LCD Soundsystem

I'm always so afraid of missing something amazing that if you tell me it's my last chance to see or do something, I'll be there. So it was with LCD Soundsystem's "LAST SHOW EVER" at Madison Square Garden. Was I a fan of the band? No. Did I love one of their songs? Yeah. Was the fact that tickets were affordable and the event felt "important" the only reason I went? You betcha.

Sadly for me, this was a concert for the superfans. I left after three hours of increasingly dull show. We hadn't even gotten to the encores yet. That one song I love? I didn't hear it. I had reached my fill of electronica, self-satisfaction, and being surrounded by the species Douchebaggus Fraternicus.

The show opened with the one-two punch of "Dance Yrself Clean" and "Drunk Girls," and I was super-excited for the ride. Yes, I found it silly that the band requested everyone show up to their last concert dressed in black and white. Yes, I was disconcerted by the number of glow sticks being thrown from the many levels of MSG. Yes, someone had already spilled beer on me. But it felt special. Exciting even. And "Daft Punk Is Playing at My House" can never not be good times. After about an hour of fun, we were told it was going to be a long show, so there would be some breaks mixed in. I do love a good intermission.

The band returned for the second set and played almost the entire song 45:33 which (and this REALLY bothers me) is actually 46 minutes long. The beginning of it was great. Comedian/musician Reggie Watts guested on it and was wonderful. No one around me had any idea who he was. Many asked. A bit later, Arcade Fire put in a guest appearance. Unpopular opinion alert: I hate Arcade Fire's music. But not as much as I hate the lead singer's hair. All they did was scream along "North American" whenever it came up in the song "North American Scum." It was...pointless.

If the second set hadn't happened, I probably would have enjoyed the third set. It's just...for me, repetitive dance music only works in limited doses. And while a lot of magazines have made the claim of late that LCD is basically the most important band ever, I'd argue that their sound is quite familiar and is really only elevated by clever lyrics. See: "New York I Live You, But You're Bringing Me Down." So when you're at Madison Square Garden with its hideously muddled sound and you can't really make out any of said lyrics or any of the between song banter. And when you add in the massive dose of self-congratulation that a "retirement concert" is all about...well, that's kind of deadly. So I ran for the hills. I didn't even make the balloon drop. But at least I can say I saw LCD Soundsystem's last show before their comeback. Because is any "last show" ever really a last show? And how does a one man band break up? I should have let a superfan have the seat. Ah well. Their loss. And...mine too. Hmm.