BEST. SHOW. EVER.
Jensen Sportag/Shit Robot/The Juan MacLean/LCD Soundsystem - Exit/In

Ok....maybe an overstatement, but absolutely the best show of 2005, hands down. Sam and I were the first ones there, @ like 7:15, and doors didn't open until 8:30. Not that we really needed to get there early, the place didn't fill until around 10pm...but we were there, ready to dance. To our great disapointment, Shit Robot never made it up on stage, instead DJing from behind the sound booth. Jensen Sportag was the first live act, 2 guys with sequencers and a keytar, and despite my initial ambivalence, I really liked them by the end of the set. I'll be sure to check them out again. After a long delay, The Juan MacLean made it on stage and freaking rocked out. They had a theramin/Keytar player who was amazing, and they started out with "Tito's Way." I danced, and I danced hard. Then they launched into "Give Me Every Little Thing," and it was pretty much perfect. When the bass and drums dropped in, it was life affirming. They closed with an extended/awesome version of "Shining Skinned Friend." Oh, so, so good.

LCD Soundsystem made it up to the stage around 12ish, or a little after, I'm not entirely sure. When they started the beat to "Yr City's a Sucker," I started smiling, and that smile never left my face the entire night. James Murphey is an intense frontman, and he commanded the audience's attention throughout the whole show. They played everything I wanted them to play, with a sped up "Daft Punk is Playing at My House" being the highlight for me, as the crowd went apeshit over it. "Losing My Edge" was good, but I think that he's probably tired of playing it...he did a fun adlib about verses and choruses in it, so the variation was good. "Tribulations" kicked ass too, a song I never wanted to end. The encore song was something I'd never heard before, probably a new song, but it was much more guitar/rock based, so it'll be interesting if that's the direction their going in for the next album.

Anyways, a freaking great show. I'm still dancing.

-ed