The Daft Punk Tribute Band had the crowd screaming “one more time” at Ritual Nightclub Jan. 21, thanks in part to Carleton grad Rob Reid.
Reid graduated from Carleton in 2005 with a degree in political science, a far cry from his current career as a booking agent at the company he founded in September 2010, World Famous Music.
Reid said he dabbled in classical Indian and flamenco music before getting into the Carleton arts scene.
After graduating, he said he realized he was interested in promoting and managing bands.
“I felt more comfortable working behind the scenes than being on stage,” Reid said. “I’m very happy.”
Two years ago, Reid said he met the Daft Punk Tribute Band through CouchSurfing, an online community that allows people around the world to find empty couches to crash on while they’re travelling.
“I had a CouchSurfer stay at my place and he mentioned in passing, ‘Oh, my friends are in a Daft Punk tribute band’ and I kind of pricked my ears up like ‘What, really?’” Reid said.
He’s been the band’s booking agent ever since.
The Daft Punk Tribute Band is one of the many bands Reid has been managing. He started managing a band called the Soul Jazz Orchestra, who were named the ninth best band in the world by BBC Radio One under Reid’s management in 2007.
All of the members of the Daft Punk Tribute Band graduated from the Humber College jazz performance program and eventually formed a band in 2007. For the past few years, the band has been traveling across Canada. Their most recent stop in Ottawa was a marriage of their classical jazz training and Daft Punk’s popular electronic music.
Keyboardist Matt Giffin said he loves playing in Ottawa in particular, because the crowds are loud and crazy.
Ritual Nightclub was packed from midnight until their set ended at 2 a.m.
“All of that decorum that comes with being our nation’s capital is just checked at the door,” he said.
The Daft Punk Tribute Band covered some of Daft Punk’s biggest hits like “Technologic,” “Around the World” and “Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger,” adding their own riffs and jazzy improvisation into the mix.
At one point, the band tried to go on a break but the crowd didn’t want to stop dancing. They chanted “one more time,” the title of one of Daft Punk’s famous songs, until the band returned.
“We could not have asked for a better crowd,” vocoder player Ryan Spratt said to the sea of glowstick-clad heads bobbed in the crowd.
