Phoenix Rock With Daft Punk at Madison Square Garden

As far as upping the excitement of your gig, there's nothing like adding the presence of two robots. It's even better if those robots happen to be Daft Punk, as French-pop band Phoenix learned Wednesday night at their first Madison Square Garden headlining gig.

The moment came as Phoenix's encore was in full swing; they'd just performed an acoustic version of 'Love for Granted' in the middle of the arena and ventured back onstage, where amidst a barrage of noise, two shiny gold robot heads appeared. Immediately, the crowd erupted and the band started to jam with Daft Punk on a mutated version of 'Harder Better Faster Stronger,' which bled into the night's final song, a blistering version of '1901.'

Certainly, getting Daft Punk to perform anywhere these days is something of a major coup, especially for Phoenix, considering the duo isn't the type to sit in with a live band. An eight-minute version of '1901' developed, with Phoenix themselves feeding off the Daft Punk energy, while the robots themselves manned a small station on the right side of the stage. From far away, it was hard to make out exactly what they were doing; keyboards and a computer seemed to be in the mix. Whatever it was, the resulting effort made for one of the best versions of '1901' you'll hear. Indeed, the song felt better, faster and stronger.

While this certainly stole the spotlight, moments like 'Long Distance Call' and 'Love Like a Sunset' had the band shifting from suave French pop to more experimental instrumentals, even if the crowd was still hung up on the 'Lisztomania' opener.

Since the release of 2009's 'Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix,' Phoenix have become one of Europe's hottest exports. After their singles were plucked for widely seen commercials, they've become brand ambassadors for Air France and have played nearly every major festival in the US and Europe. After such a successful year and a half, jamming with Daft Punk at their first MSG headlining show is certainly a great accomplishment to add to their impressive resume.