LCD Soundsystem supported by Hot Chip; CIA, Cardiff
Well this was a different experience from my proper gigging days. For one thing I usually spent most of my time on the floor being helped up, all very friendly but pretty rough. Kept out of trouble this time. The CIA is a bit of a barn in the middle of Cardiff, cold and impersonal, about 10,000 capacity; a terrible bar arrangement and awful drinks at rip-off prices. These places make you feel like you are being processed rather than entertained, so the bands had to fight the venue. I preferred places like the Town & Country Club in North London, purpose built for gigs and clubbing, with an old time dance hall feel. This is a place they can turn into an exhibition hall, so very impersonal.
These two bands playing electronic based dance music could be seen as quite similar. Both percussion heavy; James Murphy even tried to make out sometimes they switch which one is the headline act. However Hot Chip are pretty one note. One big hit, Over & Over surrounded by some non-descript other stuff. The lead is a very small man with a reedy almost feminine voice. They couldn't warm up this big space. However they were a sucker punch opener for LCD, really set you up to be blown away by the main band, which is why I could never see LCD opening for them.
A nice touch when Hot Chip's set ended with LCD personnel joining them onstage for a number, very good friends apparently. LCD opened with Dance Yrself Clean which starts off sedately, and then blows up into an epic number. Which it did! IT BLEW UP and stayed there for the next hour plus. They threw in a lightshow that looked like the alien communication scene from the end of Close Encounters and tried to blow all the windows out in similar fashion. Or perhaps I am really just getting old. It was wonderful, no intention of dancing, not had enough to drink, but we swung. I like that LCD, already a great band moved on with the This is Happening album and added a Talking Heads vibe. Drunk Girls will always go down well in Cardiff (maybe Charlotte Church was there), and Daft Punk... & I Can Change were great. They beefed up some older songs, transforming them- Yeah went from a plinky plonky number to something the Arcade Fire could belt out. They finished with Home, a very good choice. Long songs stretched out live left you wanting more (no N American Scum or One Touch), but a perfect gig anyway. A guy this talented isn't going to disband LCD and not do anything else. I'd recommend anyone to go see LCD live.