I Danced Myself Clean at LCD Soundsystem

LCD Soundsystem by Matt Esposito for College Street Music Hall

Three years ago, one of my high school volleyball teammates recommended an album to me. I don’t think I was quite ready for LCD Soundsystem’s Sound of Silver at the time, since it never really stuck with me.

Then, just over a month ago, where else would I rediscover a band of this talent but in a corecore TikTok edit? I was captivated by the twinkling synth melody and the powerful bass, and couldn’t help but bop my head.

Later, when I was perusing local concerts in my area, as is a common occurrence, I stumbled across the band that released my new favorite song, and gave it a long, hard think. Eventually, after some friends gave the group some glowing reviews, I realized I had to check them out for myself.

Thank god I did, because LCD Soundsystem has quickly become one of my new favorite artists, and their performance in New Haven on Sept. 11 has ascended to the podium of my favorite shows I’ve ever attended.

To start, LCD Soundsystem brought along an opener, a fellow indie, post-punk revival band from New York, Gustaf. Lead singer, Lydia Gammill, came out brimming with energy. While it took the smaller crowd a few songs to get going, Gustaf had won just about everyone over by the time their set was done.

Their sound is more reminiscent of modern rock than LCD Soundsystem’s electronic sound. Gammill’s image will instantly conjure girl rockers of the past, such as Hole’s Courtney Love, and those of the present, like Paramore’s Hayley Williams. 

There were a few slower, rhythmic talking sections of Gustaf’s songs, which also helped establish a gritty atmosphere. 

Once Gustaf went off and the stage was flipped for the main act, the venue went berserk when James Murphy and company all came out. 

I use the word ‘company’ specifically because the stage did seem pretty cramped. No fewer than six band members were playing at any given time, which makes sense considering the intricacy of their music. The synth machines alone might’ve been bigger than me if you laid them out longways.

The set began with a cover of The Velvet Underground’s “We’re Gonna Have a Real Good Time Together,” and we were off with a bang. The band immediately rolled into two classics, “Tribulations” and “Movement,” to get the crowd going. 

Both songs are upbeat, with the former being more of a basement club classic and the latter incorporating punk-rock sounds, featuring steady crash symbols and heavy power chords from the guitars.

LCD Soundsystem kept some more classics at the top of their queue, with “tonite” and “I Can Change.” Like a lot of their songs, both of these take a little bit of time to build, but the crescendo they hit makes everything worth it.

While a little more mellow, “tonite” has a classic dance floor sound that had everyone swaying around. The chorus melody is one of the group’s best hooks to date, in my opinion, but the lyrics took me out of it a little bit. Murphy muses on his mortality in such a relatable way that I couldn’t help but continue to tap my foot anyway.

“I Can Change” has quickly become another staple in my recent listening rotation after seeing this concert. The synths in this one can only be described as a bit goofy, with oppositely introspective lyrics. The harmonies in the chorus had me in a completely different realm.

The middle of the setlist was a bit more of a slog for me, but only because I wasn’t as familiar with as many songs. However, out of this section, I was really impressed by “new body rhumba” and “Someone Great.”

“new body rhumba” was made for the end credits of the movie White Noise, which has since gained a significant priority on my Letterboxd watchlist. In the meantime, I’ll be enjoying this maze of a song. The hard-hitting bassline, the various percussion elements (including cowbell!), and sporadic synths culminate in an equally overstimulating and danceable track.

“Someone Great” is a fantastic reflection on the grief of losing relationships, but in the moment, it was tough to tell whether it was about romance or not. After a little research, I learned this song is commonly associated with the passing of Murphy’s therapist during the making of “Sound of Silver,” which made sense.

The beat put me in a trance: the swelling bass synths combined with the light melody of the bell keep the song perfectly leveled. When the jumpy synth melody is added toward the end of the song, it feels complete.

The next song was (and is) hands down my favorite LCD Soundsystem song, “Home.” The week of the show, I listened to this song 11 times according to my Airbuds, which, for those of you keeping track at home, means I listened to well over an hour of this song by itself. To say I’m obsessed might be an understatement.

Every aspect of this song is perfect. All of its moving parts, from the drums and the bouncing bass synth that contrasts perfectly with the various melodies that intersperse, to the excellent harmonies throughout, make the seven minutes fly by quicker with each listen.

The lyrics also hold sentimental value to me. The name of the song should give some hints as to what it’s about, but as I’m getting closer to graduating college, themes of moving on and staying true to your real friends are ones that hit a little too close to home right now.

The last two minutes of “Home” contend with my favorite stretch in all of music, and in the studio version specifically, the harmonies during “Yeah, no one ever knows what you’re talking about / So I guess you’re already there,” are some of my favorite musical moments ever. While those didn’t really shine through during the live show, how could I possibly be disappointed by such a song?

As we took a break for a quick intermission, I was floored, still seeing the lights of the largest disco ball I’d ever seen adorn the walls, even though the house lights were up. Whatever the last section of the show had in store, I was not ready.

Gustaf hopped on stage to help with “North American Scum,” which was such a fun time. After “x-ray eyes,” we finally got to the real reason I was here. I don’t often indulge in a solo concert, but after familiarizing myself with the next song for a few weeks before, I knew I had to make the call.

“Dance Yrself Clean” was nothing short of a transformative experience to see live. I merely stood there in awe of it. The number of people on stage, the movement of the crowd, and the music itself weren’t just a staggering feat to pull off, but a very human one.

Similar to “Home,” “Dance Yrself Clean” is a song that, despite its eight-and-a-half-minute runtime, goes by way too quickly.

For a song about living in the moment and forgetting about your worries, it resonated strongly with me, who had a High Noon in my left hand and my phone at two percent in my right. This was definitely the song to teach that some concerts are meant for watching, not recording.

It didn’t take very long after the big beat drop for tears to begin streaming down my face as I danced. If I can get a little personal, I’m someone who has dealt with a host of mental health problems over the past five years or so, and while I value my alone time, taking it can be difficult when my mind is screaming at me about anything other than relaxing.

So I don’t think it’s an exaggeration to say hearing this song live gave me a new lust for life. To experience a euphoria on this level must mean there has to be more good on the horizon. And I learned that if the bad parts of life drag me down into the mud, I can always dance myself clean.

The tears predictably continued through “New York, I Love You but You’re Bringing Me Down,” easily the slowest song of the night. The piano gives this song a somber tone like no other song in LCD Soundsystem’s catalog. The breakdown halfway through the third minute stands among the best moments in their whole library.

Murphy ended the set with another fan favorite, “All My Friends.” Widely considered to be one of the best songs of all time, I have to say that its reputation is not ridiculous. While the piano in “New York, I Love You” is slow and solemn, its use in “All My Friends” brings an upbeat and nostalgic feel.

This is the post-game song to end all post-game songs. It’s the conversation with that one person that refuses to end at 3 a.m. It’s getting fruit snacks in a car full of classmates after a fun day at kindergarten. It’s an enlightening psychedelic hallucination. It might even be all three.

As the crowd howled, the house lights came up, and LCD Soundsystem shuffled off stage, I knew I’d been changed at my core, even if I hadn’t realized how quite yet. I still don’t think I know now, entirely. What I do know is that given the opportunity, you must see this band.

I’m someone who likes to take a lot of videos during shows so that I don’t forget them, but despite my phone dying after “Dance Yrself Clean,” I will never forget how I felt. I don’t mean it lightly when I say the impression these musicians left on me will last the rest of my life.