LCD Soundsystem at the Malkin Bowl

Malkin Bowl, LCD Soundsytem, May 31

Mother nature is a cruel and venomous bitch. For those of us who saw LCD Soundsystem at the Malkin Bowl on Monday night, there is no argument on this matter. Rest assured, one day the earth will be a sterile and barren wasteland, and she won't be able to hurt us ever again; and we will be safe. To the person that insisted that it continue to rain- shut up. Miraculously, the rain stopped before the show. It appears even the elements bow to the will of James Murphy- as they should. Just to be sure, as LCD made their way to stage and began taking their positions, Murphy stepped beyond the constrictive confines of the stage and held out his hand and checked just make to sure the rain had stopped. It had; the show would go on, as if he wanted to make us worry.

As he positioned himself on stage- a mike to his a front and a tantalizingly foreshadowing cowbell to his left, the initial drum and bass beat began to take shape and blossom into something tangible and recognizable. The first song would be “Us V. Them”. It's build up is long, frustratingly so even. It bleeds anticipation, and not once but twice the song manipulates you into expecting a grand explosion of content and excitement, only to not. Of course then it does. The point here is it is an inspired way to open a show by a band that has made a career of great releases. When Murphy and associate Nancy Wang finally start wailing even those in the crowd who were casual observers of their efforts over the decade became noticeably excited. It makes one wonder if the arrangement on Sound of Silver would have benefited from opening with this not quite epic. We were all dancing, most of us in the mud; an ironic image considering the group just released a hedonistic track called “Dance Yrself Clean”.

The Malkin bowl does not afford the most advanced of set ups, insofar as a good light show is concerned. There is a modest set up of not particularly awe-inspiring lights creating a spine of sorts around the rear of the stage. It would be sufficient, as long as there was a disco ball, perched above us all. We were not expecting the chandelier of visual insanity that a Radiohead show would provide. This became almost comically apparent as the smoke machine let out its first and sadly not very impressive gasp. Even Murphy was seemingly confused by the sub par effort put forth by the ailing an aging machinery. He was no doubt faking it. The rest of us were generally surprised when we realized the murky cloud was aimed so precisely towards that disco ball that hadn't begun to rotate or oscillate yet. As the lights dimmed, and the rays danced their way to the metallic sphere and the resulting beams fractured and pierced their way through that initially unimpressive smoke cloud- well, it was pretty impressive it turns out.

Murphy and company segued next into their most recent single, “Drunk Girls. The initial build up was much longer, at least two, maybe three times as long. To those who had not scoured every last artifact of This is Happening, it might not have been immediately obvious as to what was coming next. These would be common themes throughout the show; anticipation and mystery. With so many songs, they would gently ease their way into the beat at such a leisurely pace that it was at times generally difficult to tell what the next anonymous drum beat would turn into. “Drunk Girls” of course became identifiable as soon as Murphy and Co opened their mouths. It's simple and fun and easily enjoyable, but to those who have seen the Spike Jonze directed video with its wonderful and imaginative vocal layering, the LP and even live version seem slightly lacking. As if it is somehow less than the sum of its parts.

Murphy was more playful and engaging with his audience than memory of past shows recall. He would often preface songs with partial monologues or anecdotes, introducing new members of the group, sharing moments from the tour so far, checking to make sure it wasn't raining again. At times he was so spontaneously charming one wonders if he had plants in the audience to work off of. For a man who claims he is too tired and exhausted to do another tour, he seems more comfortable and engaged in such a role than ever before. The other members were a treat as well. Band member David Scott Stone was one of the coolest dorks you will ever see. When he had nothing to do he grabbed some drum sticks and started flailing his limbs with utter abandon, convulsing through the sporadic bursts of smoke. He looked ridiculous and confident; he belongs in this group.

I hoped they would play “Get Innocuous”, and they did not disappoint. It's not my favourite LCD track, nor even my favourite from Sound of Silver. It is an intentionally obscuring and sterile song on the album that comes alive when performed on stage. It explodes right before you. The seemingly cold and, well, innocuous beat on the album is replaced by an equivalent rhythm comprised of roaring guitar and imposing- not laid back- synth. Its abrasively loud; startlingly so. Its important to note the analogue nature of what the group was doing. This wasn't some pre recorded set of beats or a show run from a mac book. This wasn't YACHT two years ago. They were building this stuff on stage. It was the high point of the show for me.

A lot of the important classics were played at the show, to no ones surprise. “Movement” was awesome- its always been a truncated song, so when they kept it going, it was pretty great. Everyone wanted to hear “Daft Punk is Playing at My House” and “Loosing My Edge”, but at the expense of their most recent material? Im not so Sure. It seemed like they didn't delve into a enough of their new album. That they didn't play “Dance Yrself Clean” or “Home” seems like glaring omissions. Why aren't they touring with these? “Dance Yrself Clean” rather than being relegated to the side lines should be marketed as an anthematic icon of they're perspective on music and culture. And “Home” is easily one of the best things they've ever done. Like “All My Friends” before it, it shows how reflective, nostalgic, affected and sincere Murphy is capable of being, while still being incredibly catchy. A missed opportunity.

The initial set was concluding with “Yeah”. Some may think that ending with the same song as they did on their last tour may be slightly redundant. They likely have not seen LCD perform “Yeah” live. It is an assault on your senses. Every one of them, short of perhaps smell (sadly this was not the case for me as I was uncomfortably close to a feral pack of shirtless neon e-tards and their... aroma). Nevertheless, all restraint exercised by the band was cast away- they knew they'd get a break soon. Remember the aforementioned modest light show that was patched together? It blossoms into an incendiary display of lasers and strobes that was sure to cause an epileptic seizure or two. It was pretty neat. Good thing it was a 7 minute long track as it was an experience you wanted prolonged. Think of the part at the end of 2001: A Space Odyssey; it goes on for ever, and everyone loves it. “Yeah” yielded a similar, albeit more cathartic and spastic experience. It was visceral- this is a song less about content and more about delivery anyways. Which is to say it was awesome.

The interlude between the first set and the encore was brief, thankfully. Again, as opposed to diving right into a song, they instead prolonged one pulsating not quite entirely constructed beat so as to leave the crowd guessing for a moment. Eventually it would become apparent they were playing “Someone Great”. No one will argue the genius of this song, however something appeared to be lost in translation when performed live. The point of this song is that its subject matter is so difficult to approach that Murphy does so from a detached and distanced position. When performed live, without the sterilizing, robotic nature that post production applies to Murphy's voice that detachment is gone. The song takes on too much of an organic quality which weakens its thematic punch. It seems inverse to many of the other songs they performed, but here we are.

As the show drew to a close, LCD ended it the only way they could, with “New York I Love, But You're Bringing Me Down”. How did they ever end a show before Sound of Silver? “New York I love You” was designed to be performed live. Its slow, quiet, contemplative build up creates an atmosphere allowing you to reflect on what you'd seen throughout the night. This of course does not last as they let loose one final cacophonous roar just to make sure we were still paying attention. Normally this would be it but by now we were all aware of the New York/ Empire by Jay Z mash up they had been doing on the tour. It was simple and brief, but a nice touch; anything that gives Nancy Wang another chance to sing is always welcome. It was a high point to a show with many. The band is as tight as ever, and though Murphy claims to grow tired of the scene, he and his crew are still able to create as vibrant and unique a soundscape as ever. Then it started raining again.