Most Sunday nights bring fear and panic into students’ lives often due to unfinished homework assignments, upcoming tests or simply the unavoidable struggle that is life. However, last Sunday Hugo Pierre Leclercq, better known as Madeon, vanquished all anxieties and brought nothing but pure joy to a packed Segredo.
Before the 20-year-old Frenchman took the stage, the San Francisco-based duo The M Machine got concertgoers in the mood to rage with their deep house sounds and relatively trippy visuals playing in the background.
But The M Machine was not sufficient in satisfying the eager crowd. The storm brewing inside Segredo as the anxious audience awaited Madeon’s appearance was intense as any severe weather happening on the streets.
Since Segredo is essentially a mix of nightclub-meets-house-party-basement, its crowd was diverse in nature and drew everyone from kandi-laden ravers to frat stars in Oakley sunglasses. As they waited for his arrival, crowd members vigorously chanted Madeon’s name. When he timidly stepped on stage the crowd pushed aside their differences and erupted in excitement.
Madeon began his show the same way he began his first full-length album Adventure, with the upbeat and alluring intro “Isometric.” He moved seamlessly between tracks, transitioning smoothly into the highly addictive ear-worm “You’re On.”
Adventure, released only a month ago, was a long-time coming for Madeon fans and highly anticipated within the electric music scene. It drew the attention of many stars in the music industry. He even launched his own music mixing website for fans to create their own Madeon-inspired tracks.
With singles dropping since October 2014, fans were eager to hear the new sounds played live for the first time and Madeon did not disappoint. Though his setlist did not stray far from the track list of Adventure, no one seemed to mind, or possibly even notice.
In spite of his small stature, Madeon was anything but lacking in spirit, packing a punch into every track he played. While he was noticeably tense during the show’s start, any of his nerves quickly dissipated as the energy of the crowd made its way to the stage.
The crowd was already vibing when Madeon played his fast-paced tune “Ok,” complete with jumping and singing along to the lyrics, and accompanying Porter Robinson-esque visuals.
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Throughout the show Madeon teased the song that sent him into electro-music stardom, “Pop Culture,” a monstrous mash-up which features more than 30 songs. This crazy mix is a staple of all his shows, most notably because he mixes it live on stage. He stood before the crowd, warmed up his fingers and breezed through the song he’s played so many times before.
While there was no formal encore, Madeon did come out from behind his DJ podium to interact with the crowd and even shook a few reaching hands.
Madeon’s set only lasted about an hour-and-a-half, but many emerged from the venue elated with their night and danced themselves home in the rain with the base still ringing in their ears.