LCD Soundsystem
Astoria, London WC2
It may be Valentine's Day, but this is one venue that isn't full of cooing couples. Instead, it's full of the capital's self-proclaimed cool set, too cool to go on a date on Valentine's, and mostly, too cool to get here tonight early enough to catch Hollywood star Juliette Lewis and her band the Licks play their first European show. If Nathan Barley existed, then he would certainly be in the house tonight.
He doesn't exist of course. Well, at least not in the actual guise of Chris Morris's ham-fisted Jim Carrey-esque character; more a Shoreditch cat than a Shoreditch Twat. Where Morris misses his target slightly, James Murphy of LCD Soundsystem has nailed the record-store geek so bang on, it's uncomfortable at times, not least on the anthemic 'Losing My Edge', wherein the protagonist looks worryingly over his shoulder at the kids 'coming up from behind', from France and from London, boasting that he was there in 1968, at the first Can show in Cologne, and that he woke up naked on the beach in Ibiza, 20 years later. He's never been wrong.
On the album, Murphy plays most of the instruments. Live, he downs tools to take up lead vocals, backed by Phil Mossman on guitar and keys, Tyler Pope on bass, Nancy Whang on keys and Pat Mahoney on drums, all of whom, save Mossman, played some part on the record. They open with 'Beat Connection', as if Murphy is having a private joke.
'And nobody is falling in love,' he hollers, deadpan, 'everybody here needs a nudge.' It's quite a stripped-down affair, meaning Mahoney's calf muscles get a work-out from the kick drum. It's Talking Heads covering A Certain Ratio covering ESG covering Joy Division, with Mike D meets Mark E Smith on steroids taking vocal duties. There's a knowing nod to so many influences it's a wonder Murphy hasn't got a crick in his neck, and they're all the right ones, obviously, from Eno to Prince, via 808 State. It's daft-punch-drunk-punk-funk, and it's quite brilliant in parts, but oddly hard to warm to.
We get most of the debut album, minus a few of the more mellow moments such as 'Never As Tired As When I'm Waking Up', but, singles apart, the audience treat the band with a kind of highly appreciative reverence, rather than lavishing affection.
'Daft Punk Is Playing At My House' gets the crowd moving, as does album track 'Tribulations', but it's only towards the end, when they reach Murphy's masterpiece, 'Losing My Edge', that we really see a frenzied reaction, ending with Murphy and the crowd chanting the refrain of 'You don't know what you really want'.
Afterwards, we go to Erol Alkan's über-cool club night Trash, where Murphy is the guest DJ for the night. There's a queue of at least 300 people behind us, all desperate to get in. Most of them are incredibly young, good-looking and stylish. I feel like I'm losing my edge. But I was there.
