucks were playing, and it was impossible to get in. Maybe next time Girl Talk comes to town, he'll be rocking a larger space, and maybe next year's Block Party will keep the main attractions on the main stage.
Block Party was a blast, but the real highlight of the weekend was Daft Punk. It was one of the best shows I have ever seen—totally worth the 10-year wait. SebastiAn and Kavinsky were playing SebastiAn's club hit "Walkman" when I arrived, and a couple things seemed off. The bass was blown out and overdriven, and all the house lights were on in the main room—not exactly a great recipe for a dance party. But when the lights went down and the Rapture went on, everything was all right. The band looked dwarfed on the big stage, lost between the curtains and the light show, but they sounded great. The bass was full and round, really filling up the big concrete box that is WaMu Theater, and their electro-accented disco punk may have actually benefited from the room's echoes. Surprisingly few people seemed to be dancing during their set—a few picked up for "House of Jealous Lovers," but for the most part, the Rapture got it right with "WAYUH": "People don't dance no more." At least not for the opening acts.
The curtains parted for Daft Punk to the theme from Close Encounters of the Third Kind and revealed the robotic duo perched atop an electronic, Masonic pyramid and flanked by triangular grids. They began with a clash of "Human After All" and "Robot Rock," with the words "Human" and "Robot" flashing on a giant LED screen behind them. They pulled off equally clever mixes throughout their set, mashing "Television Rules the Nation" with "Around the World," early track "Face to Face" with "Harder, Better, Stronger, Faster," and "One More Time" with "Music Sounds Better with You" for their finale. They played Homework classics "Rollin' & Scratchin'," "Burning," "Oh Yeah," and "Da Funk," and they all sounded amazing on the venue's sound system. Even Human After All's cheesy, shuffling "Prime Time of Your Life" took on epic, overwhelming proportions as the climax of their set.
Throughout the show, the visuals were simply stunning—the grids lit up in rainbows of neon for "Around the World"; the pyramid flashed images of people's faces for "Human After All." At other times it lit up with neon and solid color; smoke and colored light spilled out from behind the giant structure. Key words flashed on a giant LED screen behind the duo, culminating with a flicker between "Human" and "Together" during the band's encore. It was a fantastic spectacle—two robots reminding thousands of people of our shared humanity via music. It was every bit as ludicrous and awesome as that sounds. 
