Shut Up And Play The Hits [Blu-ray]

I've been interested in electronica music and the Amazon computer suggests a lot of things that it thinks I might like. About five years ago it suggested a CD by LCD Soundsystem titled "Sound of Silver." I took the suggestion seriously because I'd read a review in "Rolling Stone" and I'd already decided that this would probably be a disc I'd enjoy. I bought and I indeed liked it very much and followed up later by also purchasing (and reviewing) "This is Happening" and "London Sessions." This was just a very good band and I loved their music and James Murphy was a terrific singer! Excellent recordings!Well, LCD Soundsystem quickly and easily worked it's way into my list of a half-dozen favorite musical acts (including deadmau5, Daft Punk and Matthew Dear) that were the highest on my playlist. Then the notice came out that they were shutting the band down. Quitting? How can this be? This is one of the freshest and best bands around and they're quitting right as they reach their peak? Say it isn't so! Well, unfortunately, it was so and they gave a final concert at Madison Square Garden (a very large boxing arena) to a near-capacity crowd last April in New York City. The 3 1/2-hour concert is now available on DVD. Well, if you're a LCD fan this package is a must-have! They call it "Shut Up And Play The Hits" and it makes for an outstanding three-disc DVD package. The first DVD presents selections (highlights) from the concert together with assorted scenes and interviews with James Murphy and other band members. It's quite an interesting and well-done DVD. Be sure to look over all the extras. The second and third DVDs present the entire concert. The total package is just overwhelming and is probably the best concert DVD set I own (out of about 25). It's a wonderful addition to my collection.It's a terrific concert presentation, both the short version (disc one) and the long version (discs two and three). The boxing venue turned out to be a surprisingly good setting. The concert was staged toward the center and the cameras were set both to record the activity on the stage and look out over the large audience in all directions. Well Done! The acoustics and sound quality of the recording were rather good for a live concert. I was surprised at the size of the band. There might have been about 15-20 people on stage, including the singers. I was also surprised that an emphasis was placed on actual musical instruments, in that I had the idea from the LCD CDs that the reliance was more on electronic music.The band was disbursed all over the stage, seemingly almost at random, rather than a set facing the audience as in a more normal concert-hall setting. Most of te band members had a specific setting, particularly those playing large instruments, but James Murphy wandered about the stage and the scattered musicians carrying his microphone, playing with a few instruments now and then and interacting with the audience. In his wanderings, he was then able to face most of the audience from time to time. Nice arrangement. Murphy put on a terrific performance and demonstrated that he was an excellent multi-instrument musician. He really stood out as a percussionist! Murphy left no doubt that he was the heart and core of the LCD organization. And what a terrific singer he was. Previously, I'd only listened to him on CDs and this guy really put his everything into this concert. All of the other band members were great too and were fun to watch. Evidently there was no dress code at all. Band members were each doing their own thing and you had everything on stage from tank-top undershirts to shorts to some rather formal looking outfits. One fellow looked as if he was in audition for those Sasquatch Jerky commercials you see on TV. Murphy, himself, looked as if his haircut was about a month too old and that, somehow, he had forgotten to shave in the last week, although he was wearing a rather formal jacket (sans tie). No matter. It seemed as if everyone was relaxed and just having a really good time, and the audience responded warmly to it.The concert was both a joyous and sad experience to watch. The band was obviously having a lot of fun, but as the long concert came down to the final songs you could feel the sadness gradually set in. Very late in the concert, they played New York, I Love You, But You're Getting Me Down. It fit. Most of the songs were newly updated versions of the songs on the "Sound of Silver" and "This Is Happening" CDs, but there were a few new ones (to me, at least), including one 23-minute-long extravagenza. Then it was over.What's going to happen here? Murphy and his motley collection of musicians (but quite excellent, I would hasten to add) aren't just going to go away, Will Murphy be reincarnated in some other form? Will the other members of the band regroup and form new bands? Stay tuned.Gary Peterson

I had never heard of LCD Soundsystem before late one night, bored and with nothing to watch, I was flipping through the Netflix instant suggestions and came across this film. I figured I'd give it a shot and though the first two minutes had me questioning my choice, I stuck with it and am so glad that I did. I watched the film all the way through and found myself sofa dancing without even realizing it. I was in love with the music. But not just the music, the story of the man too. Heartbreaking at times and uplifting at others, this film was done so well. In this one film I learned (albeit very limited) about the band itself, the man who created it, and a little bit about why he decided to end it. The mixture of storytelling with actual concert footage is what makes it. Being able to see dance music performed live on stage, and all the complexity and talent that goes into it, was mind blowing. It isn't someone standing on an empty stage with turntables and dials bobbing his head while you hear complex orchestrated music playing, not sure how or when it was actually created. No, it's a group of happy and talented folks right there in front of you strumming every string, hitting every cow bell, hitting every snare, playing ever key, and booping every beep-blop! And they look so happy and euphoric doing it! It's spellbinding.So after I finished on Netflix I jumped here to Amazon to see about picking up the film to own. I was so happy to find that the blu-ray edition actually includes the full 3.5 hour final concert which the documentary is in service of. Incredible. The concert itself takes up two of the three discs in the set, leaving the documentary and some extra features on the third. The packaging is also very well done and includes a really touching and spot-on essay printed on one of the flaps. This is a fantastic package and it has made a fan of LCD Soundsystem out of me. Too bad I'm so late to the party.I can only think of two negatives for this set. First, at least for me on my system, the concert discs seem out of sync. The video is slightly slower than the audio. I don't have this problem with any other blu-rays on this setup so i don't think it's a system lag issue. That's with the 5.1 mix, btw. The stereo mix I had better luck with, it seems closer, but it's still just a bit off. My second negative would be that while there are subtitles on the documentary which include the concert footage (so you can see the lyrics to the songs being performed) the concert itself does not have subtitles. My wife is hard of hearing and while she would really love to watch the entire concert (like me this is her first experience with the band and was equally impressed) she can't. And even though my hearing is fine, it would be nice as a new fan, to be able to see the lyrics to these songs since occasionally (by design) Murphy's vocals are hard to make out over the music or distortion. This may not be an issue for most people, but if it could be done for the concert footage in the documentary, i would think it could have been done for the concert too.

This is for the Blu-ray version. It sounds absolutely fantastic. Looks very nice too. It's a great final concert - if your going to have a funeral then have a great funeral - and worth every penny for just the 2 Disc concert in HD 5.1. I could write a lot of crap, blah blah blah but the highest phrase I can give this is to say it gives Stop Making Sense a run for it's money as far as sound goes and might.. just might be a bit better. It really kicks butt. So if your a fan of LCD Soundsystem and have the ability to play this - blu-ray player and decent 5.1 sound system - I highly recommend you check this out. I consider it essential.... period regardless. The documentary is just cream. I haven't stopped listening to the concert yet, I'm on my second pass...I wanted to view the complete concert before I watched the documentary which is parts of the concert. I NEVER give stuff 5 stars... never but I was pleasantly surprised. Wow! Be careful about cranking this up too much, it gets really loud at parts.

I love Lcd Soundsystem and this is a really great concert and documentary. The package arrived a day early and was in great condition. The only complaint I have is that i only recieved part one of the concert. Part two is not there. It's just a second part one. Any way i can fix this?