Metro Weekly

Hot Chip to jumpstart the weekend at Echostage

And Victor Calderone to Keep It Going at U Street Music Hall

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Hot Chip

Is it the weekend yet? Well, we’re certainly ready for the floor, to paraphrase an early hit from one of today’s leading dance-pop acts out of the U.K. And this Friday, June 5, that band, Hot Chip, returns for what’s become a nearly annual D.C. concert, this time as part of a tour for the group’s sixth, amusingly titled set, Why Make Sense? Over the past decade, the band has made its name with music clearly influenced by the Pet Shop Boys, though generally quirkier and looser. The emphasis is producing tunes that are both fun and funny. With five active members, who regularly tour with additional musicians, the Hot Chip collective can’t help but be a lively presence in concert, and the proof of concept is the fact that IMP Productions, the area’s leading concert presenter, keeps bringing the group back to the area summer after summer. After selling out a multi-night run at the 9:30 Club last year, Hot Chip stops by Echostage for a concert also featuring fellow Londoner Ahmed Abdullah Gallab, better known as the up-and-coming funk-pop act Sinkane.

But your night won’t have to end when Hot Chip dims its “Huarache Lights” — however late that might be. That night also brings the return to D.C. of one of New York’s longest-running and most-popular DJs. Victor Calderone doesn’t really play for predominantly gay crowds in big warehouse venues as he did a decade ago — but “the boys still come out for me,” he told us last year before his debut at U Street Music Hall. The celebrated subterranean club has invited Calderone back next weekend to spin his style of techy, deep house tracks for a third time. “I enjoy the smaller rooms. When you have that intimacy, and you’re close to your audience, it’s quicker to build a vibe. It can really turn out to be a special night.”

Hot Chip are Friday, June 5, at 7 p.m. Echostage, 2135 Queens Chapel Rd. NE. Tickets are $45. Call 202-503-2330 or visit echostage.com.

Victor Calderone is Friday, June 5, at 10 p.m. U Street Music Hall, 1115A U St. NW. Tickets are $12. Call 202-588-1880 or visit ustreetmusichall.com.

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