Hot Hot Heat in Orlando at Hard Rock Live (July 13, 2005)

Reviewed by Julie Zerbib

An MTV taping is nothing more than forced emotion. An enthusiastic local radio DJ hired to encourage and initiate an atmosphere of genuine applause, is perhaps cause for alarm. As the cameras soar above the crowd's heads, back and forth and back again, twisting, desperate to catch each twitch and mannerism the lead singer makes, one feels a hollow sense of manipulation. However, as the disclaimer is read, the anticipation for the band to come out onstage is mounting. For an all ages show, there is a fair amount of preteens as well as twenty year olds who are as excited to see Hot Hot Heat as they are riding a roller coaster.
With no support band, Hot Hot Heat jumped onstage and went straight to the first song. They played old hits like "Bandages," and crowd favorites such as "Dance With Me, Talk With Me." As they shifted from songs on their freshman album, "Make Up The Breakdown," to their sophomore album, "Elevator," the audience sang along with lead singer, Steve Bayes, and danced. The highlight of the concert was "Middle of Nowehere," from "Elevator."

The cameras swooped in and out of the stage and onto the crowd, but even this provided no distraction from the band. All eyes were on Bayes as his hair moved in unison with his onstage pacing. Drummer, Paul Hawley is a shoe- in for Paul Banks.
Overall, Hot Hot Heat succumbed to the puns and were very Hot indeed. If one thing is certain, the band were sincere in an artificial atmosphere.

The show will be aired on MTV, August 17th.

Comment on this article on our message board here