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Apr 10Hot Chip and The XX, live in DC.
Last Saturday, I went to the 9:30 with a friend to see Hot Chip and the XX. Now, I absolutely love The XX’s self-titled album, as well as Hot Chip (One Life Stand sits just The Warning in their discography), and I was out of town during Hot Chip’s last DC stop, so I had never seen either band live. I would honestly say that this show was my most-anticipated show of this year. So, you know, no pressure. Thoughts, stolen photos, live recordings and setlists after the jump:
Now, thanks to my nameless friend’s inability to be anywhere on time1, we missed the first part of the XX’s set, including “Intro” (Under normal circumstances, this is sort of like saying “Damn, I missed the movie previews.” However, “Intro” is actually a good track, and shouldn’t be skipped.). Like on the album, the music was spacey (both that it’s somewhat druggy, and there’s a feeling of sheer emptiness and volume to it), and the band is pretty withdrawn. Occasionally, one of bassist Oliver Sim’s tuners caught the spotlights, sending a brief stab of light into the crowd–otherwise, there was a distinct lack of bombast. The vocals never rise above the back-and-forth crooning on the album, and even their self-introduction was decidedly muted. Personally, I loved the XX’s performance, and thought it was appropriately ghostly and sexy, but I could also understand someone finding it terminally boring. 
The band also made a few mistakes, which are a lot more obvious with music that spare. Overall, I’d say that you have to really like the idea of standing in a dark room to see the XX live. However, their black-on-black t-shirt is awesome (it looks better in real life).
Set list (live recording):
- Intro
- Crystalised
- Islands
- Shelter
- VCR
- Basic Space
- Nighttime
- Infinity
The goofy oompah-band music that accompanied Hot Chip onstage summed the band up well: ironic, goofy, and fun. I can’t even really write about their set objectively, so I won’t really try. I’ll just say that it was loud enough to make my throat vibrate with each bass kick, and after an outstanding rendition of “Over and Over,” I turned to my friend and said, “If they play ‘Ready for the Floor’ or ‘No Fit State,’ I’ll die happy.” Which leads us to the set list (again, recording here):
- Hand Me Down My Love
- One Pure Thought
- Thieves in the Night
- Brothers
- One Life Stand
- Over and Over
- Alley Cats
- Boy from School
- Take It In
- We Have Love
- Hold On
Encore:
- I Feel Better
- No Fit State
- Ready for the Floor
More photos: NPR’s “All Music considered” set, and my amateurish Nexus One shots.
- Yes, I am aware that I am also punctuality-challenged. ↩
Tagged: concerts, music, photography