Athlete/ Hot Chip, Folkestone Leas Cliff Hall, Thursday August 19th 2004
By Natalie Bradbury
When an unlikely looking four piece ambled onstage to support Athlete, the audience were left wondering: were they the blokes from next door and across the road you hardly ever saw (probably because they stayed in all day playing computer games), colleagues from NASA or an exciting new band who were clearly a chip off the old New Order and Pet Shop Boys block? After the first support act, Saint Rose, had enough power chords to fill a Coldplay sized stadium, it was a relief to find that the next band was Hot Chip, who were in fact all of the above: I’d stay in all day if I could make a keyboard sound like they did, the music was so captivating it could have come from outer space (and not just because it was evocative of the Clangers!) and this was the best band I’ve seen for ages which managed to combine New Order style atmospheric dance and Primal Scream euphoric anthemic moments with a percussion section that contained a cow bell, pineapple and hand claps. Four men with keyboards may not sound very fun to watch, but Hot Chip had clearly learned their lessons well from Kraftwerk and Daft Punk and engaged in some robotic dancing in addition to presenting a varied set of great songs.
Headliners, South London’s Athlete had a lot to live up to, but gave us quirky, jaunty indie that was good for what it is - straightforward sing along pop. Athlete are a lot better live than on their shambolic album Vehicles and Animals, and there were some genuinely beautiful moments during songs such as the acoustic "Tours" and "Beautiful", which set the innocent, celebratory tone of the entire gig.
Athlete don’t sound like any other band around at the moment (something proclaimed on the single "Westside"), although like the legendary Super Furry Animals they make music that manages to be weird but just about listenable. Catchy songs like "El Salvador" were popular, but the highlight of the gig for most was the rendition of the single "Dungeness", written about a local beauty spot that’s like another planet and inhabited by only a power station and a few little huts where reclusive artists live - this was apt, as Athlete are similarly only likely to be appreciated by a cult audience. As Athlete’s singer said himself to an audience member claiming to be from Dungeness: "You’re probably the first person I’ve seen from Dungeness, I didn’t actually see any people there, it’s a weird and beautiful place." This seemed a good way of summing up the whole gig.
Picture from http://www.virginradio.co.uk/music/artists/athlete/