If, as James Murphy has indicated, LCD Soundsystem are set for a lengthy sabbatical, they are certainly going out in style. Earlier this year, they released their third superb album in a row, This Is Happening, and finally broke the Billboard top ten. By all accounts, they have been playing their best shows ever, and tonight sees them close their European tour with a third sold-out night in Dublin.
At 9 o’clock sharp, Murphy’s band of merry men (and the wonderful Nancy Whang) arrive onstage and kick-start the infectious opening groove to ‘Dance Yrself Clean’. Thanks not only to his work with LCD Soundsystem, but his innovative production work with DFA and all-round impeccable taste, Murphy has actually been one of the most important figures in music over the past decade, but – hearteningly – it’s a status he wears lightly. He has retained his bloke-ish affability and wanders onstage last, looking a tad sheepish, as if he still can’t quite comprehend how beloved his band have become.
The ecstatic moment when the drums crash in during the aforementioned ‘Dance Yrself Clean’ proves to be merely the first highlight, in an evening that’s positively full of them. The group cherry pick the best moments from their output and there isn’t a duff track all night. Early on, the blistering extended coda to ‘Get Innocuous’ is phenomenal, while the manner in which ‘Yr City’s Sucker’ alternates between an irresistible funk groove and blasts of no-wave guitar noise is similarly ace.
The Bowie-esque electro-pop gem ’I Can Change’ is another stand-out, and the group practically take off into orbit with the perennially awesome ’Yeah’, by the end of which the stage is a no man’s land of howling guitars, malfunctioning synths and flickering strobe lights. During the encore, ‘Losing My Edge’ prompts both a singalong and considerable mosh-pit chaos. Afterwards, the crowd erupt into sustained and deafening cheers, leaving the band looking thoroughly overwhelmed.
The miscued intro on the piano ballad ‘New York I Love You But You’re Bringing Me Down’ leads Murphy to quip, “All my years in a punk band and I never thought I’d end up in a cabaret act!” Still, the song sounds wonderful and eventually segues into the sublime closing number, ’All My Friends’.
Overall, this was a brilliant show and quite possibly the gig of the year.