Giovedì 4 Nov 2010, 22:43
Fri 8 Oct – LCD Soundsystem, Sleigh Bells
Preface: my lack of a computer kept me from posting this for quite a while, but I'd like to do it now, no matter how overdue this is. Moving on…
This concert was simply all sorts of amazing. I got in right after Sleigh Bells had begun their set, and they proceeded to play for about 40 minutes, bringing a lot of energy to tracks from their debut album Treats. I'd be lying if I said I was super familiar with their work, since I had only started listening to them a couple of weeks before the show, but I do recall a handful of the songs played that evening. The sound setup was excellent, filling the room with heavy hitters like Tell 'Em and my personal favourite, Infinity Guitars. The band (fittingly) closed out their set with album closer Treats.
But enough about Sleigh Bells. As fun as they were to see, the real reason I was at this show was to see LCD Soundsystem, and holy shit, did they deliver. It took quite a bit of time to set up, but when you've got 8 people's worth of instruments and equipment onstage, I can't say I was really surprised. That is actually one of the reasons why LCD's live show is so incredible. While their music is firmly rooted in electronic sounds, and often dabbles in spacey synths or looped riffs, the band prefers to do things the old fashioned way, dragging out countless drums, amps, keyboards, cowbells, etc., and the resulting musicianship was impeccable, giving their brand of dance music an excellently visceral and organic edge. Within seconds of set opener Dance Yrself Clean, I knew this was going to be an amazing show. The band's energy was immediately palpable, and the crowd that night reciprocated it admirably. Toes were tapping, asses were shaking, and a thousand voices shouted at the top of their lungs to a wealth of tracks, from recent single Drunk Girls, to lesser known songs, such as Tribulations. Though James Murphy claimed he was beginning to lose his voice (I can't recall if he was getting sick, or if it was just exhaustion from extensive touring), he soldiered through an excellent setlist that covered every corner of LCD's 8 year history, and the band flawlessly transitioned from the noisy dance punk of Movement, to (what I will unapologetically name one of the best songs of all time) Sound of Silver's All My Friends. They closed out their set with Yr City's a Sucker, but returned for a 4 song encore, finishing with This is It's excellent closing track, Home. Easily my favourite show this year, and probably one of my top 5 of all time. I'm really glad I got to see them, because rumour has it that the band will stop touring after this year.
Full track list below:
Dance Yrself Clean
Drunk Girls
Get Innocuous
Tribulations
Daft Punk is Playing at My House
Movement
All My Friends
I Can Change
You Wanted a Hit
Yr City's a Sucker