Let Us Stand Next To Your Fire

Last Saturday, Jaded Insider headed out to New York's Randall's Island to relax, enjoy the gorgeous weather and catch Arcade Fire and LCD Soundsystem's last gig on their current tour together.

For the occasion they brought along special guests Wild Light, Les Savy Fav and Blonde Redhead. We missed Boston's Wild Light due to misinformed venue workers who sent us on a hike to virtually every entrance of the facility to try and get in, but we finally slipped around behind the stage in time for Les Savy Fav. We always enjoy watching Tim Harrington act a fool, and he was up to his usual shenanigans -- a strip tease, tying himself up with the mic cord, stuffing pizza or some sort of food product (we hope) into his mouth and quipping something about "We're here to meet or possibly exceed modest expectations."

J.I.'s also digging the group's new album, "Let's Stay Friends," and they hit choice cuts such as "The Lowest Bitter" and the funked-out "Patty Lee." They also shredded through classics such as "The Sweat Descends" and "Who Rocks the Party," for which Harrington appeared onstage in a leotard that illustrated the insides of a human body.

This was the first time this J.I. has caught Blonde Redhead live, and we weren't expecting much, considering every live report we've heard has been so-so. But we were pleasantly surprised with how their songs translated, especially in an outdoor venue.

For us, LCD Soundsytem's set definitely took the cake. The sun had lowered, the venue had filled up and James Murphy and co. delivered an intoxicating dance-a-thon which alone was worth the bus ride out there. The set bounced and buzzed through "Get Innocuous!" "Tribulations," "North American Scum" and the fantastic "All My Friends" before ending aptly with "New York I Love You But You're Bringing Me Down." We seriously dug it, but the guy next to us was seriously bummed, grunting to his buddy, "F*ck, man -- No 'Daft Punk.'"

J.I. got momentarily distracted by a $10 burrito the size of a small child and missed the opening of Arcade Fire's set, although we could vaguely hear "Black Mirror" and "Keep the Car Running" pumping from the speakers out in the middle of the "lawn." The group's performance was tight and dramatic, with neon lights and video screens for added affect, but the sound wasn't quite up to par compared to LCD's set. Win Butler was out among the crowd for a handful of songs, helping to prove that his band's live show no question lives up to the hype. It's a shame Butler announced this was the last one they'd be playing in New York for a while.

At the after party, held in a giant tent behind the stage, J.I. hit the dance floor with Harrington and Murphy and drooled over pumpkin cupcakes and the adorable puppy Blonde Redhead was playing with. There was also a guy who may or may not have been Chad Michael Murray sporting a "Less Cowbell" T-shirt, but we were more interested in the free Newcastle to care.