LCD Soundsystem at Leeds Academy, April 27
When we had the pleasure of watching LCD Soundsystem live in 2005, it was a weirdly memorable performance. With only ‘Daft Punk Is Playing In My House’ to their name the crowd watched in wonder as James Murphy spent 20 minutes of the band’s half hour set ‘tuning up’. Now the group are set to play their last tour ever (probably) but some of their early traits still shine through.
Unsurprisingly we’re treated to a greatest hits set tonight, but it’s not until third song ‘Daft Punk…’ that the band really let go. Instead of the disco classic we know and love, the song is pumped up to the max with a fast-paced guitar replacing the usual dry synths. Murphy yelps and howls with delight, but nothing looks easy. Walking around the stage like Mark E Smith with OCD, the singer is still tempted to intrude on the sonic set up, regularly gesturing towards the sound desk or mimicking instructions to the musicians around him.
While delivering his sarcastic witty spoken word via ‘Yeah’ and ‘Pow Pow,’ the band benefit from the free range these tracks allow, bursting into conflicting rhythms, with layer upon layer of percussion. And despite his tough management tendencies, it’s clear Murphy and co. are not ready to give up the day job just yet. Grinning at his bandmates scattered around the stage Murphy dabbles in everything from the cowbell to electronic drums, and ‘Tribulations’ is a perfect boost of power disco sleaze, while ‘Drunk Girls’ brings perfectly timed humour to pop.
As the opening notes of ‘New York I Love You’ are played Twe can’t help but shed a tear for this band. We can only hope someone sees sense and LCD Soundsystem continue to create continuously memorable moments like these.
God Bless The Music Press 