You Wanted a Hit? LCD Soundsystem at Red Rocks, With TV on the Radio

The audacity! The gear gluttony! The sheer pomp of the longest-running bit of irony in indie music! On August 13, LCD Soundsystem returned to Red Rocks supported by the legendary TV on the Radio for a beautiful night at the greatest music venue on earth. Why does this feel like the end of an era? Could this be the punchline to that joke?

It was everything fans could possibly ask for: energetic, moving, audacious and highly technical, with the band playing all the fan favorites in a perfect, cohesive set — although frontman James Murphy seemed a bit over it with his monologue during "New York I Love You, But You're Bringing Me Down."

LCD Soundsystem is undoubtedly the godfather of the early 2000s and 2010s indie electronic scene; of all the bands of that era, it's among the few that still delivers at such a formative level. Part of that attraction comes from the irony that has been foundational for Murphy's attitude towards music since the beginning. It is the inside joke we were all invited in on with the release of LCD Soundsystem’s 2005 self-titled album, when a then-34-year-old Murphy broke music-making conventions and poked fun at an industry that was letting him down. It’s easy to imagine labels at the time not loving eight-minute songs of seemingly the same loop — but as it turns out, that was exactly what audiences wanted. With its success, Murphy grabbed the reins of that big ironic beast and rode it for the next twenty years, all the way to Red Rocks on August 13.

Over his career, the sound Murphy cultivated would inspire countless bedroom musicians who would realize there actually are no rules and music production technology was advancing so fast you could do it all from home. With some basic gear and a laptop, it was now possible to build cutting-edge music and perform it live. The music promotional market gradually caught on to this, and the money to be made off of small “laptop bands” just made too much sense.

Fast forward to 2025, after twenty years of political turmoil and economic upheavals, and LCD Soundsystem still has one more stick to put in the eye of convention. That's what it removed and brought to Red Rocks.

Modern touring wisdom would tell you it’s possible to do it all with only three people and backing tracks, but that’s not how LCD Soundsystem operates. Instead, it has eight people; for every sound, there is a piece of vintage gear to produce it. On stage was a huge array of synthesizers (some extremely rare and the cost of a decent used car), with band members looking like scientists in a lab as Murphy led them with his signature croon. It was musical overkill for no reason other than the musicians could, poking fun at themselves along with the industry; and that was exactly what the audience wanted.

It was a staggering performance and covered a lot of ground from the act's catalog. Starting out with “oh baby,” then filling the time with medleys between songs like “Daft Punk Is Playing at My House” and “Get Innocuous!,” it felt like the culmination of the work of true artists. Then by the time the musicians played “Dance Yrself Clean” during the second encore, the audience was out of their seats and on their feet.

What's next? What is there left for a band to do as the musicians enter their sixties, having broken every rule along the way? From a logistical standpoint, who is left in the genre with the clout to pull off what LCD Soundsystem does? Even at the highest echelons of pop, if there’s a buck to be saved, most acts will do it.

In a way, LCD Soundsystem at Red Rocks felt like a sunset, although it doesn’t look like the band will be stopping anytime soon. With the last album almost ten years old, a new one seems likely, but who knows? When what happens next comes down almost entirely to the whims of one man, it’s best just to wait and see. In the meantime, those who were at Red Rocks last night will always have the memories of an incredible musical experience.