Mandy Lee, the brains behind solo project Cherry Bomb (and a member of MisterWives) told us about her LCD Soundsystem experience...
Mandy Lee: The best gig I ever saw has to go to LCD Soundsystem headlining Bonnaroo in 2016. This was no easy feat considering the runner-ups were tied between Florence And The Machine where it downpoured rain and tears so hard you couldn’t tell which was which, Fleetwood Mac, Stevie Wonder, Beyoncé, Lady Gaga, No Doubt, and Lorde on her Melodrama run, where my sister and I were serendipitously upgraded from the nosebleeds to front row tickets minutes before the catharsis began. It is not lost on me how lucky I am to have experienced so many of the very artists that made me want to do music in the first place and that’s what made that LCD reunion show so special.
Having just played earlier in the day with my band MisterWives, we were on the highest high from a milestone show and couldn’t believe the way to celebrate was seeing the OG indie dance New York band that inspired a rag tag of fellow New Yorkers to start their own. I remember all of us racing to find any space in a sea of festival goers packed like sardines but to no avail. In a lightbulb moment we quickly pivoted to making our way back to to the tour bus remembering it was parked next to the main stage with just enough view to see the band under the biggest disco ball you’ve ever seen. Ground level didn’t suffice to see the music that soundtracked my formative years so we all climbed through the roof’s emergency exit and danced atop the bus where the effortlessly cool and hungover James Murphy reminded us what makes music so transcendent. There’s something inexplicably euphoric about screaming “All My Friends” with all your best friends and Dancing Yourself Clean under a sky full of fireworks. That stays with you as a core memory and is a touchstone I return to over and over again when I need a spark.
Cherry Bomb's singles "You Oughta Know" and "Digital World" are out now.
