“New York I Love You, but you’re freaking me out. There’s a ton of the twist, but we’re fresh out of shout”. A fitting lyric from a Brooklyn band on the anniversary of 9/11. Smartass club unit LCD makes its first appearance in the Elm City for a two night residency at College St. Brooklyn art punk group Gustaf opens the show. Sinuous, freaky frontwoman shimmied through the set. Joined by a young lady on guitar, kazoo, and bracelet bells, bass, and drums, the quartet delivered good punk energy. The leader was wearing a microscopic picnic blanket, from my vantage point it was unclear how said blanket remained on her body. LCD Soundsystem have been wowing crowds for years with their blend of tongue in cheek dance music. The band is fronted by freak-provacateur James Murphy, joined by Nancy Whang on keys and shouting, bass, drums, guitars and a revolving cast of multi-instrumentalists and synth purveyors coming and going. Murphy starts most tunes from a bandleader perch at the front of the stage, quickly bouncing off to prod the proceedings. I have crossed paths twice with Murphy over the years (sort of). One late night DJ set at the Vibes had Murphy manning the turntables for a clubby affair, albeit in the 3-4am time slot. Another brush was a dining experience at the Brooklyn eatery The Four Horseman. Murphy took a hiatus from music and became a restaurateur, opening the unusual small plate venue. The setlist pulled from their whole catalog: They took the stage to the Velvet Underground’s We’re Gonna Have a Real Good Time Together, Tribulations, Movement, Tonite, I Can Change (Kraftwerk’s The Model intro), Time ToGet Away, You Wanted a Hit, Yr City’s A Sucker, new body rhumba, 45.33 (pt 1 and 2), Someone Great, Home, set two: North American Scum ( with Gustaf), X-ray Eyes, Dance Yrself Clean, New York, I Love You but You’re Bringing Me Down, and ended with the club anthem All My Friends. The crowd was an intoxicated blend of glammy gender fluidity. Molly-informed dancing was evident from many in the packed house. The young female bassist and drummer put down infectious backbeats to most tunes. Whang is tiny and sassy, her keyboard work brings the listener straight to the klerb. The stage was equipped with walls of synths and drums,with up eight band members getting involved. LCD has headlined many festivals, their brand of feel good pop a panacea for our times.
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