Music Review; Hot Hot heats up and gets cookin'
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THE EDGE
LINDA LABAN
375 Words
10 October 2003
Boston Herald
All Editions
E13
English
Copyright (c) 2003 Bell & Howell Information and Learning Company. All rights reserved.
Hot Hot Heat, French Kicks and Ima Robot at Axis, Boston, Wednesday night.
While most Lansdowne Street revelers cheered on the Red Sox on Wednesday night, you had to spare a nod to Sub Pop Records head Jonathan Poneman. Not
only did he pioneer the '90s Seattle music boom, delivering rock's greatest prize - Nirvana - he also foreshadowed the garage revival with
the Murder City Devils and the then-new wave trend by introducing the world to the infectious pop frippery of Hot Hot Heat.
Now signed by a major label and renowned internationally, this British Columbia quartet kicked off a two-night stint at Axis on Wednesday.
Impish singer and keyboardist Steve Bays went from singing and playing one-handed keyboards (so very '80s!) to darting around the stage. But, not
surprisingly, after an incredibly busy year spent mostly on the road, the Heat seemed to be going through the motions. It takes considerable energy to
play music as hyper-bouncy as this, night after night, and really mean it.
"Naked in the City Again" sounded grand, however, as circular guitar riffs were cut with the more usual jagged ones. "Aveda"
eventually ditched its manic pulse for an enticingly sultry passage. But mostly, short, sharp bursts of anxious pop were dispensed until the quick
one-hit encore of "Bandages," the quartet's uber-catchy breakthrough song.
"Bandages" should have initiated quake-inducing bouncing down front, but instead it seemed a sweet burst of euphoria, and a moment already
past.
The French Kicks didn't know whether to be swooning pop stars or arty postpunks. The band intertwined the two, occasionally coming up with an
asymmetrical mix of melodicism and jerky tempo that stood up, rather than out.
Opener Ima Robot, featuring superstar session drummer Joey Waronker (Beck, REM), knew exactly what it wanted: attention. If the band's nihilistic
new wave set didn't get it, then its exit did. Embarrassingly, the "let's go nuts" finale nearly turned nasty when Waronker sent
his kit north and south, accidentally hurling a stand toward the audience. Bodily damage was averted only thanks to a quick catch. The Sox
would've been proud. |
