Watch the Tapes

The first time I saw LCD Soundsystem, it was in a small venue in Seattle after the release of the first album. Everybody in the room was dancing. You could feel the floorboards shaking underneath your feet, that's how excited the crowd was to finally have a new band that knows how to combine rock and dance music. Last night, I saw LCD again and the crowd at Webster Hall wasn't quite as responsive, either because New Yorkers are too cool to really dance -- or, rather, not cool enough -- or the novelty of the band had died down a notch.

But LCD's second album was just as good as, if not better, than the first. And the show was riveting. Because it was the last night of tour, James Murphey exclaimed that he didn't care about his vocal cords and was ready to let it rip. Even though they didn't play Losing My Edge, I heard everything else I wanted. Thankfully, their lineup included a gorgeous encore of New York I Love You, a sardonic, slow paced valentine to the city, the only song in LCD's repertoire that is virtually impossible to dance to.