After a week of practice shows at Terminal 5 leading up to LCD Soundsystem’s debut gig headlining Madison Square Garden, when band leader James Murphy announced, “This is our last song,” the moment felt unreal.
Not because it was the end of an extraordinarily long concert (it clocked in at just under four hours), but because it really was the band’s last song — Murphy is unplugging his band at the peak of its success.
The Garden — which sold out this show in a record 15 seconds and churned, grooving to the upbeat, funk ‘n’ roll for the entire program — seemed crushed by the announcement. Yet, instead of losing the night’s atmosphere of retirement celebration, Murphy, who appeared happy yet spent, his voice a little ragged from the marathon performance, noted the crowd’s tears by telling them with fatherly gentleness, “I didn’t say that so you’d be sad and say, ‘Oh no.’ ”
It was the end of the line, and this hometown band felt fine, laying down a huge, balloon-dropping concert closer: their song “New York I Love You, but You’re Bringing Me Down,” which was anything but a downer.
Murphy mustered new-found strength for that last tune, and LCD’s secret weapon, drummer Pat Mahoney, whose sticks were a blur from curtain to final bow, was inspired with some of the most intricate beats of the night.
It was without question the most powerful moment of the night emotionally, yet the musical zenith of the concert came earlier, when members of the Canadian/American band Arcade Fire sat in to sing backup for the intense LCD original “North American Scum.”
While LCD ranks as one of the most respected acts in music and their most recent record “This Is Happening” is their strongest commercially, some people may not know their sound. In concert, the band has the energy, the funk and percussion accents of “Stop Making Sense”-era Talking heads. Yeah, they’re that good. At least half a dozen times as songs were starting and before Murphy began singing, it seemed as if LCD was going to cover “Psycho Killer.”
They didn’t take on that Heads classic in this show, but they did dish up Harry Nilsson’s frantic, echoe-y rocker “Jump Into the Fire” as the show’s top cover tune.
In a program prone to extended jams, the tunes of which the fans seemed most appreciative were “Drunk Girls,” “Home” and “You Wanted a Hit,” all tracks from last year’s album. Less familiar songs like “Freak Out/Starry Eyes” — while just as propulsive — had more of a slow burn quality with the house.
I hope Murphy’s retirement plans will be less rocking-chair and more rock because music can’t afford to lose a band as great as this one.
