A couple of years ago at Montreal’s Osheaga Festival, some fellow festival-goers faced a dilemma on how to close out the festival. The choice was the mainstage area with folkies Mumford & Sons, or a tree lined stage area with Hot Chip. It was a no-brainer for me and the four of us split in half. The two that checked out Mumford were dry and grumpy already in their beds by the time our elated and sweaty bodies returned trying not to gloat.
Hot Chip are just one of those bands – not super massive, but they should be. You would have to be a corpse not to at least nod your head to their quirky dance music, but really they are one powerhouse live machine guaranteed to turn whatever audience into a sauna.
With their sixth album, Why Make Sense? only three weeks old, the band returned to Toronto to a packed Danforth Music Hall. Opening up with “Huarache Lights” that opens the new album, the diverse crowd abandoned any reservations they might have had right from the get go.
For 100 minutes at the Danforth Music Hall, Hot Chip concentrated on their most recent albums but also threw out highlights from most of their previous albums, save their debut album. “Over and Over” from 2006’s The Warning, “Ready For the Floor” from 2008’s Made In The Dark, and multiple selections from 2010’s One Life Stand and 2012’s In Our Heads and a handful of tracks from the new album.
The bouncy sweaty crowd furiously danced as if it was their last night until the walls and patrons were dripping with sweat. Closing out the night with a cover of Bruce Springsteen’s “Dancing In The Dark” just put the place in euphoric meltdown mode.
Opening up the night was British act Sinkane, who shamefully played to a virtually empty house. I wasn’t familiar with Sinkane at all but was told by my friend he worked with Caribou and that we had to check them out. Right from the first note I was in awe. Reminding me of a groovy Spiritualized, Sinkane were almost post-rock with an undeniable underlying groove. Imagine if Jason Pierce aimed for the dancefloor rather than chasing symphonies in his head to space and you have an idea of what was going on, making it very hard for my hips to stay still. My ears thoroughly enjoyed their soundscapes. Definitely I will be getting obsessed with Sinkane for the next while and to all of those who were hiding out in the bar area, you messed up by missing this!
Hot Chip are on this year’s Osheaga Festival bill again this year. If you’re there and smart, you’ll join me wherever and whenever they are on. See you at the party!
