Familiarity evidently does not breed contempt, at least in the case of Hot Chip and Glasgow. This was the band’s third appearance on Glaswegian soil since April, and what a glorious, life-affirming evening it was. They arrived with a fine new album to promote in the shape of “A Bath Full of Ecstasy”, and both new and old songs alike were imbued with fresh energy here, aided by a crowd evidently buzzing on Saturday night adrenaline (and in some cases, quite possibly certain other substances).
The band themselves were hardly reticent either. They still look a mild mannered bunch, albeit ones prone to interesting fashion choices, with singer Alexis Taylor in a pastel coloured top and tin foil silver trousers, but once the music began they were all frequently blurs of motion, heads nodding and limbs akimbo. They looked joyful throughout, conductors of a substantial rave, straight from the opening groove of “Huarache Lights”.
The dancefloor bangers arrived at a relentless pace, with only the more mellow grove of the encore’s “Made In The Dark” providing a breather. Elsewhere it was a dizzying day-glo barrage of funk, dance, disco, indie and anything else that might provoke a listener into movement, and perhaps that explains Hot Chip’s longevity. If their records are often accompanied with a melancholy lyricism, then an evening in their company feels like a pure celebration of music at a primal, danceable level.
“One Life Stand” delivered fluorescent pop, the terrific earworm of “Flutes” provided a well synchronised dance routine and those perennials of indie discos, “Over and Over” and “Ready for the Floor” were stretched and expanded upon, with the former’s intro delaying the chorus to perfection and working that stalwart chant of all Scottish gigs, “here we, here we…” in there too, while the latter slid into a snatch of “Good Name” by William Onyeabor.
Tracks from their new record were impressive, with the album’s most exuberant tracks pushed front and centre. “Spell” was seemingly generated in a New York disco club in the 70s, and carried with it a filthy groove, and “Melody Of Love” generated a hands in the air rave up near the gig’s climax, aided by a consistently pulsating lights display that illuminated both the band and, from time to time, the crowd. They were an all ages crew from eager teenagers to people that could have been their grandparents, with the occasional flash of glowing rave glasses or plume of cigarette smoke drifting into the air visible amidst the constant movement.
It ended with a run-through of the Beastie Boys “Sabotage”, which despite being a regular in their sets this year still carries the enjoyable sensation that it could completely collapse at any moment, and another slice of good time pop with “I Feel Better”. Even then some of the band lingered onstage after the climax, swigging some Buckfast and reaching out to the audience, as if willing this party to keep going, if only for another few minutes.
