On April 2, 2011, New York dance punk band LCD Soundsystem played its last show at Madison Square Garden in front of thousands of adoring and heartbroken fans as well as several cameras.

Consciously disbanded after a decade by front man James Murphy, the Grammy-winning group went out with a bang, “pulling off a high school play at Madison Square Garden.”

Shut Up and Play the Hits follows Murphy before, during and after his final show as LCD, beginning at the end and jumping through time, witnessing his indecision as he ponders whether quitting is the right thing to do.

Directed by Will Lovelace and Dylan Southern, and lensed by Spike Jonze (I’ll admit, I was surprised to see the acclaimed director’s name seemingly hidden in the credits), Shut Up is more than just a concert film.

The footage is beautiful, and only a handful of songs that the group performed at the show are actually shown. The sound is huge, and as an LCD fan who never had a hope in hell to see them perform live, it is my favourite part of the film.

Perhaps the funniest parts of the film involve Murphy in his everyday life.

Scenes of the front man/producer/DFA Records founder performing such un-rockstar tasks as walking his French Bulldog, Petunia, having her turn her nose up at the food he has just given her and shaving his beard post-show, are intercut with Murphy explaining his reasons behind walking away from the music in an interview with writer Chuck Klosterman.

The film does run long, with some non-performance scenes feeling drawn out, and on its way to being self-indulgent.

I really would have loved to see more from the concert.

Published in Volume 67, Number 3 of The Uniter (September 19, 2012)