A few weeks ago, John Mulaney decided to let the world know that he’d be hosting Saturday Night Live in the very near future — and that indie legends LCD Soundsystem would be the musical guests. This is the first time James Murphy and co. are appearing on the late night show, which seems unbelievably given how intrinsically tied the are to music in New York over the last two decades. But they made the most of their time on the show tonight, kicking things off with a performance of “Thrills.”
The band definitely knows their audience will appreciate such a deep cut — “Thrills” is taken from their 2005 self-titled album, and they opted to go deep, for this first tune at least, rather than perform something newer. It’s nice for the band to have a high night in early 2022, since they had to end 2021 on a dismal note by canceling the rest of their residency at Brooklyn Steel due to the rampant spread of Omicron. Back then, Saturday Night Live was just as impacted by the spread, canceling the studio audience for their last episode of the year, and also putting the kibosh on Charli XCX’s highly-anticipated performance. Luckily, they recently rescheduled Charli so she can have her main pop girl moment. For now, watch LCD have their Brooklyn indie moment up top.