Hot Hot Heat / Tegan and Sara / Sauna West
Nighttown, Rotterdam
10/05/03
Downstairs in Nighttown is pretty snug place really. Definitely not a space of architectural thrills but it’s simple, cosy and loud. Ain’t that enough? Venues throughout Holland may fill slowly but the DJ alone was providing an indie rock disco good enough to get people in the mood for some upbeat live music.
When things did get underway it was a bit confusing though. “That’s not Tegan and Sara! What the hell is this? Are we in the right room?” It transpired that Rotterdammers, Sauna West were a surprise addition to the bill and it quickly became clear that this wasn’t like finding a new BMX waiting for you under the Christmas tree.
Nope! In fact, without wishing to linger on it for too long, their performance was verging on offensive to me. Sure, they had a sense of humour and they gave people something to laugh at. I guess I am simply old fashioned and I expect bands being given high profile support slots to be able to play their instruments and keep time. Thankfully Tegan and Sara came along to pick things back out of the gutter soon after.
Put simply, they are two Canadian girls – one called Tegan, another called Sara unsurprisingly, completed by a bassist (Chris) and drummer (Rob). Somewhat of an unknown quantity in Europe generally apart from a brief foray over this way supporting Bryan Adams. Perhaps not the most credible thing to have marked on a CV but how many young musicians can afford to turn down stadium opportunities?
If they aren’t happy playing to a smaller audience than they’re used to back home it doesn’t show though. It was a reasonably enthusiastic performance with one taking up acoustic duties the other on guard with electric (though the roles are interchangeable throughout). The setlist mainly belonged to latest album If It Was You, their main point of promotion. “Monday Monday Monday”, “You Went Away” and “I Hear Noises” all providing bursts of poppy rock.
To be perfectly honest, I was a tad unsure of them on record after one listen but in the live arena they were much more fun and even convinced me that the girls aren’t as lyrically naïve as I was first worried about.
“Time Running” closed their slot confidently and is without doubt one of their strongest songs. It was a well balanced set, showed off their talent and they won over one cynical person right here. Now I know what songs I want to be hearing in the car this summer.
Hot Hot Heat was the real Canadian headliners of the night though and not wanting to be outdone in the rock stakes. They played their cards on the table from the beginning and went full force into jump around mode after riding the crest of a wave throughout the UK with radio and TV success.
It isn’t always so simple in the Netherlands though. The buzz hasn’t picked up as fast and if anything a lot of people simply came along based on rumours rather than knowing the music first hand. The knock on effect was to make the band a little uneasy because if people aren’t dancing and cheering then they don’t like you surely. As I was saying, it’s never so clear-cut here.
Eventually the band did realize that the fans were only showing their appreciation in their own way and songs off of Make Up the Breakdown were strong enough to win over the majority. “Naked in the City Again” and “No, Not Now” highlight the pop potential of this band. They are simple yet irresistible tunes that make people want to dance. However, around half of the set was lifted from earlier albums and these were much more jagged and aggressive than what the newer fans expected. The voice of Steve Bays was even starting to sound abrasive and grating over those older songs, but to turn the point back to positive, this shows how much the band have improved with their new album.
Overall it was a lively performance despite the band being a little confused by the situation. When they play a song like “Bandages” everyone has fun though and the good definitely overpowered the bad on the night.
Steven McCarron
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