LCD Soundsystem on a Friday Night

Friday night was an adventure. Something I had hotly anticipated for the entire week. LCD Soundsystem came to Seoul – and played in one of Seoul’s hot clubs. I was stoked…to say the least. To be truthful, it wasn’t as easy as or as natural as it might sound.

I found out about this special performance through the beauty of Facebook’s newsfeed. A friend was attending the show – and I jumped on the Facebook bandwagon. I got the info for the tickets – called it in – and showed up promptly before the show started (with friends accompanying of course). However, things went a little wayward at this point.

The club wasn’t too full – and LCD weren’t playing yet either. We decided, then, to explore Gangnam a bit – eating and drinking. I should tell you who I was with. Phil, my main man, and his co-worker Amanda thankfully went along with me in this musical escapade. So, we did our thing – and returned to the club about an hour later. This was a bad decision.



We arrived to greet an angry mob of foreigners – all trying to push their way into the club! There didn’t seem to be any sort of organization – just whoever pushed the hardest seemed to get in a bit quicker. It was unlike anything I had been a part of before! A fair amount of drunkenness was involved – as well as the bouncer’s inability to speak English. A true gong show. Regardless, we pushed our way in – ducking under the bouncer’s arm and through the doors.

Once inside the club, things were better. It was full and we had to shove to get anywhere but our threesome had the right attitude. I had a lot of fun dancing with Amanda and Phil. They’re a great team of energy and openness! The only sad thing was the DJ’s choice of tracks. I was fully expecting them to play LCD cuts – maybe with a few remixes thrown in. Not so. I guess they had brought their own records from back home – and they were hot to be sure – but not the LCD I wanted to feel.

However, once we were dancing I didn’t really dwell on this. It wasn’t until I was back home that I was a little bummed out. Overall, I was pleased we went. I’m glad we made the effort. However, there was another downside. I was partially deaf for most of the second day. It was far too loud. Much too loud. I think I’ll keep my distance from that club for awhile. I appreciate hearing. For the record, it was a duo that performed that night. James Murphy (who is the vocalist and brainchild of LCD) and…I think the drummer for the band – Pat Mahoney - rocked the party all night.

I suppose I miss attending live concerts. What I’m realizing is that live DJ sets don’t mean a “concert” experience. Regardless, I will press on. There’s an endless line of DJs coming to Seoul. I guess Korea is a hot spot for electronic artists right now. I do want to see more. Just so I can say I did. I’ll keep you posted.



Peace!

-Paul