LCD Soundsystem is awesome live. This was my assessment of them before their show on Sunday and nothing has changed about that since.
Returning to Toronto for the first time since their “retirement”, expectations were high. The ACC was an interesting choice for a band which finds themselves at the point in their careers where they are too big for small indie venues but not big enough to fill out an arena. As a result the upper level was tarped off and the general admission area had plenty of space. I guess I was at the front on the floors so that is how I experienced the show.
Taking a hint from the title of their documentary, LCD Soundsystem more or less “shut up and play the hits” and it was great. Much like all their other albums, American Dream popped out live. All the songs you had doubts about on that album just made sense with a live band. Assessing LCD Soundsystem just by listening to their album doesn’t serve the band right. In concert, everything just sounds … right. The pounding percussion, the bass lines, the dabs of synth … It all just melds together into something that makes you want to dance. Of course it’s all led by James Murphy, tightly holding the mic and spitting out lyrics that sound intimate despite being in a cavernous arena.
It’s a testament to the band that they can skip songs like “Daft Punk,” “Losing My Edge,” “Drunk Girls” and “New York” and it didn’t really affect my feelings about the night. Every song sounds like a hit under the helm of the group and that fact actually makes you appreciate their music more.
Having said that, when those first notes of “All My Friends” hits, I still get goosebumps. It’s a euphoric song, and one of the best set closers you can have. When the chorus hits, and the entire crowd is dancing and singing along, I really do wonder where all my friends are because I think they all deserve to see a LCD Soundsystem show once in their life. It’s that great.
Primavera Sound is pretty much the gold standard for music festivals. Why? Let’s see
Located in a gorgeous city, easily accessible by public transit
On concrete, so no messy mud pits
Too many food options to count
Always amazing lineup
You can see the sea from the grounds, its actually right beside the water
Never have to lineup for bathrooms, because they are quite organized
Starts at night, so you can do touristy stuff during the day
And it goes on and on. You really need to go. Unfortunately, I was only able to get tickets for one day and was too cheap to get tickets for other nights. So here is a brief recap of one of the nights. Knowing how I write, lets use the world “brief” loosely.
Suede – Night Thoughts
My favourite band performed their new album in it’s entirety as one of the first must see sets of the night. While not my favorite Suede album, Night Thoughts is still an extremely solid album and watching it live in a theatre while a music film plays in the foreground was very unique. The lead actor in the movie reminded me of Alex Ovechin which made me laugh because man, they always get eliminated by my Penguins. “Outsiders“ and “I Don’t Know How to Reach You“ are very good tracks, but I don’t know how I feel about them playing behind a screen while a film plays in the foreground. Still, I appreciated the experience. It’s like, I really like Caesar salad, and this one time in Morocco, I had a deconstructed Caesar salad. It was still Caesar Salad, but not exactly the same, I still enjoyed it but part of me just wanted a god damn Caesar Salad.
Daughter
It’s hard to believe it’s only been three or four years since I saw Daughter in a tiny venue at SXSW, and now they are playing a massive stage at Primavera. Their new album is excellent. Halfway through one of the new songs, the crowd started singing along and Elena Tonra broke into the biggest smile mid track and my heart just melted. It’s always nice to see good artists make it big without compromising their work.
Food break – I had a pork sandwich from a food truck. It was only okay, the meat to bun ratio was not to my standard, but I had to remind myself – Ricky, you are in Europe, bread is the star here. Bread is the star.
Air – It’s been six years since I last saw Air, and actually, six years before that so I guess I see Air once every six years. That’s information you don’t need to know, but now you do. They played a low key set that was peppered with hits and the end of the set featured the 1-2 punch of “Sexy Boy“ and “Kelly Watch The Stars,“ which served a notice as to how ahead of the time Air really was back in the day. They closed it off with “La Femme D’argent.” I can’t think of a better band to play to the setting sun. Sleek, polished and timeless, Air is always a must attend show.
Food Break 2 – Because I am a pig, I had another meal here. Ramen. I saw a ramen food truck and thought, why, I must try this!. Never try ramen from a food truck, it was subpar and just a grade better then cup noodles. They claimed to have cha siu but when I got to the meat, it was just meat cubes. That is not cha siu. Sad.
Dead Buttons – Stumbled on this Korean bluesy rock act at one of the tinier stages. It’s odd to see a Korean act where it wasn’t five hot girls in mini skirts prancing about but these guys were actually quite good. Clearly inspired the Black Keys, they are worth a look.
Floating Point – Not entirely sure who they are, but they were a tight instrumental band that played a pretty hypnotizing electronic set. One of the keys for this band was that they were playing Rayban stage, which had a bunch of places for people to sit down, which was an offer I simply could not refuse.
Tame Impala – Drawing one of the biggest crowds, it’s hard to believe I saw Tame Impala at the Horseshoe just a few years ago. Their brand of psych rock has really taken over, although I still feel like they lack that anthem that would make them truly worthy headliners.
John Carpenter – Yes, THE John Carpenter, of horror movie fame. He played his famous soundtracks with a live band and man, does this dude have swagger. Wearing sunglasses, chewing gum and dropping some classics on synth – I want to be this cool when I’m in my sixties. I heard the Halloween theme live, so that’s pretty fucking awesome.
LCD Soundsystem – WHERE ARE MY FRIENDS TONNNNIIIGHT. Man, LCD Soundsystem is a band that is 1000x better live then on album. When it’s live, those eight minute tracks that always seemed a bit too long on cd JUMP to life and you really do understand what they are trying to achieve. Their percussion section is so strong you have no choice but to move. They haven’t missed a beat since I last saw them and their set was filled with anthems and hits. I don’t even know if half the songs they had were actual hits, but live, with that band and James Murphy growling into the mic, they were hits to me. It was just one gigantic dance party cumulating with their epic song All Yr Friends. Part of LCD Soundsystem’s charm is that their lyrics hit you in places you don’t expect when you least expect it. There’s a certain element of now to it that I can’t really explain, but at the end of the set, when James asks you where are your friends tonight? I was very glad to have at least two of them there with me, even if they were lost in the crowd. Now if only I could have found that crying kid at the end of their documentary.
Toronto – Thursday night approaching and looking for some dance floor thrilla? Look no further then this late night worthy disco tune courtesy of Marcus Lambkin aka Shit Robot.
Recruiting DFA superstar Nancy Whang (of Juan Maclean/LCD Soundsystem fame), the track Take ‘Em Up has all the classic element of a DFA endorsed tune – laid back vocals, dirty bass lines and the lingering feeling that whoever is responsible for the music is just way cooler than you will ever be. Check it out.
Toronto – While Tuesday night’s show at the Kool Haus wasn’t officially the last LCD Soundsystem show in Toronto, reports have claimed that the latest album, This is Happening will be LCD Soundsystem’s last album. I remain skeptical at this notion, as the band seemed to be getting better with each album and This is Happening is easily one of the best and most highly reviewed albums of the year. However, there is a slight uncertainty as to when the band will tour next, so it is with that idea that I went to the Kool Haus on a hot and steamy Tuesday night to watch these electro punk legends.
To sum up the show, I will quote a line in the LCD Soundsystem song All My Friends that goes:
And to tell the truth / Oh, this could be the last time
So here we go / Like a sales force into the night
If this is really the last album, and this tour is one of the last ones, then LCD Soundsystem went out with a force. Playing to a packed house at the Kool Haus, James Murphy, Nancy Whang, Pat Mahoney and co. absolutely rocked it last night, going from one epic electro punk rock disco tune to another. I’ve always enjoyed electronic acts that are played with a live band, whoever, upon listening to LCD Soundsystem live, I have concluded that they are more of a rock band then an electro act. The songs are driven usually by the steady drumming of Pat Mahoney and some slick guitar work by whoever the guitarist was.
The show started promptly at 9:30, and the crowd was quickly whipped into a mosh frenzy with 1-2 punch of the Blur-esque song Drunk Girls and the lead track off Sound of Silver, Get Innocuous!. The 90 minute set surprisingly featured only a few new tracks (Drunk Girls, All I want, I can Change) and many classic tracks, much to the delight of the crowd. A nice touch happened halfway through the set, when James Murphy dedicated the classic track All My Friends to the late Will Munro, who passed away on Friday. Speaking of Murphy, he had a nice chilled vibe on stage. Keeping it casual in a white v-neck shirt, the scruffy founder of DFA Records delivered the songs in his usual half-talk/half singing style, occasionally stopping in between songs to talk to the crowd, telling them to be considerate of the females in the crowd while moshing, and also telling them to put their phones away.
All in all the show was really good. The set closer New York I Love You was followed by the chorus (Alica Key’s part) from Jay-z’s Empire State of Mind, giving the show a nice calm ending. I keep on waiting someone to make a song that’s an ode to Toronto. Seriously, as much as I love New York, I’d like to see our city get some props. Jay Z did New York with Empire State of Mind, now Katy Perry’s done it with California Gurls, where is Toronto’s version?
Us vs Them
Drunk Girls
Get Innocuous!
Yr City’s a Sucker
Pow Pow
Daft Punk is Playing at My House
All I Want
All My Friends
I Can Change
Tribulations
Movement
Yeah
