Hot Chip at Brixton Academy, London Venue guide
Hot Chip arrive on stage at 11:40 with diminutive frontman Alexis Taylor wearing a multi-coloured crown and full-length robe, which he later removes to reveal all-white dungarees. This a band for a party, with numerous members on stage swapping instruments, and this late-night show at Brixton Academy suits them perfectly.
What always strikes me about Hot Chip live is how much harder hitting their songs are, which whilst usually melodic, can sometimes come across as lightweight on record. Live, they elaborate on the original, with the songs stretched out to include more building and crescendos, which certainly get the crowd going tonight. The addition of drummer Leo Taylor to the live set-up has also beefed up their sound.
Hot Chip at the Brixton Academy
Hot Chip began with a booming One Pure Thought, with its unusual electric guitar intro and frantic stop-start final section, before playing Bendable Poseable and a harder faster version of Boy From School, making for a great intro. Other highlights of the set were, predictably, Over and Over, as well as Wrestlers and a new song called Alley Cats.
The best moment of the night was still to come however, as the intro to the superb Ready For The Floor sounded and a number of enormous balloons were released into the crowd. The crowd had great fun patting these giant balls around throughout the rest of the set, made up mostly of tunes from Made In The Dark, with flashing green and red lazers shooting from the stage. ”Do you like the balloons?” Alexis asks, somewhat unnecessarily. “What about the lazers?” asks keyboard player Joe Goddard. Hot Chip finish up with a cover of Prince’s Nothing Compares 2 U, which promps a touching, lighters-aloft, mass sing-a-long, before segueing into the soulful In The Privacy Of Our Love.
I remember reading an early review of one of Hot Chip’s live shows which described their stage presence as like watching a group of 30-somethings having a pinball competition on stage. These pinball players have come a long way since then, although in his ridiculous cloak Alexis could have passed for a wizard.
