Porter Robinson brought his SMILE! 😀 World Tour to San Diego’s iconic bayside venue The Rady Shell on October 13, 2024. Although the tour is named for his third album, SMILE! :D, released July of this year, the set featured all of his music from all eras. Porter delivered a three act set that took us on an adventure through a decade of genre-bending, thought provoking electronic music.
Embracing the spotlight on this album, Porter has fully stepped into the frontman role of his music to deliver an incredible range of joy and human connection. His set featured a full live band, giving true justice to the vibrancy of the music. The band featured Rafa Rodriguez on guitar, Wojtek Deregowski on drums, Carrick McCullough on keyboard, and Margot Liotta on bass and electrifying guest vocals. Porter was free to roam every inch of the stage, including on top of his LED billboard that backed his set. From intimate guitar and spotlight moments to euphoric confetti climaxes, the audience was fully engaged and on Porter’s page. After his new music live debut, Porter switched gears, paused for intermission to take a step back in time for the OGs in the crowd. The stage lights dimmed and the audience took advantage of the break- it was a very exciting opening round of songs, including Is “There Really No Happiness?” and “Mona Lisa”, ending with another confetti bang for “Russian Roulette.”
As the lights came back on, the Billboard displayed “Nurture” 2021-2024”, the era they were about to dive deep into. “Wind Tempos” began to play as the stage came fully alive with a whole new ambiance. Porter stood behind orbs lighting up to his iconic tunes like “Musician” and “Everything Goes On”. Walking throughout the venue, you could see friends dancing and singing to one another. “This is such a good show!” was heard numerous times, even while the show was still going on. After concluding the era with “Trying to Feel The Sky”, the lights dimmed once more and “Worlds 2014-2021” appeared.
The crowd was audibly shocked, with buzzing of “I wonder if he’ll play ____” and “I can’t believe we get to see this live!”. After opening with “Sea of Voices”, Porter expressed his gratitude… for his fans, a decade of creating music, and especially for the absolutely gorgeous venue they were currently being hosted in. The beautiful stage production featured ever-changing cityscape buildings that Porter could roam up and down to, while his band lined the front of the city creating that picture perfect band unity. He continued on to deliver all-time favorites like “Language” and “Goodbye To A World”. After concluding with his breakout hit “Sad Machine” and exiting the stage, Porter returns quickly to give the people what they really want: “Shelter” and “Cheerleader” (and a lot more confetti.)
Porter Robinson is just getting started, as his SMILE 😀 tour continues through October along the west coast & Canada, before going off around the world to Mexico, Thailand, Japan and many more! This is a show that you don’t want to miss. Dates and Tickets are available online at porterrobinson.com. Grab your friends, real human connection awaits you at a Porter Robinson show near you!
GALLERY: Porter Robinson at The Rady Shell in San Diego (October 13, 2024)
