hot chip was great again, in case you were wondering. they turn some of the softer stuff from the album into major pounding dancey fun in the live show, i tell you what. some of the new songs are killer, too. definitely picking that up when it comes out, which they say won’t be til next year.

the opening acts, however, were like knives in my ear holes. the first band, the boggs, were just really mediocre guitar rock with some yelling and clapping and stuff, but at least got slightly better toward the end of their set.

the middle act, planningtorock (even their name is grating), was literally the worst live act i have ever seen. i didn’t like the boggs, they bored me. but at least i didn’t want to leave just to save myself from the torment of listening to them. i’ve not liked lots of opening bands, but watching this band actively depressed me. check out this planningtorock live clip and you might get some sense of how every minute of this act just made me angrier and angrier. who sees something like this and says, ‘yes! i should fund this brilliant artist and find ways to spread the joy of her talents as far and wide as possible!’. i can’t comprehend the person who is a planningtorock fan. i’ve never wanted to boo at a performer so badly in all my years of concertgoing. wailing loud non-words and spazzing around in funny hats in front of shitty faux-artsy video footage does not make you talented. it makes you an awful, attention starved annoyance that stands between me and a good band, and verges on ruining my night.

whew. sorry, i just had to get that off my chest. seriously, so so bad. to not end on such a sour note, please enjoy a fun hot chip video for ‘over and over’, a song which i already liked but which once you see live you will absolutely lose your shit over. that little scrawny singer is so adorable when he dances!