It’s truly a pity that James Murphy, the man behind LCD Soundsystem and the legendary DFA record label, which has released all of the band’s material including their 2002 hit breakthrough single, “Losing My Edge,” has decided to pull the plug on what is inarguably one of the coolest, most transcendent musical outfits to emerge in the past decade.
Just as Jerry Seinfeld and the cast bowed out at their peak after a nine-year run with their hit television show, Seinfeld, Murphy has decided to call it quits after the same amount of time when fan interest is at its most fervent, dedicated level.
On Thursday evening, June 3rd, LCD Soundsystem performed to a sold-out crowd at San Francisco’s legendary venue, The Fillmore. Since this is the band’s final tour, demand for tickets was insatiable as local Craigslist ads offered general admission passes for upwards of $300 a pop (since they sold out almost immediately on the likes of Ticketmaster).
After somewhat of a disappointing opening set from Holy Ghost!, the excited buzz from the crowd that sardined into the bottom-floor area was deafening. When the band took to the stage, everyone went wild and immediately started dancing feverishly along to “Us v Them” from 2007’s Sound of Silver. What really got the audience going, however, was the follow-up hit track “Drunk Girls” from their latest release, This is Happening.
Solid, tight, and consistently energized, James Murphy and his band captivated the crowd from beginning to end. There is no doubt that Murphy is confident with the material and his ability to transmit that feeling out to everyone in the room. Even during the more introspective moments, including the bittersweet “Someone Great,” the energy never tapered off.
One of the more poignant comments Murphy made during the evening occurred mid-way through the show after he took notice of the hundreds of camera lights lit up in the crowd and gave his thoughts on amateur documentary of live performances: “I just want you to know, if you’re filming something, you’re not there all the way. So be here and present. Uploading video to YouTube? Who f—ing cares?”
One bit of good news: Towards the end of the show, Murphy did reveal that LCD Soundsystem would be back in the Bay at least two more times before retiring for good. If you haven’t seen them live yet, make it a priority to acquire tickets. Even after the show concluded with a cover of “Empire State of Mind,” the audience was left clamoring for another encore. The set-list hasn’t changed much from their Coachella performance and can be found below:
Us v 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
Encore:
Someone Great
Losing My Edge
New York, I Love You But You’re Bringing Me Down
Empire State of Mind
To view the set of full-sized pictures from the show, please visit this Flickr set.
Hopefully I get to see them the next time they’re in town
Pouria, you absolutely should. I highly recommend it and you’ll have so much fun.