My first introduction to LCD Soundsystem was at the tail end of a New Orleans Jazz Fest all-nighter, one of those stretches that begins with live music and segues into some post-show bar shenanigans followed by the inevitable retreat to a hotel room to listen to more music and talk about it and other things that seem crucial as the dusky hours lighten to the time when free breakfast is served and you’re nearly done in but amped up on good conversation and motivated enough to continue it in the dining room while making 2-minute waffles and drinking not-right orange juice and attempting to fit in with the folks who are up at this hour on purpose and really messing up your reality with their probing bright-eyed stares that you are avoiding at all costs… [LCD's James Murphy pictured below right; all photos by Darryl Richardson.]
But anyway, back to my vivid memory of the first time I really became aware of LCD Soundsystem — the 6:26 a.m. light filtering in through the window, me cocooned in a nest of blankets and Marriott-fluffy pillows in a contented half-doze as my husband and another music fan build upon a barely-two-day-old friendship that’s been sped up by proximity (the guy’s in the same hotel as us) and shared taste in music (we’d all gone to a few of the same shows the past few nights). We had the iPod on shuffle and a song came on and new friend commented, “Ahhh, LCD Soundsystem … nice” and then he said something about it being so apropos and I didn't really know what he was talking about because I didn’t know the name of the song at the time (“All My Friends”), but I’d heard it a handful of times already via other random iPod shuffles. It used to remind me of Brian Eno; after I learned its name and really listened to the lyrics, the song took on new meaning for me and now I think of that morning when I hear it, instead.
But though I always liked LCD Soundsystem enough to pay attention to what they were doing, I never really became more than a passing fan, familiar enough but never truly won over. When I heard that LCD's visionary songwriter, producer and vocalist James Murphy was dissolving his dance punk project after only three albums (going out happy with a great last record and all that jazz), I smothered the initial impression I had of 2010’s This Is Happening (wasn’t a fan, didn’t get it), gave it a few more listens and actually got to digging a few tracks. I realized their Orlando stop might be the last chance I’d get to see them in action and I do like a good electro show and reliable sources told me the band was particularly great this tour and suggested I definitely check them out.
