|
indie-snob>+!#
hot hot heat @ clark st. fair (7-20-03)
|
It was just 4 months ago when I saw Hot Hot Heat last in a dingy, basement-like Chicago punk club called the Fireside. Before "Bandages" appeared on the radio or MTV2, before their big shows at SXSW, and before they gained the unfortunate respect of pop-punkers, Hot Hot Heat was a band to dance to, a band that sent the crowd jumping. This time, I see the Vancouver band at a street fair sponsored by our "local" Clear Channel radio station (oh how I tire of this) attended by thousands of faithful fans. I won't go into the details of the ska band who played before HHH, Authority Zero, because it's not my music, so I must not be a critic of it. But if you like ska, they sounded pretty good... you know, for ska. Ska-wise and all. Frat-ska-wise. All the people there for them were frat boys who started crazy-moshing at the end of the set, but hey, whatever floats your crappy musical boats. Hot Hot Heat came out (after some sort of technical problems were fixed, delaying their set by quite some time) and seemed as lively as ever. The street fair, the last stop on their tour, seemed like an unlikely progression for the band, seeing as I was the only person in near sight dancing. Nonetheless, they cranked out those monster jams in such high spirits, it was impossible not to have fun. The band nearly played the entirety of Make Up the Breakdown (only skipping over “Save Us SOS,” my least favorite song on the album), the highlights of which definitely seemed to be “Oh, Goddamnit,” “Talk to Me, Dance With Me” and “Naked in the City Again.” HHH also played several songs off their stellar Knock Knock Knock EP (my copy is signed by Steve Bays on pink vinyl! Wee!), including “Le Le Low” and “Five Times Out of 100,” which both sounded really good live. The audience didn’t start moving until the last song though, which just so happened to be “Bandages.” At that point, the show turned into what HHH shows were supposed to be like, people going insane all over the place, dancing into each other and just having a great time, not a bunch of mainstream zombies. The audience continued their movement into the encore, “In Cairo.” I must say, I miss the old Hot Hot Heat days at the Fireside. Both shows are a great time, but somehow it’s so much easier to enjoy a band with 200 people around rather than 1500. But hey, street fairs always tend to be a let down for big bands. A nice performance by Hot Hot Heat, but too bad the audience wasn’t into it. I still think they’re a worthy live band. |