A truly magical night!
As the third show on the Fantasy tour, M83 came with gusto to San Antonio at the Aztec theatre on April 13th, 2023.
The crowd stirred anxiously in the dim glow of the Aztec Theater’s famous 1920’s-era pre-columbian opulence as the moment drew near for the bands stage entrance. Suddenly, out of the darkness, a massive droning chord strikes, bathing the venue in the undulating swirl of a string synthesizer; the audience erupts into rapturous cheers as M83 file onto the stage to open the set with ‘Water Deep’, off of their latest album Fantasy, followed by ‘Oceans Niagara’, and ‘Amnesia’.
Hard not to get into the grove of the band!
With a clear nod to their musical heroes of the New Wave era, M83 has brought to the live-stage a familiar, retro tonality that somehow feels right on time in 2023.
With the warbling chorus on Anthony’s guitar tone, buzzing overdriven synth, and vocals drenched in cathedral-like reverb, M83 utilizes this well-established tonal palette to reinterpret the near-canonized sounds from the era that never ceases to supply fresh inspiration. While I found myself flinching with a slight urge to give in and dance to the ABBA-like 4-on-the-floor disco drive of ‘Fantasy’, the two decades old ’Noise’ from Dead Cities, Red Seas & Lost Ghosts, churned out heavily with a wall of distortion, having my head nodding and my gaze fixed towards my shoes.
’Solitude’, off of the 2016 album ‘Junk’, was a powerful moment in the set as fans raised up their hands and swayed under the wash of white light, giving the band an opportunity to behold the impact their music has on so many of their listeners.
With shimmering swells of synth and roaring crash cymbal crescendos, Gonzales’s aching melodies in ‘My Tears Are Becoming A Sea’ brought the set to its triumphant conclusion, only to be followed up with an encore featuring their most well-known song ‘Midnight City’.
And as a final send-off for the night, their song ‘Outro’ lived up to its name, closing out the night’s performance. M83 delivered to San Antonio a generous performance giving the audience the chance to hear their latest album ‘Fantasy’ nearly in its entirety, while also touching on favorites from their deep catalog.
SETLIST
Water Deep
Oceans Niagara
Amnesia
Earth to Sea
Us And The Rest
Run Into Flowers
Gone
Fantasy
Laura
Don’t Save Us From the Flames
Noise
Wait
Solitude
Sunny Boy
Dismemberment Bureau
My Tears Are Becoming a Sea
Encore
Midnight City
Mirror
Outro
FILM Photo Gallery
