Hot Chip in a hot tent

Hot Chip is a widely lauded English electropop band founded in 2000, and I look forward to seeing them perform. I have never heard their music before, but apparently a lot of people have, as the Main Tent is filling up at a good pace.

At exactly 10 P.M., five men enter the stage and wave coyly at the crowd. Bass and synthesizer kick in and a short man dressed in a traffic cone (or was it a  jumpsuit?) starts singing ”you make me wanna live again”. The man’s voice is clear, almost feminine. When the big screen shows the band up close, I’m surprised by how much older they are than I had imagined. These electropoppers are close to middle-aged, beardy men!

The audience gathered at the tent is just as interesting as the performers, if not more so. A taller fellow dances wildly next to me and I fear a hit from a limb or two is imminent. I name him ”Worm Guy” for the fluidity of his moves. My attention is also grabbed by a large man who would be the spitting image of Harry Potter’s Hagrid, were it not for the colorful summer dress he’s donning. I try to inch myself away for some personal space, but the tent is now fully packed.

Hot Chip’s songs are long, over six minutes long and, as a person not familiar with the group’s catalog, it is nearly impossible to tell where one number ends and another begins, for there are practically no breaks between them. The music reminds me of the 80s with its synthesizers and general pop-ishness. Daft Punk’s early material also comes to mind. The rhythmic bass and techno elements give the concoction a modern flavor with a side of the 90s. When compared to a lot of Finnish artists, the band makes very little contact with the audience. After a few numbers the singer does remember to tell the crowd how great it is to be performing in Finland and gives a nice “Kiitos!” to top it off.

At times joyous, at times sad, sometimes both at once, the band’s music is great to dance to but there is a melancholic side to it all. Maybe it’s a British thing. The band has its followers for good reason. I believe there isn’t an indie or electropop aficionado out there who wouldn’t love Hot Chip, and this experience can also be recommended to people not so taken by the genre. Kiitos Hot Chip, and thank you!

Text: Petra Linden
Photo: Sampsa Geijer
Translation: Jyrki Laitinen