Luckily (unless you're famous and sans pants), nothing transpires today without video evidence. Thus, fuzzy clips began appearing on YouTube that depicted two figures in a pyramidal structure that emitted bursts of light. The emergence of the clips and the "trust me, this was mind-blowing" recommendation was similar to the undefined and vague praise heaped on JJ Abrams’ Cloverfield trailer this summer by those who happened upon it while taking in the Transformers movie on opening weekend.

That Daft Punk created such a stir in 2006 was a surprise. The French duo hadn't been a major part of the music conversation since they released their first album, Homework, in 1997. Daft's last album, Human After All, was forgotten almost as soon as it was released in 2005. And the wave of the electronica movement that was primed to sweep America in the late 90s had long since receded, sweeping most of the major contenders back to continued success in Europe.

There were valid reasons to question the Coachella euphoria. That drugs are often present at electronica shows, and pharmaceuticals tend to add a positive sheen to events warranted skepticism. However, not everyone needs to combine 3,4 methylenedioxymethamphetamine with 808s and synthesizers, so surely there were some sober people confirming the magic of Coachella. Another reason to temper expectations was the fact that people seemed unaware of what, exactly, Messrs. de Homem-Christo and Bangalter were doing during the show. Some wondered if they just standing in the pyramid as one, long pre-recorded track played.

Another component of the live show served to pique interest: Bangalter and de Homem-Christo and took to the stage dressed as robots. While the pyramidal concert set-up was brand new to the Coachella audience, the duo have been "robots" since 1999, when, as the self-created lore goes, a sampler explosion in the studio where they were making their second album Discovery altered their chemical structure.

"We did not decide to become robots," Bangalter told Remix magazine reported in 2001. "There was an accident in our studio. We were working on our sampler, and at exactly 9:09 a.m. on September 9, 1999, it exploded. When we regained consciousness, we discovered that we had become robots."

Post-Coachella, the band launched the Alive 2007 tour, beginning on June 10 at the RockNess Festival in Inverness, Scotland and ending up at Keyspan Park, Brooklyn. At the tour's final date, I got to see what the YouTube videos tried to capture. The first thing you notice, by design, is the pyramidal structure that serves as the twosome’s set (the top of the pyramid is suspended in air, as if the structure is doffing its cap). During the set, the pyramid emits a highly-calibrated, varied light show that pulses with the music. While set lists posted from different performances shows that there is not a huge variation on songs played, Daft Punk definitely is active during the live show, adding unique flourishes to each tour stop. Two huge screens flanked the stage, oscillating from wide-angle shots of the stage and images of the daft punks in the booth (you have to laugh, because it is counter to all known robot logic, when they shimmy and clap their hands). The sound system was terrific, especially during the heavy metal-riffed “Aerodynamic.”

When the ascending guitars gave way to the underlying bass, it felt as if there was a woofer under every seat. Not to be forgotten, the crowd definite and emotional engagement was a critical part of the fun. From teenagers to middle-aged adults to those who decided to dress up as 50s-vision-of-the-future cardboard robots, the crowd danced and reacted in unison - it was the real-life equivalent of that weird rave scene in the Matrix Reloaded.

But all of that is the flash to the real reason why this show has resonated with so many people. The pyramid and laser show is the 2007 indie rock kids' equivalent of Tommy Lee drumming in a gyroscope-like device or Justin Timberlake serenading a fan (in his tenth costume of the night).

For as complicated as the stage show is (and it truly is, requiring ten people, synchronization of custom-made super computers, four Minimoog Voyagers, etc.), it is Daft Punk's professionalism that explains the furor that continues to exist today. Humans though they might be, Bangalter and de Homem-Christo guide the incredibly complicated set with a, well, robotic precision. Timberlake's sartorial switches wouldn't mean anything if he wasn't such an intelligent and intuitive performer. The ladies wouldn't have cared about Motley Crue's technical enhancements if the band wasn't demonstrably having so much fun.

If this explanation seems quaint, you likely haven't been to many recent shows. Radiohead refuses to play the songs it has some historic issue with, most notably "Creep." The Fiery Furnaces (to much consternation) seem to try to reinvent every song every night; before she triumphed over drinking problems, Cat Power often times would break down on stage; numerous bands have gotten too drunk to finish sets; and some bands like to bookend rants with songs.

Robots don't boast, delay songs with tune-ups, or tell reaching anecdotes. The entire concert was a machine. The favorites were all there: "One More Time," "Da Funk," "Around the World," and "Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger” – some of them were mixed together. It was a concert as an action movie or thrill ride, something rarely available to people who listen to music outside of the pop mainstream.

It remains to be seen what Daft Punk will do with this renewed fame. Besides the rapturous praise heaped on the Alive tour, Busta Rhymes sampled “Technologic” for his 2006 club hit “Touch It,” and Kanye West's 2007 single "Stronger" features the band and a sample from “Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger.”

The duo is expected to release a live album of its Alive shows, and have made a movie, Electroma, which details the duo's journey from robotdom to humanity (but features none of their music). There's only one more known opportunity to see them in the states this year: apropos, it's at the Vegoose Festival in the neon city of Las Vegas on October 27. Even if they add more dates, they probably can't sustain such a perfect show forever. Because, they're human, after all.

Previous Daft Punk coverage.