LCD Soundsystem's farewell show at Madison Square Garden, April 2, 2011

About the artist

LCD Soundsystem is the band of James Murphy, a New York DJ, party promoter and producer who also runs his own label, DFA. Murphy quit playing in bands at 26; by his early 30s, he has said, he had decided to stop complaining about other people's music and make his own. He launched LCD Soundsystem in 2002 with "Losing My Edge," a funny, eight-minute single^[1][2].

The self-titled debut album arrived in January 2005 as a double set, its second disc gathering the early singles; it included "Daft Punk Is Playing at My House"^[2]. Sound of Silver (2007) brought "All My Friends," which Stereogum calls the band's signature anthem, along with "Someone Great" and "New York, I Love You But You're Bringing Me Down"^[3]. This Is Happening (2010) reached No. 10 on the Billboard 200, the band's best chart showing at the time^[4].

Why this was thought to be the end

Murphy had been hinting at the end for a while. In January 2010 he told NME that his next album might be the last under the LCD Soundsystem name and that the tour after it should probably be the last too; he needed a change and did not want to repeat himself^[5]. This Is Happening came out that May^[6], and in June he told NPR's Fresh Air that three albums over a decade felt like a nice trilogy, and a good point at which to stop being a professional band^[1].

On February 5, 2011, the band announced on its website that a show at Madison Square Garden on April 2 would be its last ever^[7]. The statement said they were "retiring from the game" and promised nearly three hours with friends and family: if it was going to be a funeral, it should be the best funeral ever^[8][9]. Murphy told Rolling Stone that he was retiring the band as a live act and might still put out singles as LCD Soundsystem^[6]. Resident Advisor quoted him saying that setting an end point freed him to have fun, though he added that the band had talked about playing again if they felt like it in five years' time^[10].

Tickets went on general sale on February 11^[8] and were gone almost at once, reappearing on resale sites for thousands of dollars^[11]. Murphy railed against the scalpers on Twitter, and the band added four nights at Terminal 5 in New York, March 28 to 31, so that fans could see them at a reasonable price^[12]. Those sold out in about 45 minutes^[13].

On Christmas Eve 2015, LCD Soundsystem released "Christmas Will Break Your Heart," their first new song in five years^[14]. In January 2016 they were revealed as Coachella headliners, and Murphy posted a long note on the band's website. By early 2015, he wrote, he had more songs than ever, and Pat Mahoney and Nancy Whang had both chosen to bring back LCD rather than start something new. He added that fans who had put a lot of themselves into the farewell and now felt betrayed had every reason to feel that way^[15][16]. Because the band reunited under the same name, this archive files the show under "Not the end after all." Our rule is that any act that later reunites or returns under the same name moves to this category.

What is known about the day

The show took place on Saturday, April 2, 2011. Liquid Liquid, the New York punk-funk band, opened^[6][17]. Fans had been asked to come in black, white, or black and white^[8], and TIME reported that most of the 19,000 people there wore black^[11].

The six core members, James Murphy, Pat Mahoney, Nancy Whang, Al Doyle, Gavilán Rayna Russom and Tyler Pope, were joined by a choir, strings and horns^[18]. They started at 9:08 p.m. with "Dance Yrself Clean"^[11] and played for 3 hours and 41 minutes^[19]. Murphy told the crowd that this was a very weird experience for the band, and that he hoped it would be one for everybody^[19].

BrooklynVegan's setlist divides the night into three sets and two encores^[17]. The middle set was built largely around 45:33, Murphy's long techno piece, with the horn section and the choir^[19], and brought on the comedian Reggie Watts and Shit Robot^[11][17]. In the third set, Arcade Fire came out as surprise guests to sing on "North American Scum"^[19][17]. The band also covered Alan Vega's "Bye Bye Bayou" and Harry Nilsson's "Jump Into the Fire"^[17].

The first encore was "Someone Great," "Losing My Edge" and "Home"; the second, "All I Want" and "Jump Into the Fire"^[17]. The last song was "New York, I Love You But You're Bringing Me Down"^[11][17][19]. Before it, according to BrooklynVegan, Murphy mentioned that he was wearing his father's watch. As white balloons fell from the ceiling at the end, the band slipped off the stage almost unnoticed. Pitchfork streamed the whole show online^[17].

What the show left behind

Shut Up and Play the Hits, a documentary by Will Lovelace and Dylan Southern that follows Murphy over the 48 hours around the show^[20][21], premiered at the Sundance Film Festival on January 22, 2012^[22], and had a one-night theatrical release on July 18. Speaking to the Associated Press, Murphy said he had not wanted to become a famous person, but admitted he still did not know whether ending the band had been the right decision^[23]. On October 9, a three-disc Blu-ray and DVD set added the complete concert to the film^[24][25].

The audio followed on Record Store Day, April 19, 2014: The Long Goodbye, a five-LP box of all 28 tracks, produced and mixed by Murphy, with a digital release in May^[26][27]. For the tenth anniversary it was reissued on August 6, 2021, and appeared on CD, as a three-disc set, for the first time^[20][28]. The press release for the reissue described the show as "if not quite final"^[18]. That April 2, Murphy looked back on the night on the band's Facebook page: the light rig arrived so late that they barely got a soundcheck, the balloon company blocked the loading dock, and the band had built spaceships to carry Shit Robot and the Juan MacLean during 45:33^[29].

After the reunion, American Dream, the band's first new studio album in more than seven years, came out on September 1, 2017, and entered the Billboard 200 at No. 1, their first chart-topper^[4][30]. In January 2018, its track "Tonite" won the Grammy for Best Dance Recording, the band's first Grammy^[31].

LCD Soundsystem asked for the best funeral ever, and all of it was filmed and recorded. Five years later, the band came back to life.