[Note: Images are from LCD Soundsystem's Night 4 at Terminal 5, where a mostly similar setlist was played, including guests.]
The first time I saw LCD Soundsystem in concert, I was eighteen, having just gotten into their music. Now, LCD Soundsystem is done touring, done making music under that moniker, and I'm, well, nineteen. You only gave me one year, LCD, but I did learn a lot from you. If "Losing My Edge" has taught me anything, it's that I'm allowed to talk about how "I was there." I've now seen LCD Soundsystem three times, each show performed like it was the last. The second to last show (wake) and subsequent last show (funeral) have finally sunk in. What happens when a band is...gone?
The music is still here - all three full length albums, EPs, deep cuts: all there. There's no logical reason for me to be so heartbroken about not seeing a live show again, right? Then again, when will I get to hear the beat drop and see the light explosion one quarter of the way through "Dance Yrself Clean?" When can I scream "Yeah!" ad nauseum, without seeming like an idiot? When will listening to "All My Friends" stop reminding me of a 13,000-capacity arena (fans clad in black-and-white) erupting to the lines "To tell the truth/This could be the last time?" I hope it's soon, because it was finally the truth.
For those who wished the night would never end, the band did their best to accommodate. A three-hour and forty-one minute set hopefully placated those who wanted to see the hits, and those who wanted to see the rarities. For those who wanted playful snark, James delivered. For those who wanted special guests, there were Reggie Watts, Shit Robot, Juan MacLean, David Scott Stone, and oh yeah, Arcade Fire. If you wanted to hear the sound of 13,000 people clapping in unison, or just wanted to head bang, "Movement" did the trick. Covers? Two of them. If you wanted anything more, you were crazy.
"Forget your past/This is your last chance now." resonated throughout the arena. As images of airplanes, clouds, and New York projected onto a screen, half the audience had finally been hit. This was their last chance, and they danced even more furiously. Perhaps the rest of the audience had been hit by James falling to his knees during "Losing My Edge," the band's first single. Regardless, everyone kept the energy flowing. Whether it was through the crowd's cheering, substituting a pat on a shoulder, or Al Doyle layering Daft Punk's "Da Funk" over the verse, the entire arena was filled with a sense of extreme camaraderie. A collective whine echoed with the announcement that the next song would be their last, but James wouldn't have that. He turned the moan into an uproarious, inspirational cheer, and LCD's casket was closed with "New York I Love You, But You're Bringing Me Down." We had all come together to celebrate, though, not moan. We were there to celebrate music, laugh through interminable pauses, and send someone great out with a bang.
Now what? A flood of unreleased tracks? Side projects? Who knows? Someone, let me know if you can, because this is a little weird. For now, I have something better than having everything before everyone else, every great 70's cut, all the Modern Lover's tracks. I can say "I was there." And come to think of it, in a way anyone who wished to celebrate the grand finale of an even grander band was, too.
Setlist:
Dance Yrself Clean
Drunk Girls
I Can Change
Time to Get Away
Get Innocuous
Daft Punk is Playing at my House
Too Much Love
All My Friends
Tired/Yes (Yes cover “Heart of the Sunrise”)
---------------------
You Can’t Hide (Shame on You) (w/ Reggie Watts)
Sound of Silver
Out in Space
Ships Talking
Freak Out/Starry Eyes
---------------------
Us v Them
North American Scum (w/ the Arcade Fire)
Bye Bye Bayou (Alan Vega cover)
You Wanted a Hit
Tribulations
Movement
Yeah
Someone Great
Losing My Edge
Home
---------------------
All I Want
Jump into the Fire (Harry Nilsson cover)
New York, I Love You But You’re Bringing Me Down
