LCD Soundsystem at the Fillmore Miami Beach, October 6

Photo by Ian Witlen

LCD Soundsystem's James Murphy.

​As we wrap up 2010, Crossfade looks back at the best live performances of the year. View the full list of Miami's Best Concerts of 2010.

LCD Soundsystem
October 6, 2010
The Fillmore Miami Beach

Imagine going to the best dance party of your life with the best band playing, with all your best friends around you having the best time ever.

Yes, LCD Soundsystem's much-anticipated show at the Fillmore was really like that, and the first 15 minutes alone justified the nearly $50 ticket price.

As a bandleader, James Murphy has always carefully tiptoed on the line between an electronic act and a "band" proper, with recordings sounding more like the former. As a live act, though, his creation is a different beast entirely.

With some seven people onstage, mostly multi-instrumentalists, LCD channeled the old dance bands of the '70s and '80s, infusing it all with a rock 'n' roll energy and favoring slightly ragged edges over computerized slickness. That, combined with a blinding light show that included the descent of a planet-sized disco ball, turned the Fillmore's crowd into a sweaty mass that stayed dancing for nearly two hours.

Photo by Ian Witlen

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What we said:

Bolstered by a backdrop of wall-to-wall, stadium-style lighting, the evening built in intensity, with a steady groove building into a near-squall of noise eventually. Remember in the mid-'00s when people used the term "punk funk?" It made sense again near the halfway mark, when many of the songs started to take on a new, distorted edge. "All My Friends" somehow turned into a rowdy, grab-your-bros-and-scream-along anthem, and "Tribulations" almost snarled.

Photo by Ian Witlen

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Read Crossfade's full review of LCD Soundsystem at the Fillmore Miami Beach and see the 30-photo slideshow.

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