Item: Pulp & LCD Soundsystem at Hollywood Bowl
Author: Gerry Hwang

Gerry Hwang September 27th, 2025 - 2:05 PM

Disco lights! Dance floor! Nostalgia! These phrases might remind some of ABBA, but no, it was a co-headlining show with Pulp and LCD Soundsystem!

The Britpop band Pulp and dance-punk revival outfit LCD Soundsystem presented a zesty disco rave at the iconic Hollywood Bowl on September 25^th, 2025. When Pulp and LCD Soundsystem announced a two-day co-headlining performance at Hollywood Bowl, it came as a pleasant surprise among retro and new wave dance music fans living in the Los Angeles area.

Pulp is celebrating the recent release of their eighth studio album More. Their previous seventh full-length album We Love Life was released back in 2001 which makes this tour an even more meaningful illustration of the band’s luscious discography for their dedicated fans. LCD Soundsystem is also on their 2025 North American tour, with their performance at Los Angeles serving as the finale.

Pulp and LCD Soundsystem being paired up for a collaborative performance was particularly compelling as both bands have been pursuing drastically different styles of dance music throughout their career. Pulp’s collaboration with LCD Soundsystem, although it seems like a cool yet random occurrence, already took place back in 2013 when the front man of LCD Soundsystem, James Murphy, recorded a track with Pulp entitled “After You” (unfortunately, this respective song wasn’t played during the first of their two shows at the Bowl).

Ultimately, Pulp and LCD Soundsystem offered their LA fans a drastic clash of style and tone in their dance music. But despite the stylistic differences, both Pulp and LCD Soundsystem were extremely phenomenal during their sets – as both bands brought the audience to their feet throughout most of the night with their groovy setlists. Perhaps, their collaboration was also a testament to how dance music, regardless of the retro-ness or avant-garde-ness, is purely meant to be enjoyed by the fans.

The night was opened by Pulp, with Jarvis delivering a euphorically jolly vocal performance (and his enthusiastic break-dancing techniques) to long-time fans while wearing a classy ballroom dance outfit – with a classy black suit and a breezy button-up. Pulp’s incredibly talented band members, including keyboardist Candida Doyle and drummer Nick Banks (both of whom have been with the group since the mid-80s), brought on a nostalgia-filled 80s ballroom dance floor for the audience at Hollywood Bowl.

Pulp’s setlist choice was truly masterful, since most of the songs included both their popular hits back in the 90s and their latest album More – which all beautifully described memories of living in the countryside of England, Sheffield to be exact. Some of the highlights of the night included disco pop songs “Disco 2000” and “Do You Remember the First Time,” as well as melancholic, somber songs such as “Farmers Market” (referencing the outdoor venue located at Fairfax here in Los Angeles) and “Sorted for E’s & Wizz.” Pulp’s set was concluded with an extended version of their iconic hit song “Common People “– in which fans cheered in a standing ovation even after Jarvis and the band members left the stage.

After the audience enjoyed a nostalgia filled dance session with disco lights, LCD Soundsystem brought in a mix of electro synth-pop dance session with immensely flashy lights. With profusely hallucinatory visual effects being displayed on the big screen, incredibly dexterous band members of LCD Soundsystem and their frontman James Murphy introduced the audience to a more avant-garde approach to traditional dance floor music.

LCD Soundsystem’s slow yet meticulous song choices, despite the stylistic clash with Pulp, were calming and pleasing to hear. With their incredible range of dance song styles and genres, some of the highlights for the band included atmospheric grooves such as “45:33 (Part One & Two)” and “American Dream,” dance-punk song “North American Scum,” and closing the night with their popular hits “Dance Yrself Clean” and “All My Friends.”

The magical night at the Hollywood Bowl, despite the stylistic differences of the music style between the two groups, was nevertheless a wondrous experience for both the retro and modern dance music fans. Although it was unfortunate how both of these group’s concert didn’t take place in a literal dance floor, it was truly inspiring to see two stylistically different dance music groups collaborating to deliver a sensational night for the audience. Surely, Los Angeles music fans scored themselves a treat for this one!