Saw LCD Soundsystem and Arcade Fire at the Randall's Island ampitheatre in New York City a couple of weeks ago. I didn't realize it at the time, but there were five bands instead of the two mentioned.
The first band sucked badly. There were a band from New Hampshire. The second band was hilarious with a big bald guy with a beer gut as the lead singer. He totally sent up rock star singer personas, strutting around the stage, jumping around, and wrestling with his microphone cord. Imagine a suburban soccer dad with a bad attitude... He told the crowd that the name of the band was five different names, so I don't know who they were, but the band itself was very tight and played great music, while the lead singer was campy and actually a pretty good singer.
The third band was Blond Redhead. They were AMAZING. !http://www.blonde-redhead.com/home.html ! They reminded me of a cross between Bjork and Radiohead. An enthralling set with beautiful visuals.
The highlight for me, though was LCD Soundsystem. The crowd surged toward the front when they took to the stage. We had to take up our blanket from the ground, as the crowds were swarming around us. The set was great. They played an equal set of selectionsfrom LCD Soundsystem and Sound of Silver. My only disappointment was that they didn't play "Daft Punk is Playing in My House." Some of the musicians from Arcade Fire joined in the set. There were two percussionists, backup singers, three keyboardists, guitarist and bassist.
Arcade Fire was a COMPLETE AND UTTER DISAPPOINTMENT. This show was the last on their tour, and they seemed eager to get it over and done with. Right before their most popular song "Cold Wind" (that was featured on the Six Feet Under Soundtrack) they said, "Well here is the song you've been fucking waiting for. You'll probably leave after we've played it." They rushed through the song and played it poorly. I'm sorry you think that people may only regard you by a hit single, but if it weren't for that song and a grammy nomination you wouldn't be doing world-wide tours, and probably would still be stuck in Montreal bars. Ungrateful assess, IMHO.
The worst part of their set, however, was the sound mix. At alternate times you couldn't here the string section, the horns, the guitarist, and when the organ was played it blared at ear splitting levels. We were so disappointed we left before the band completed its set.
I will definitely make and effort to see LCD Soundsystem again, and will start buying Blonde Redhead CD's.