James Murphy announced this week that LCD Soundsystem will be returning after supposedly playing their final show in 2011. They’ll record a new album, play Coachella in April, and announce more tour dates soon. I’m psyched - I was a big fan but never got to see them live. They were one of the best bands of last decade, even if “they were making music for aging hipsters refusing to let go”.
A few sample tracks for those who don’t know them:
A year and a half later, and they came around Chicago for a 3-day stay. I got to see them last night for the first time. I’m only a casual fan of LCD (the only album I own is Sound of Silver), but holy crap was I just blown away. It was one of the most joyous and spirited shows I’ve ever seen, with the music and visuals completely overtaking my senses. It’s an experience quite removed from listening to their studio albums. This is definitely a band that needs to be enjoyed live. (I mean, I like the studio stuff well enough, but it’s like a 2D abstraction of a 3 dimensional object.)
Thanks SO much for posting this, pulykamell. A few weeks ago it made me look to see when they were coming to Boston, which ended up being tonight, and so I managed to scrounge up two tickets and go see them with a friend. That was absolutely. fucking. amazing, my entire body felt it. And James Murphy commits his whole body to singing in a way that’s wonderful to watch. Just great, and it makes me want to go see them again. Once my ears stop ringing.
Glad to hear you enjoyed yourself! I had the same reaction of wanting to see them again when they come through town. The volume wasn’t actually that bad where we saw the show but, then again, I saw My Bloody Valentine in 2013 at the same venue, so my sense of “loudness” may be warped.
I was at the Boston show, too. I’ve seen every show they’ve played in Boston. My wife went for the first time. On the way, I told her how an LCD show goes - which songs they’ll play and which ones they won’t, James’s speech about encores, that the audience will be all ages but just one color, that the audience will stand for the entire show (she chose to sit anyway). There were no surprises (well, the lackluster cover of “I Want Your Love” was a surprise but I’ve never been a fan of Nancy Whang’s singing) but that’s OK since another thing they’re consistent about is putting on a great show. The only disappointment was that I found “Movement” (one of my favorites) to be less energetic than in past shows, and Al Doyle’s 5-minute coda of guitar feedback was a serious misstep in a set that is so tightly paced. Pat Mahoney is a great drummer. His fills on “Emotional Haircut” are impressive.
Some British asshole and his girlfriend were in front of us and they spent the whole show using their phones, making out, dancing badly, and generally being annoying. It was all I could do to not punch him. Eventually he went for a drink or something and got lost coming back so I got 20 minutes of entertainment from watching him stumble all over the arena trying to find his seat. I thought he would get thrown out when he pushed past security to get to the floor but they let him go and he found his way back.
Thanks, interesting to get perspective on how this show compared. And yes, that guitar feedback passage was the one part where I eventually leaned over to my friend and said, “okay…not feeling THIS at all.”
I should temper my remark about “Movement” not being as good as at previous shows by saying that this is one of two LCD shows at which I’ve used earplugs (the other being the “final” show at Madison Square Garden). It definitely makes a difference in how I “feel” the music. The British asshole was also distracting me. “Movement” was probably as awesome as ever.