Rock show. Rave. Throw you lightas up ballads. Sick on CD, killer live. James Murphy and company can certainly do it all and they did last night at Malkin Bowl. This was my first gig at Malkin Bowl actually and even though I knew this was gonna be a crazy show, the on again, off again weather kind of had me unstoked for some reason. Well, the rain stopped (you can see James checking for some drops in the below pic) and aside from a bit of muddy grass, all was set to go. Holy Ghost! opened and though I was still outside at the time, I could hear them loud and clear and I couldnt believe how good the sound was. Was it the Malkin Bowl soundsystem? Was it the tour sound crew? Who knows but it was strong yet crisp and I was asking myself how could an outdoor venue sound better than the Commodore for example?
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Anyhow, the LCD Soundsystem crew walked on and though they are one of my fav bands and even though I was super amped to see them play stuff from Sound of Silver for the first time, I was just gonna take the night as it came. Turns out that even though I was able to see LCD and MIA back in 05 for $25 (losing MY edge), that was on tour after their first album only. This was gonna be my first time hearing North American Scum and All My Friends live! So aside from the curious fact that they didnt play North American Scum, the show was up there with the best ive seen.
Daft Punk's show probably cant be touched but it's on some other worldly trip. With James and crew, you get to rock out, rave on, and connect with him on not just losing your edge but also losing someone great, wondering where your friends were that night and on. I gotta say, the show blew me away and touched me at the same time. Me and my buddies walked out of there slightly hearing impaired and somewhat naturally intoxicated.
Since this may be the last time LCD Soundsystem tours, it was a pretty cool show to be at...for some many reasons.
Oh, yeah, and another small example of why the show was dope: After the rockin and ravin and reflections, they totally slowed the show down for New York I Love, But You're Bringing Me Down and James waxed on all things NYC to him. And then as Nancy Whang ("sounds like wrong") broke it down on the piano, a slightly familiar piano tune was played that was also about NYC. They did a brief rendition of Empire State of Mind at the end but just brief enough for everyone to get it...and then they carried on to wrap it up.
Oh and....James proved you also dont really have to be an MC, MC to talk about stuff over beats to get the crowd really listening to you at a show. Even though its been nearly 8 years since the song's been out, you could still feel crowd getting amused hearing about someone waking up on the beaches of Ibiza in '88 (during Losing My Edge).
Dam, these guys really have a lot going for them.
One more thing, even though All My Friends is one of my all time fav songs, Franz Ferdinand's version does it justice too. The spirit of the original really carries on in their version.
And....last but not least: Shout out to Sandra from Live Nation too.
