Hot Flash Heat Wave: Concert Review

By Justis Hauser

Already having a pretty rough week with it being midterm season here at UConn, I’ve been looking forward to this show to forget about all the assignments and exams that I should be working on.

Running a bit late due to the show being in Boston and being quite hungry, My roommate, his girlfriend and I all arrived to Great Scott just in time to catch a few songs of the opening act.

I’ve listened to a few of Field Trip’s songs before thanks to spotify discover weekly constantly blessing me with new bands. Seeing them live made me realize I need to keep listening, as their live set puts you in dream-like state. One in which you want to be young and carefree.

The second act was a solo act known as BOYO. He usually has a full band, however, I overheard him talking to some fans that his band is from Australia and couldn’t get updated visas or something along those lines. His music is very mood-based, which normally I would say isn’t a good thing, but he pumps out a new LP/EP every 4-5 months it seems. So you can get a BOYO album for each one of your “moods”.

As for his performance, it was incredible how much energy he had for just being one guy with an SP-404. The whole crowd was into it from the second he started playing music to the second he got off stage. One song that really stuck out to me was “Cutscenes” off his album Dance Alone. The synth part in the song just makes you want to groove and move around. If you need something to listen to in between classes to stay in a good mood, I highly recommend checking out some BOYO.

When Hot Flash Heat Wave finally got on stage, the venue seemed to instantly fill up, but everybody had their own space. My first time seeing them I saw them open for Summer Salt at the Space and I enjoyed their performance more than I did of Summer Salt.

Their live set is absolutely incredible. I would describe their sound as post-punk psych pop. Each song making you want to move every bone in your body. Guitar hooks that capture what it is like to be laying on the beach and melodies that will get stuck in your head for weeks. They played a new song called “Head in the Clouds” off their newest EP titled “Mood Ring”. The synth part to this song is everything that you want to hear in a synth. Beautiful melodies hidden in between guitar riffs and light drums.

They ended their set with a song called “Blue”. Where their synth player ends up playing an accordion. It is one of the greatest ways I’ve seen anybody end a live set. The song itself sounds like if polka music had a child with psychedelic synth pop.

If you ever get the chance to see any of these bands, I highly recommend it. It is nothing but good energy and great songwriting. Especially with it being in a smaller venue, it made it that much more intimate. You can see each person dancing and into the music and there isn’t anything quite better than that.