Hot Chip & LCD Soundsystem
Hordern Pavilion, Sydney
Monday 26 July 2010

It’s kind of cheap to talk about appearances in a live review, but here’s the truth: never before have two such unassuming bands caused 5,000 Hordern Pavilion punters to point at the roof and dance obnoxiously. Verily, it was a triumph of the nerd: Hot Chip’s Alexis Taylor looked like a kind of energetic hybrid of Woody Allen and David Byrne, while James Murphy of LCD Soundsystem just looked like someone’s dad. And yet – of course – both were effortlessly, overwhelmingly, infectiously cool.

Hot Chip played first. They probably opened with 'Boy From School' (the start of their set coincided with the doors opening; WTF?), and, well, when did they get that good at playing live? Earlier tours have seen them soak their cerebral electro-pop in synthesisers, but this time the instrumentation was expanded to fantastic effect: the live guitars, bass, drums and steel drum lent a gratifyingly tactile edge to the set’s euphoric rave vibe. And make no mistake, that’s a winning combination. 

Also in their favour was the impressive array of hits. Your average set structure goes something like crowd favourite, new album tracks, more crowd favourites, but instead we got a lean set of Hot Chip’s best. 'One Pure Thought' segued into 'One Life Stand' (possibly the most fist-pump-worthy monogamy anthem ever penned), which turned into a driving, electric rendition of 'Over and Over'. And it didn’t stop, either, not even for an absent Joe Goddard (as Al Doyle announced, he’s on paternity leave) – on Goddard-led tracks like 'Take It In', his face appeared on a plasma screen while the rest of the band harmonised with his pre-recorded vocals. Creepy? Yep. Cool? Yep.

The best part, though, was their willingness to mess with their songs. The muscular performance of set closer 'Ready For The Floor' revealed a previously unnoticed krautrock tinge and slipped at times into a region approaching dubstep. A fantastic band, playing at their best. Nice.

LCD Soundsystem have always been James Murphy and a supporting cast. That was obvious from the moment the band started playing, laying down a beat for Murphy dance onstage to. It’s no criticism to say they laid the foundation for him to be charismatic over: it’s hard to think of many performers today who can rival James Murphy in the charisma stakes, and the band itself was tight and powerful and impressively funky. The frontman’s similarities to Bowie have been mentioned before, but it makes so much more sense when you can see Murphy’s total star power and witness how much the crowd felt those bangers.

Earlier in the year, Murphy suggested this might be LCD Soundsystem’s last tour. He’s since changed his mind, but this still felt a little like a farewell show, packed with hits and played with a kind of loose abandon that only excellent musicians can pull off. Even 
This Is Happening’s least profound moment, 'Drunk Girls', felt meaningful, while 'Pow Pow’s unexpected turn as a Talking Heads-esque funk number was overshadowed by an impromptu hug between two crowdsurfing fans dressed as the pandas from 'Drunk Girls'. And the vigorous singalong at the climax of 'All My Friends' proved how good this band’s got at filling out big venues. 

The encore of 'Losing My Edge' and 'New York, I Love You But You’re Bringing Me Down' (with the now customary reference to Jay-Z’s 'Empire State of Mind') was a brilliant recap of the things that make LCD Soundsystem great: the heart, the humour, the self-awareness; three things they have in common with Hot Chip. It’s hard to think of two bands better suited to sharing a bill and hard to remember a better gig this year.

Max Lavergne
All pics by Sarah Holmes