Oppenheimer & Hot Chip @ SS Seaport 7/4/06: Hot Chick

Hot time, summer in the city huh? Despite the heat Friday night, masses of hipsters filled out the South Street Seaport for a free show by new kids on the blog, Oppenheimer and buzz band Hot Chip. I sauntered into the Seaport a little after 7pm and caught most of Oppenheimer's show. The band has a definite Air-esque quality to them. I liked it a lot. Being that they are Irish (even if it is Northern Irish), and the Irish love to talk, lead singer Shaun chatted up the audience and very endearingly told us all about each song. Like little children sitting down for story-time, from the front to the back, hipsters sat patiently Indian style and listened.



A friend of mine nudged me as a sweaty hipster equipped with a huge camera made his way damply through my group. "Why do all hipsters have to smell?"


Friday night was my first Hot Chip experience. If they cut out their slow songs (like 'Colours') this would have been a near perfect set. It was just too hot to stand there sweating through mundane tunes. And though Hot Chip may not have much variety, I thoroughly enjoyed their music. From the start, they had me dancing. Their songs are well crafted and fun. Perfect for djing, and I suppose that is where I heard the song 'Over and Over' because I could have swore before the show that I didn't know any of their stuff.


A note on the River to River shows: They are great but I have a question, what's up with the Brits? We all love Belle and Sebastian, Hot Chip are great, but would it not seem a bit more appropriate for the concert series to be filled with New Yorkers? Lord knows there are enough NYC bands knocking about that people would flock to see. Just a thought.