Surely the best value-for-money tour to be found anywhere this autumn was the Arcade Fire/LCD Soundsystem double header in the US. The Canadian ensemble and James Murphy’s crew are two of the finest live acts in the world at present, and LCD Soundsystem delivered another storming show on the second of their two nights in Tripod.
Kicking off in near pitch-black darkness, the band strike up a cracking groove which – with the arrival of Murphy himself onstage – morphs into a scintillating ‘Us Vs. Them’. Equally impressive takes on ‘Daft Punk Is Playing At My House’ and ‘Time To Get Away’ follow, with Murphy a typically energetic presence behind his trusty vintage mic. The quiet stars of the show are bassist Phil Skarich and drummer Pat Mahoney, who conjure up some truly electrifying dance rhythms.
Mahoney, in particular, is in prime position to inherit the title of “the hardest working man in showbusiness” now that James Brown has shuffled off this mortal coil. Attired in t-shirt, shorts and running shoes, his bearded face covered in sweat, Mahoney brilliantly replicates the beats of LCD’s recorded output, no matter how fast the tempo.
The secret to Murphy’s success, of course, both with LCD Soundsystem and as a producer with DFA, is that he merges the energy and attitude of rock with the euphoria of dance music. The epic ‘All My Friends’ is a classic example. Built around Italo-house piano and rapid fire beats, the heady atmosphere during its performance is closer to a rave than a rock gig. But the best is yet to come. After a scorching ‘Get Innocuous’, the band segue - via a wailing punk thrash and a Sonic Youth-like guitar freak-out - into the highlight of the evening, ‘Yeah’.
The song builds and builds in intensity, until it’s a really quite phenomenal mix of disco rhythms and howling guitar. Returning for the encore, the group close the show with the hypnotic ‘Someone Great’ and the bittersweet ballad ‘New York, I Love You But You’re Bringing Me Down’. It’s a superb conclusion to one of the best shows I’ve seen this year.