Daft Punk: Penguin after all

Kaitlin Perry / Arts & Culture Editor / The USD Vista

On Halloween (I know it was two weeks ago), I attended HARD Haunted Mansion. Weeks before the event a rumor was spread that the special guest DJs of the night were the legendary Daft Punk. The addition of Daft Punk to the already impressive lineup (Justice, Soulwax, Simian Mobile Disco, DJ AM) was almost too much.

After we arrived and were basking in the “guest list glow” that one has after cutting in front of hundreds of people, some friendly fellows began to tell us about how Daft Punk performed in Los Angeles the night before. That was step one.

A little later on I got extremely thirsty and decided to fill my empty water bottle. This is step two. Suddenly I heard “Bot. Robot rock,” saw people running and screaming and came to a semi-realization. As I peeked around the corner of the stage and saw the unmistakable helmet, my realization was fulfilled. Daft Punk was indeed the special guest (step three). We ran into the crowd and started dancing along with the thousands of ridiculously happy people.

But slowly, we all began to step back. First of all, there was only one DJ in a Daft Punk helmet. Secondly, the beats were not that fun to bounce to. And thirdly, there was a sticker on the DJ’s laptop that said “TRV$” and “DJ AM.” As we slowly began to stop dancing, “Daft Punk” backed away from the laptop and took off his helmet. Lo and behold, it was DJ AM dressed up as Daft Punk for Halloween.

You may laugh, but my heart dropped to the ground. How could I have fallen for such a trick? I mean, DJ AM is cool and all (he did survive gastric bypass surgery, being a member of Crazy Town, a plane crash and a potentially fatal blood clot), but Daft Punk influenced an entire genre of music.

At this point, my anger has subsided. Not because I’m over it, but because I just remind myself that the night was not a complete fail. Why? Because I hugged a guy in a giant penguin costume. I’d pick that over seeing Daft Punk any day.