It's rare that a crowd will go with along with a band who play their opening song twice in a row, even less so when said song is ten minutes long. It's a testament to LCD Soundsystem then that they hold tonight's sold out crowd in their hands for twenty minutes as they plow through a double dose of 'Us Vs Them'.
Not many bands would get away with it but then not many bands are LCD Soundsystem. A rag-tag bunch of NYC hipsters led by the grizzly James Murphy they make existential floor fillers for a generation of club kids bored of irony but too detached for gushing emotion. Over the course of an hour tonight Murphy leads his band and followers through a Greatest hits set covering LCD'S critically acclaimed two albums as well as previewing the forthcoming third effort 'This Is Happening'.
As he fiddles with dials and repositions more microphones it soon becomes clear that James Muprhy is a control freak. It's not a surprise, you don't produce a scene defining host of acts and run an iconic record label without an attention to detail, but it certainly stops parts of tonight's show from flowing in the liquid fashion it requires. As a result songs such as 'Yr City's A Sucker' and 'Movement' are defined by a pernickety search for sonic perfection as opposed to the nihilistic party stomp they require.
When Murphy hits his stride however he is unstoppable. 'All My Friends' is morphed from a mournful, piano anthem into a New Order style electronic pulse that beats as fast and hard as anything else this evening whilst 'Tribulations' remains one of the greatest after hours sleaze bangers of all time. The new material sounds good too with 'Pow, Pow', 'I Can Change' and future fans favourite 'Drunk Girls' all fitting into the set seamlessly.
A chest beatingly loud 'Someone Great' heralds a majestic encore consisting of 'Daft Punk Is Playing At My House' and the most tender of disco ballads 'New York I Love You But You're Bringing Me Down'. The latter being a particular highlight as hundreds of white balloons descend from the ceiling of the venue and bounce heavenly through the exultant masses. If James Murphy is to be believed when he says that this will be the final lap for LCD Soundsystem then tonight signals it will be a fantastic way to go out.
The gig in photos:
Thursday 02/12/10 Vampire Weekend @ Alexandra Palace, London
Wednesday 24/11/10 The National @ Academy, Bristol
Tuesday 23/11/10 Local Natives @ Forum, London.jpg)
Saturday 20/11/10 Sleigh Bells @ Audio, Brighton
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