“It will all be worth it.” That’s what I told myself as I pulled the trigger on buying tickets for all 4 nights of LCD Soundsystem’s residency at Chicago’s Aragon Ballroom. I had no idea how I was going to withstand such feat physically but more importantly, how I would get my work schedule to accommodate these shows but you only live once, right? It was absurd and even more so seeing that I had already seen them once and planned on seeing them again in Mexico a month after the tickets went on sale. So why in the hell did I think seeing LCD Soundsystem 4 nights in a row seemed like a good idea? It will all be worth it.
I was in high school when I first got into LCD Soundsystem. Back then I had several opportunities to see them but couldn’t make a single time work. If it wasn’t one thing, it was another. Then they went on hiatus and it felt like the ship had sailed. Thankfully, 2023’s RE: SET Concert Series was announced and I was able to catch LCD Soundsystem for the first time. And let me tell you, it was one of the most mesmerizing shows I have ever experienced! With that show, I could die a happy man because I was able to see them live and in all their glory finally.
Getting the opportunity to see LCD Soundsystem 4 times in 4 nights was insane though.
Seeing any band more than once back-to-back could raise all sorts of questions. Would the experience change from night to night? Should it be a different experience? Would the hits be as potent? I was with a different crew each night and even though I wasn’t sure if the setlists would differ, I knew the vibe would be different for me at the very least. Ahead of each show, a DJ entertained from 7 pm until around 9:15 pm when the band took the stage. The DJ sets varied each night but for the most part, it was consistent with new wave, art house, and hip hop.
Beneath a gigantic blinding disco ball, night one kicked things off with “Us v Them” and all the questions of potency were obliterated.
While the setlist stayed close to what I had already seen in Mexico and the previous year, the inclusion of “Us v Them” and “On Repeat” came as pleasant surprises. Unfortunately, the setlists were pretty similar each night. Plenty of familiar hits like “I Can Change” and “Someone Great” blessed the ears of eager concert attendees though. What made each set unique was the change in the song order and the inclusion of a new song every night. These included the rare inclusions of songs like “Yr City’s a Sucker,” “One Touch,” and my all-time favorite LCD Soundsystem song “Yeah.”
I made it a point each night to show up early at least one hour to guarantee a close spot. Experiencing LCD Soundsystem up close is a show unlike any other! And this is coming from someone who has been to nearly 300 shows in just a few short years. In the grand scheme of things, anyway. But each show stands out and is equally as unforgettable as the last one. Even after 4 nights, the same songs didn’t become annoying but gained potency through familiarity. I mean, how could anyone ever get tired of “You Wanted a Hit” or “Movement”? While some light gimmicks and antics from James Murphy did get a little predictable, it was all still quite endearing.
It was nice to count on Murphy telling the sound department to lower the levels on his monitors or make the same joke about gentrification before “New York I Love But You’re Bringing Me Down.”
Murphy himself said that it was much nicer to perform this run in an intimate venue like Aragon Ballroom as opposed to a single night at a massive arena. He also indulged in how crazy it was that LCD Soundsystem were doing this run in Chicago. To be honest, it’s rather impressive that the band sounded as tight as they did for all 4 nights. It’s almost aggravating how effortless they all made performing these crazy songs seem. “Losing My Edge” – with its almost improvisational line deliveries, blinding lights, and snippets of Daft Punk and Yaz – is still one of the most impressive songs I’ve ever seen performed, and each night it felt like a fresh take on the 2002 classic.
For as loud as the Aragon Ballroom can get, the group’s emphasis on dynamics makes all the difference. Their lights are on par with the best raves around and it was always thrilling to hear the crowd lose their mind when the giant disco ball lights up. Every color on the spectrum was represented, from blinding white lights to the mood-setting blue to the anticipative red. However, it’s all elevated by the band’s ability to make you feel, literally and figuratively.
With each song being a devilish foreplay to an explosive climax, LCD Soundsystem are clearly masters of anticipation.
Surprisingly, each night LCD Soundsystem managed to tug at my heartstrings. Their music can be wild and frantic, but it can also be curiously beautiful. Performances from American Dream tracks like “Oh Baby” and the title track were enough to make you fall in love and shed a tear or two (not to mention that they sound way better live than the studio recording). Even by the end of each show, “All My Friends,” an already emotional track, had me feeling oddly sentimental.
Working a full-time job as a line cook is already tough on its own, but fitting in 4 concerts during Memorial Day weekend is actually insane!
It was so rough that on night two I was falling asleep on the barricade, prompting security to wake me up multiple times. Don’t even get me started on what my feet felt like! I knew going into this that I’d be burnt out and exhausted but there was no way in hell I was missing out. It is a massive deal (and a huge bragging right) for me to say that I got to see LCD Soundsystem six times in two countries within a single year! I got to see them play my favorite song and meet some really cool people. Plus, I had the opportunity to experience the shows with friends who had never seen this band before! Sure, each night brought its own set of challenges but you know what? I was right all along: It was all worth it!
All photography by Oscar De Leon
