I'll get back to the Cut Copy show, but first, the LCD finale. The first thing I want to mention is how surprised I was with the size of MSG. It was a lot smaller than I had always pictured it in my mind. Definitely smaller than the United Center here in Chicago. I had seats in the 200 level, with a head-on view of the stage. So I basically had a view of all of the fans packed into the venue, and I'll say there weren't too many sitting in their seats.
As for the show itself, it didn't disappoint. I had peeked at setlists from the week leading up to the show, and it was pretty similar. Three sets -- the first starting with "Dance Yrself Clean" and the third starting with "Us v. Them." (Side note: the version of "Us v. Them," complete with gigantic disco ball, was sick, as always.) Sandwiched in between was a second set consisting of LCD's lesser-known 45:33 (with a "Sound of Silver" thrown in the mix). I was unfamiliar with this portion, but still enjoyed it.
A highlight of the show was obviously the appearance of Arcade Fire during "North American Scum." It was a huge surprise, and even though that song is not one of my favorites, I thought it was a really neat moment. After "North American Scum," James Murphy talked about how it was one of their most well-known songs, and that they were going to play a song that probably nobody had heard of before. According to setlists I've seen, it was "Bye Bye Bayou," an Alan Vega cover. After this song, they followed up with "You Wanted A Hit," which I thought ended this string of songs perfectly. It features the line: "You wanted a hit, but that's not what we do."
So after this show, which would probably have to be the best arena show I've ever seen, I took in Cut Copy six days later back home in Chicago. They came out firing, playing a majority of their high-energy songs early in the set. This surprised me, leaving me to wonder what they would save for the end. And it ended up being a legitimate question because the second half of the show tailed off.
I like the group's new album Zonoscope, but it didn't really mesh well with the In Ghost Colours songs on stage. I wasn't shocked by this, as I remember thinking the "new" songs Cut Copy played last year at Lollapalooza were pretty lackluster.
Cut Copy came out for two encores, stating the Chicago crowd was the best crowd of the tour (not sure how genuine it was, although the crowd was going nuts). But even with the extra encore, the show clocked in at just over an hour, which was a bit disappointing.
So now I'm left wondering if I would've liked the show better if I hadn't seen one of my all-time great shows a few days previous. It just couldn't compare.
