Famed dance-rock band LCD Soundsystem played their first show in five years last night, after breaking up following a massive show at Madison Square Garden in 2011 — the concert that was the subject of popular documentary Shut Up and Play the Hits.
Last night’s show, which took place at New York’s much-smaller Webster Hall, was a warm-up gig for the band, who will embark on a highly-publicized reunion tour this summer. It was the first of two nights the band is scheduled to perform at Webster, mostly to die-hard fans.
Those in attendance at the 1,500-person hall were winners of an online ticket lottery the band held last week, and the house was packed with anticipation for the cult-beloved band to return to the stage.
LCD Soundsystem is fronted and self-recorded by musician James Murphy, and filled out on stage by an amorphous group of members. The smaller reunion concerts are likely designed for members of the band to get back into the swing of things in a low-pressure environment in comparison to the sold-out festivals they’ll play later this year.
At least last night, picking a smaller stage for their return was a good idea; the first few songs of the set were apparently a bit rocky. But by all accounts, the group got fully back into the swing of things with a raucous version of classic single Us V. Them a few songs in.
The set included classic singles such as Dance Yrself Clean and All My Friends, but notably did not include new material. The band has reportedly been working on a new album, but if this first reunion show is any indication, there’s a chance they will not be performing any of those songs live this summer.
That’s good and bad news for fans; LCD Soundsystem might not play cool new jams this summer, but waiting to release new material live means that the group will probably schedule a follow-up tour to debut the new material at a later date.
Those interested in seeing one of the group’s reunion shows can check out a full list of summer tour dates on their website, which includes headlining shows at Coachella and Bonnaroo.
