Hot Chip at All Points East 2019: Chunky synths and soulful vocals make for a joyous hour
Hot Chip on stage at All Points East in Victoria Park. Picture: Ramzy Alwakeel - Credit: Archant
Hot Chip’s colourful catalogue of bratty but lovable synth-pop clearly keeps the rain at bay, because the moment the quintet leave the All Points East stage the heavens open, and Victoria Park becomes a swamp of rave kids and panic.
Dressed in matching uniforms stitched together from segments of their new album cover (except Al Doyle who appears to be in a hospital gown), the band crash through classic after classic.
They drop the gorgeous Flutes and irrepressible Over and Over surprisingly early in the set while weaving multiple songs into lengthy single takes.
On record, Alexis Taylor's schoolboy croon gives the Hot Chip groove its wistful edge. But on stage he delivers a stronger, more soulful live vocal than I'd expected, matching the chunky synth lines for power and pulling rock star gags like playing his guitar with a bottle of Leffe.
Favourites like Boy From School and Ready for the Floor have the crowd leaping around - but the addition of a live drummer almost seems to rein in some of the more joyous electronic abandon of the recordings instead of bringing them to life like it should.
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There's a lot to watch - keyboard solos, Taylor's intriguing costume change, synth freakouts, even some sort of line dance - but it's a tight set, and honestly it's a bit of a disappointment when they finish bang on time after just an hour, because they'd have been extremely worthy headliners (for my money they're the best thing on the Friday bill).
At least they got away before the weather turned bad - unlike the rest of us.
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