I’m sure that the Sydney Opera House designer Jorn Utzon never foresaw the Concert Hall packed to the rafters with people standing and a mini mosh pit side stage.
This set the scene for the Sydney concert of English electronic dance band Hot Chip on Wednesday night in their first of two concerts for the Sydney Festival.
Thank God also for the recent acoustic design changes that have allowed this great hall to be as efficient at hosting rock, dance and jazz concerts at it has with the so-called more traditional musical arts in previous years.
The show openers, Melbourne’s Hailku Hands, head-up the 60 per cent capacity audience for a tight half-hour set, before an interval, after which the concert hall was suddenly packed waiting for the main act.
Hot Chip arrived and opened strongly with Devotion, which was met with crowd approval which were on their feet and stayed there for the rest of the show.
The most unassuming dance, electronic, disco and pop act imaginable, the six musicians on stage look like they are more likely to be going shopping at Woolies rather than giving a masterclass with a slew of club and streaming hits that now cover a 25-year career.
Through the duration of the show, titled Joy in Repetition after their recently released best of album featuring highlights from across their career.
With eight studio albums to choose from this is a real smorgasbord to choose from and shows the trajectory of just how far they have come since their DIY beginnings as a bedroom recording act consisting of Alex Taylor and Joe Goddard.
Adding drummer Rob Smoughton (now mostly a recording member), and later Owen Clarke, Al Doyle and Felix Martin, they have since gone into collaborations with David Byrne, Robert Wyatt, Jarvis Cocker and Brian Eno, while also becoming festival favourites around the world.
After Huarache Lights, Night and Day, by the time Hot Chip reached Ready for the Floor, an early hit, they had the audience near exhaustion from standing and moving in time with the incessant beats.
All of what was happening with samples, beats, tasty guitar work and layered vocals, the concert also kicked up a notch with an inventive light show that relied mostly on whites, with backdrops of multi-coloured tiles, and a brilliant moment when the ceiling was awash with a gossamer apricot veil.
When the obligatory end of show came around the audience made sure that the band returned for a three-song encore which included Melody of Love.
Like an Eton mess, Hot Chip have become a great English institution and the audience can’t get enough of them.
Hot Chip
Concert Hall – Sydney Opera House, Bennelong Point, Sydney
Performance: Wednesday 14 January 2026
Hot Chip will also present a second show at the Sydney Opera House tonight (Thursday 15 January). For more information, visit: www.sydneyfestival.org.au for details.
Image: Hot Chip – courtesy of Sydney Festival
Review: John Moyle