Review and Photos – Hot Chip DJ Set at the Hollywood Theatre, Vancouver, Mar 30 2024
The energy at the Hollywood Theatre was buzzing as local Vancouver DJ, Mr. Stee, opened the night with a selection of tunes that people couldn’t resist dancing to. From the classic French dance number “Naturalmente” from Fafa de Belem to the electrifying beats of Danny Tenaglia’s “Move That Body.” After the crowd was properly primed, Felix Martin of Hot Chip fame started his signature DJ set.
Martin is the 5th member of Hot Chip, joining the band in 2004. He is known for his skills on the synthesizer and for programming on the group’s iconic tracks. Those in the crowd who were expecting him to play mostly Hot Chip songs were in for a different treat as Martin used the stage to dive deep into the realms of house music. He sprinkled in some great remixes to Hot Chip’s tunes throughout the set, putting a different spin on the classics most everyone in the room knew and loved.
Martin transitioned seamlessly between tracks, with sounds ranging from laid-back, deep house vibes to pulse-heightening tech house that got everyone moving. One highlight was when Martin and the crowd raised their fists to “Be Somebody” by Felix Leiter, a remix of Jesse Jackson’s black power speech from 1972. The crowd shouted along: “I AM …I AM SOMEBODY …SOMEBODY”.
The 59-year-old let the music do the talking throughout the show and focused on blending the tracks into one another to just let everyone dance. Some more repetitive tracks may have gone on a bit too long and brought some of the built-up momentum down, but just as the crowd was about to stop moving, Martin brought the energy up again with another dance track.
Most of the crowd loved the set, so much so that a group near the front started to throw their shirts on stage, much to the amusement of the rest of the audience. It garnered the attention of Martin who took one of their phones and started to film the crowd and the inner workings of his DJ equipment. Just after 2 am, as everyone had expended all their weekend energy, Martin ended the set with a smile and Hot Chip’s “Flutes (Sasha Remix)”.
Overall, it was a fun and varied DJ set with an eclectic blend of house music with great remixes to some classics. It wasn’t perfect, but the highs vastly outweighed some of the misses. Not the type of show to get an encore, the crowd dispersed into the night, their spirits lifted and their hearts still pulsating with the rhythm of the music.
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