James Murphy at The Mid | Photo gallery + live review

 

James Murphy had his reasons for closing the book on LCD Soundsystem—though we may never know what they were precicely. That band, which helped revolutionize dance and rock music by combining the two in an infectious blend with witty lyricism, insistent dance rhythms and brilliant live shows, was at its all time highest in 2010. And then it was no more. Clearly, that surging fan base has a jones for more LCD in some form. And they would have eaten up anything Murphy threw out to them during his DJ set this past Friday at the Mid. Packing onto the dancefloor while local nudisco enthusiast Weaponry and longtime friend and labelmate Shit Robot got the party started,  the crowd was well amped by the time the DFA titan took to the booth with an all-vinyl set spanning disco, discoid permutations and the odd leftfield house concoction.

Though the dance-floor warriors clearly were having the time of their life, I don't know if the same could be said of Murphy. Vinyl DJ sets aren't the norm at the Mid and it showed a little bit with the intense low end and lack of definition in the sound that came out of the system. Things seemed to be calibrated for the digital world and that meant a muddy quality to the night's selections. This seemed to wear on Murphy, who didn't look like he was having much fun up there. No matter, the guy's a pro. The music was still a joy to hear in that setting, even more so knowing that most of the people in attendance on this sold-out night were getting a trip through dance music's history, hearing fresh disco cuts and proto-house stompers which may not be heard again at the Mid. Until Murphy comes back, that is.