My valiant attempt to procure floor space tickets for the last LCD Soundsystem show ended in heartbreak.
Last night I learned that a special presale for LCD Soundsystem’s last show, which will be on April 2nd at Madison Square Garden, would take place at The Mercury Lounge at 10 AM this morning. Considering it was a weekday morning, I figured the line wouldn’t be too long. Regardless of my grossly incorrect assumption, I made an effort to get up at 8 AM, which would put me on line a little bit after 9. I drove into the city, threw a few bucks into a Muni-Meter, and walked over to the venue with a friend, not just thinking, knowing these tickets would be mine.
I couldn’t believe how many people were not at work at 10 AM on a Wednesday morning. The line wrapped around three blocks before we found our place. Shortly after we got our spot, it continued to grow around a fourth block. I was told it ended around Pianos on Ludlow Street. I waited for nearly 90 minutes before they ran out of tickets, about 100 people shy of the finish line. The sting of defeat I feel can only be eased by a mixtape, one that will chronicle the hardships of this morning.
My Bloody Valentine – “(When You Wake) You’re Still in a Dream”
After I drifted off to sleep last night, I began having several nightmares about not giving myself enough time for the presale. This dream unfortunately became my horrible reality.
Electric Light Orchestra – “Mr. Blue Sky”
When I arose, I jumped up with vigor and ambition. I greeted the cold, grey day as if it were the first day of summer, knowing that I would soon have tickets to what would surely be the concert event of the year. Who would have thought the optimism of Jeff Lynne would have steered me wrong?
Jimi Hendrix Experience – “Crosstown Traffic”
We hit some typical New York traffic on the way, but it didn’t bother me much. I figured leaving for Manhattan at 9 was plenty of time considering how recent the announcement was concerning the presale along with its awkward timeslot.
Modest Mouse – “Convenient Parking”
Parking in NYC is usually a nightmare in of itself, but we found a spot a block away from Mercury Lounge, albeit a metered one (50 cents for 10 minutes!) I remember saying to my friend at 9:30, “Well we’re here early, so we can probably get our shit and be off by 10:15″. Ha!
Kraftwerk – “Endless Endless”
I could not begin to wrap my mind around the massive line which wrapped itself around several city blocks. This soothing closer to Kraftwerk’s “Trans-Europe Express”, with its calming, interlocking synth patterns, was musically the exact opposite of the way I was feeling as I walked down the street in search of the line’s end.
Elastica – “Line Up”
My friend and I took our spots hoping that the little ticket booth on East Houston, somehow had a warehouse’s worth of tickets behind the counter. The gagging sounds featured at the beginning of this Elastica tune reflect perfectly how I felt when I gazed at this queue.
Peter, Bjorn and John – “The Chills”
Despite a mild weekend, winter came back with a vengeance this morning and kicked all of our asses. All the hardships of standing in such inhuman chilliness seemed like a karma payoff was building up for me and the group that I befriended in the stakeout, but alas…
Sparklehorse – “Waiting For Nothing”
Ultimately, toughing it out didn’t pay off, and myself and about 200 others left empty handed. I ran back to my car and its recently expired meter, to jet off in shame.
LCD Soundsystem – “New York I Love You But You’re Bringing Me Down”
It was a crippling defeat. It seemed like such a certainty when I awoke this morning that I’d be bragging to my friends about my achievement by lunchtime. Those I knew who stayed home and tried the Ticketmaster presale had similar luck to mine, minus the frostbite. It’s amazing how popular LCD Soundsystem has gotten since I first saw them open for the Pixies back in 2005. Listening to the fantastic progression from that powerhouse opening spot to the immaculate “This is Happening” from last year, it makes perfect sense.
Ice Cube – “Friday”
Of course, this is not the end of the story. Tickets for the show will “officially” go on sale this Friday, so make sure to have that refresh button ready, and maybe we’ll all be throwing our neighborhoods in the air like in this Ice Cube video.
February 10, 2011 at 5:15 am, Thedudeabides said:
try to get a press pass dude…you work at a music magazine
February 10, 2011 at 2:52 pm, passing through said:
AWESOME MUSIC!!!!!!!
February 11, 2011 at 9:37 pm, LCDwhat said:
No offense to LCD fans, but what is so special about them? They don’t sound like anything special or any different from anything else out there these days. Is there anyone who can tell me what their appeal is?
February 14, 2011 at 12:32 am, welcome2skyvalley said:
No, as a loyal fan, i can tell you that they’re no different from (and may be a little bit worse than) anything else out there these days. they’re kind of like a mixture of the black eyed poos and the Kings of Leon, hence their show at MSG.