By Samir Mathur, Contributing writer
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SHUT UP AND PLAY THE HITS plays at Enzian on Wednesday night at 9.15pm and 11.59pm. (Details) (The earlier screening is only on standby, and tickets for the midnight are moving pretty fast too).
When James Murphy declared that the newest LCD Soundsystem album, 'This Is Happening', would be the band's last, fans everywhere were left very disappointed. The band was at the peak of its ability, and was selling out impressively big venues across the globe. (Sidenote: remember when they played here? We previewed it, reviewed it, and gave away tickets for it.) Eventually, the band announced one final hometown blowout, at Madison Square Garden, and that last hurrah is the subject of this film. It's not quite a concert movie, although several full songs do make it into the thing. (I won't say too much, but '45.33 part 2', with Reggie Watts DOES make the cut, and it's magnificent).
The documentary, loosely framed around a long-form interview/conversation between Murphy and Chuck Klosterman, follows Murphy around - the week before the show, to the morning after. It's charming to see Murphy (quiet, unassuming, charming) discuss his band which made a huge impact in just a few short years. They managed to be one of many acts that the music press loved, but one of the very few that actually connected with people. There's footage of Murphy's appearance on The Colbert Report, where he suggests that he'll spend his imminent "retirement" mostly brewing coffee. He walks his dog. There's a scene where, the day after the concert, he inventories all the band's gear before they sell it. It's particularly sad.
Mostly, though, there's the music. I saw the film with a handful of other press, at 10am one weekday last month and kept most of my dancing to my seat. I'm sure that these two screenings - which will be slammed - will feature much more energetic, high-energy crowds. If you're a fan of the band's records then you really have to try and make it down for this film. Stay out late. It's an interesting, joyful celebration of a gig that I'd have sold a kidney to have attended. (It's a good thing I didn't - the full, four-hour concert should be coming out on DVD when this documentary does. And also I still enjoy both kidneys). Look out for Donald Glover losing his shit in the crowd. The song 'All My Friends' brought a tear to my eye, even now, after all these years. I still think of this essay from Slate about the song that just nails it. Bands rarely get to choose how they bow out, they usually just fizzle away and dissipate. They made the decision to stop when they were huge, before they could start being terrible. Good for them. LCD was a special band and this is a special film.
Mostly, though, there's the music. I saw the film with a handful of other press, at 10am one weekday last month and kept most of my dancing to my seat. I'm sure that these two screenings - which will be slammed - will feature much more energetic, high-energy crowds. If you're a fan of the band's records then you really have to try and make it down for this film. Stay out late. It's an interesting, joyful celebration of a gig that I'd have sold a kidney to have attended. (It's a good thing I didn't - the full, four-hour concert should be coming out on DVD when this documentary does. And also I still enjoy both kidneys). Look out for Donald Glover losing his shit in the crowd. The song 'All My Friends' brought a tear to my eye, even now, after all these years. I still think of this essay from Slate about the song that just nails it. Bands rarely get to choose how they bow out, they usually just fizzle away and dissipate. They made the decision to stop when they were huge, before they could start being terrible. Good for them. LCD was a special band and this is a special film.