LCD Soundsystem signed off last night with one final show at Madison Square Garden. It was fitting that a band that so clearly defined the New York aesthetic for the past decade wrap it up at the venue most associated with the Big Apple. The entire show, all 3 1/2 hours of it, was streamed on Pitchfork, making the Saturday evening gig one of the closest things the music scene gets to a communial experience in this age of earbud isolation. We courage you to watch the whole excellent thing, but play close attention to the 30 minute segment that starts about 1:10:00 in, where the band plays much of James Murphy’s magnum opus 45:33, easily the finest piece of music ever constructed for a Nike promotion.
Joined by a silver-suited choir and horn secton and a bevy of backing vocal divas—plus appearance by Reggie Watt, Juan Maclean and Shit Robot, the enlarged band put on the sort of spectacle that used to be a common occurence at rock concerts during MSG’s ’70s heyday, but has fallen by the wayside in this age of a down-scaled music industry. At one point, Murphy even left the stage, only to reappear above the crowd in a homemade space capsule, dressed as an alien. Ridiculous, but in the grand tradition of George Clinton—the mothership taking a quick pass at the NYC earthlings to see how the funk is holding up in 2011. As long as Pat Mahoney keeps playing those 16th hi-hat notes, the funk will be just fine.
What the hell happened to the video?!?!?!?!?!