Live music review: Kilby Block Party days two and three featured LCD Soundsystem, The Postal Service with Jenny Lewis

The fifth Kilby Block Party celebrating 25 years of Salt Lake City’s most beloved DIY venue, Kilby Court was as good as billed last weekend as the upstart music festival concluded days two and three with standout performances not only by headliners LCD Soundsystem and The Postal Service with Jenny Lewis but scene-stealing sets by Belle and Sebastian,  CSS, Pond and Santigold. Not since Austin’s Fun Fun Fun Fest has there been a mid-tier sized festival as well run, booked and executed. Hats off to S&S Presents for booking a music lover’s lineup and giving stage time to Utah bands with the same love of their community as Transmission Events (now Resound Presents) once did with Fun Fun Fun Fest. The laid-back tone of the event, manageable crowd size and relatively small venue footprint at the Utah State Fairplex and positive vibe event staff encouraged made KBP our new favorite, mid-tier  music fest.

Kilby Block Party fans were blessed with ideal Spring weather over the May 10-12 proceedings with the best conditions and headliner saved for last on Sunday’s bright and sunny skies with LCD Soundsystem playing the first of only 12 U.S. dates announced this year before the band heads over to Europe for Summer festival season. James Murphy and company topped an exceptional bill with a career-spanning 13-song setlist that began with “Get Innocuous” off 2007’s Grammy-nominated Sound of Silver. The song felt like the perfect choice to lead off their first U.S. show of this year’s Kinda Tour. LCD’s trademark giant disco ball twirled, reflecting stage lights like star-lasers at an audience ecstatic to see the dance-punk heroes kicking off a superlative 100-minute, dance-punk party.

Murphy who is not known for his stage banter was in a jocular mood all evening. He pointed to his longtime bandmate Pat Mahoney to his left before the next song, “I Can Change” off hit record This Is Happening (2010) and said, “This is Pat,” then following the song, pointed to his left again and wryly stated, “This is still Pat,” to giddy laughter from fans. Towards the end of the performance when LCD started playing the crooner, “New York, I Love You but You’re Bringing Me Down,” he had to stop to catch his breath in the Salt Lake altitude (4400 ft.) remarking, “Altitude is real. I gotta catch my breath” then asked for a bit of oxygen from the crew side stage. After inhaling from the canister a few times, he joked, “Marty that was nitrous!” to more laughs.

Other stand out songs included “Tonite” about midway through the set list which featured keys by Nancy Whang and the hugely popular introductory track from This is Happening “Dance Yrself Clean.” The album is the group’s most popular to date. The tour that followed concluded with the group disbanding for four years before deciding to get back together to release the single, “Christmas Will Break Your Heart” followed by the release and expanded tour to support, American Dream in 2017. Many newer fans were introduced to LCD Soundsystem with that seminal 2010 record and “Dance Yrself Clean” holds a special place in most fans hearts including ours.

LCD’s triuphant performance that got a fan ranking of 11/10 on our YouTube channel was a helluva way to end the fifth Kilby Block Party. By all accounts it was the bast one yet. Festival organizers also teased a new fest, Love Letters set for September of this year at Library Square in SLC where KBP was located before moving to the fairgrounds in 2023. Check the full setlist here.

Deathbcab for Cutie and The Postal Service

Saturday’s headliners, Seattle’s Deathcab for Cutie and The Postal Service, both led by Ben Gibbard finished out the evening on the heels of a yearlong tour celebrating the 20th anniversary of Transatlanticism and Give Up which were both played in full. The Postal Service, which included the now hugely popular solo artist Jenny Lewis finished out the night which was fitting. Deathcab’s set was entirely entertaining with the band dressed in all black, bringing back the Emo vibes the group is known for.

When TPS took the stage in contrasting all white, the aural magic really flowed with the inclusion of Lewis’ voice along with Gibbard’s Each time Lewis sang or was featured during the performance was met with rabid cheers from the crowd. It was clear the band knew they had a ringer in Lewis who was a guest vocalist on the group’s debut album, Give Up (2003) and is now a permanent member.

A standout song during the TPS set was the duet by Gibbard and Lewis, “Nothing Better,” which evoked an emotional response from the audience, a number of whom teared up during the song’s performance. The band finished the show with a cover of Depeche Mode’s “Enjoy the Silence,” leaving fans thrilled before they shuffled out of the venue with the final day three still ahead on Sunday. Check out the full setlist to see what other songs were played.

Belle and Sebastian

Earlier in the day, Scottish indie-pop band. Belle and Sebastian led by consummate bandleader Stuart Murdoch delivered a pleasing, career-spanning setlist that was  punctuated by Murdoch inviting about 40 or so fans on stage to dance along to “The Boy With the Arab Strap” and “I Didn’t See it Coming” then ushered them off stage but not before shaking the hands of each and every fan who’d been invited on stage. One elated woman impulsively hugged the humorous frontman before returning the the crowd and who could blame her?

Murdoch has charisma in spades. The singer also joined fans to sing “Piazza, New York Catcher” in the space between the GA and VIP barricades earlier in the performance. If anything, Belle and Sebastian have only gotten better as time has passed like fine wine. Like other fans we felt lucky to have gotten to see this act again. Kudos to show bookers who included the group in the lineup.

Santigold

Santigold appeared next at the Lake Stage at the other end of the grounds following a brief weather delay. The Philadelphia-born Santi White is a singer-songwriter who fused, hip-hop, dub reggae and new wave into her own unique sound, peaking at number one on the Billboard Dance/Electronic Chart in 2012 with Master of My Make-Believe. Since then, the talented singer has grown in popularity becoming a fixture on the music festival circuit and touring often.

Despite her displeasure with the monitor speakers at the outset of the show and her struggles with the lack of oxygen like LCD’s Murphy, Santigold delivered one of the best performances of the festival dressed in resplendent white along with her band and a pair of dancers on either side of her laying down dancehall moves during the show. We watched long enough to realize we’ll avoid missing future performances by this underrated performer including her set during the upcoming Austin City Limits Music Festival in October.

Saturday’s undercard included a bucket list set by Brazilians CSS (Cansei Set Sexy), Australia’s Pond and legendary punk rockers, Guided By Voices. We also caught a set by Cosmic Clash favorites Dinosaur Jr. that was unfortunately plagued with sound issues despite the efforts of guitarist, J. Mascis and bassist, Lou Barlow on the intimate Desert Stage.

CSS

This set was a bucket list performance for us, having never seen this female-powered act play a show and CSS didn’t disappoint. Stationed at the same smaller stage as Dino Jr, these South Americans set an old-school grrrrl-rock tone like the wave of rock acts popular in the 90s but with a decidedly Latin flavor. Lead vocalist, Lovefoxxx aka Luísa Hanae Matsushita had three costume changes the first three songs emphasizing the members fondness for fashion and design, During the show, the big screen behind the band showed images of CSS merch with text that encouraged fans to buy the t-shirt designs they’d created themselves. The DIY vibe fit well with KBP and the new rave style the band identifies with.

Lovefoxxxx encouraged crowd participation asking fans to wave their hands back and forth which they dutifully did, engrossed in a light-hearted and skillful set of rock tunes that included snarky numbers like “Music is My Hot Sex” and “Let’s Make Love and Listen to Death From Above.” Their coy nature and sharp-witted lyrics make CSS instantly lovable while retaining the edginess one expects from a feminist-forward band like them. This was a reunion tour marking the 20th anniversary of the group’s formation. Nothing is concrete after this tour, but we sincerely hope CSS continues to tour. The only thing better than seeing them at a music festival would be their own headlining show.

Pond

The Desert Stage was the sweet spot for rock acts down the bill on Sunday with another great act, Australian psych-rockers and LEVITATION veterans Pond appearing in front of yet another enthusiastic crowd. Pond is frequently mentioned alongside Tame Impala as members from both bands have been involved in the project which first used a rotating lineup. Multi-instumentalist, Jay Watson (GUM) currently tours with both bands. Nick Allbrook, Shiny Joe Ryan, Jaime Terry and Joe Ireland round the the current touring lineup.

The setlist was a gradual ramp-up with the louder, more intense tracks saved for the second half the set which felt like the right move for a group of musicians equally adept at subtle, art-rock songs as they are rocking the fuck out. Frontman, Allbrook alternately stood atop fans, writhed and gyrated to retro song, “Neon River” and heavy bass of “Hang a Cross on Me.” The 12-song setlist felt like it kept getting better as the band got into a deeper groove, letting it all hang out on set closer, “Don’t Look at the Sun or You’ll Go Blind.”

Guided By Voices

After hustling over to the Mountain Stage to catch legendary indie-punks Guided By Voices we were surprised to hear bandleader Robert Pollard on the mic 13 minutes early stating “We have 21 songs to get through so…” The fuzzy, gray-haired Pollard is always fun to watch as GBV works quickly through their setlist. With 40 albums of material to choose from (yeah you read that right), it’s no surprise Guided By Voices present an ambitious show with a ton of songs. The prolific songwriters have put out no less than 11 records in the last five years, showing there’s no slowing down anytime soon for Pollard and company.

With now expected high leg kicks from Pollard along with entertaining stage banter, GBV are always a fun show and their Kilby Block Party was no exception. One would expect that the 66 year-old Pollard would have slowed down some but the man was drinking what looked like straight whisky out of bottle set atop a beer cooler on the drum riser throughout the show. The former school teacher turner rocker apparently know no other way.

All photos by Christopher Alvarez