M83 at Riviera Theatre
photo by James Richards IV

M83 on tour, played two Terminal 5 shows & more (pics from Chicago)

M83 are currently on tour with Shura in support of this year’s divisive Junk. The tour recently hit NYC’s Terminal 5 for two shows (Oct 14 and 15), and Craig Jenkins reviewed one of those for Vulture. The headline is “M83 Make the Case for Their Underrated New Album at Terminal 5” and here’s an excerpt:

The Hurry Up, We’re Dreaming songs were executed effortlessly and served to keep the crowd happy while M83 got good and weird. The early pairing of Junk’s slow-burning “Walkaway Blues” and “Solitude” curtly loosed any notions that this was going to be a night of hits and also proved this band is capable of selling a bleeding-heart ballad as hard as the upbeat stuff they’re known for of late. The still flawless “Midnight City” arrived late enough in the set to feel like a reward for following the band through the night’s many twists, but not late enough to feel like the textbook set-closing hit. The evening’s encore stretched graciously into the back catalogue, chasing the full-on rave moment of Saturdays = Youth’s “Couleurs” with the Before the Dawn Heals Us epic “Lower Your Eyelids to Die With the Sun.” In the end, the show proved a patiently judicious balancing act between pleasing newcomers and longtime fans while reminding both that, contrary to confused reviews, the new album crushes.

Did you catch either show, or both? What did you think?

We didn’t catch the tour in NYC, but we did just see the Chicago show at Aragon Ballroom last night (10/20). Pictures of that one are in the gallery above. Setlist from Terminal 5 night 1, below.

M83 @ Terminal 5 – 10/14/16 Setlist (via)
Reunion
Do It, Try It
Steve McQueen
We Own the Sky
Intro
Walkway Blues
Solitude
Road Blaster
Sitting
Wait
Oblivion
Bibi the Dog (with Mai Lan)
Go! (with Mai Lan)
Midnight City
Echoes of Mine
Outro

Encore:
For the Kids
Couleurs
Lower Your Eyelids to Die With the Sun

photos by James Richards IV