Following on from a triumphant set to all the punters at Falls Festival
Following on from a triumphant set to all the punters at Falls Festival (Hi Jaymz!), Hot Hot Heat returned to The Corner in the hope of living up to past tours. But this was the Monday after NYE, and the lack of a recent Triple J hit had the venue offering 2-for-1 ticket deals, crushing any tight arses who had bought theirs months ago. The place would either be half-full without any atmosphere, or half-empty with plenty of room for swing dancing, depending on your Zen outlook and fondness for Royal Crown Revue.
Nevertheless, the extra elbow room and easy bar access was enjoyed by all, and the band clearly didn’t give a shit about holiday ticket sales and put on an exceptional show. Front man Steve Bays remarked at the excited state of the crowd at one point: "We’d heard that Melbourne is the city of the folded arms, much like our hometown of Vancouver BC", before adding with a delicious front-handed compliment "…but I guess it depends on the show." Take that, all other inferior bands!
He more than lived up to his electric reputation and not just because his Jheri curls resemble the result of a hairdryer fight in a bathtub. Even the Kurt Cobain/Chad Channing look-alike guitarist put in 110%, albeit displaying definite shortsightedness; in between copping invisible BJs from the less-than-outstanding front row babes (and dudes), he repeatedly sauntered up to their new bassist for face-to-face rock offs.
During the encore, drummer Paul Hawley stepped away from flailing around the kit for a moment to express his love for Melbourne and invite the crowd to party afterwards, even pointing to the area of the bar he’ll be propping up. Bays later sermonised in between hit-after-dancefloor-hit that the "number one goal in playing in a band is to not be surrounded by bullshit, and there’s no bullshit in this room. If it seems like were having a good time, it’s ’cause we are." In hindsight all this "We Love Your Town" gushing can come across as forced and lame, but Hot Hot Heat are terrific performers and/or actors. Their passionate delivery (+ alcohol) clearly inhibited our ability to recognise we were being sweet talked into submission, but I forgive easily.
Every track you would’ve wanted to hear was played with ferocity – Future Breeds‘ Goddess On The Prairie and 21 @ 12,Happiness LTD‘s stand out Let Me In, plus Elevator‘s Goodnight, Goodnight and Middle Of Nowhere. Even Make Up The Breakdown‘s Bandages and Talk To Me were attacked with a passion that belies these songs’ nine year age. It was a dynamite performance from a group who are back with something to prove.
BY NICK HILTON
