7.20.2010

On The List :: LCD Soundsystem @ Pitchfork Music Festival [7.17.10]

LCD Soundsystem took the stage with the sun firmly in the ground as the headliner. Of course, as the crowd of 15,000 packed against the stage, sightlines were bad, legs were tired and bodies worn and dehydrated. James Murphy looked conflicted, delivering truth like improvised lyrics about his neighborhood, Williamsburg, or about the bands' catalogue, "It's like, we have these 12-minute songs and the lyrics aren't in rhythm." At other moments he looked troubled, like a man tired of sound techs who can't get it right, and exhausted with being the spokesperson of an age that is now 15 years his junior. It was a divided set, the highlight being the generational thesis statement, "All My Friends." The band closed with the typical "New York, I Love You," but this was Chicago and it wasn't clear the invitation or emotion extended this far west. Murphy and his band were great as always, but it wasn't the same and somehow, even with thousands of friends, it didn't feel a lick like being at home.

"All My Friends" (Live @ Pitchfork 2010)

1 comment:

Jeremy said...

I always knew james murphy and I were friends - he clearly knew I wasn't there, and was just as pissed about it as I was.