the best of today plays the best of yesterday to a packed Oxjam

Following from a number of successful charity gigs, Oxjam returned to the Dalston Oxfam shop in East London on a wet autumn evening. This time round saw indie/electro rockers Hot Chip step up to the wheels of steel alongside some of their best friends including electronic producers Four Tet and Simian Mobile Disco together with side project The 2 Bears, all in the pursuit of raising money and awareness for Oxfam and putting on a good show.

In keeping with previous years, the venue itself is an Oxfam shop that had been transformed into a record lover's paradise, with a great collection of vinyl and CDs supplied from local shops to tempt people into a quick purchase whilst they took in the show. Most notably a number of records and promo materials had been signed and donated by the artists themselves to help out, which ensured that attendees were able to get hold of some unique items and support the cause. The vibe in the shop was really relaxed and it was nice to see Four Tet and members of Hot Chip wandering around the isles talking to people whilst checking out the vinyl racks for a bargain; something you really can only get in this kind of intimate setting.

As for music, this was started off by The 2 Bears, a logical choice as it is the side project of Hot Chip's Joe Goddard, and given the more eclectic mix of records found in a charity shop, this was reflected in their choice of records. Opting for a selection of old school hip hop, progressive house, disco funk and even dub mixed with drum and bass, their set was short and sweet and while most of the crowd were content to mill around the shop instead of get dancing, at least they had smiles on their faces. If anything, that opened up nicely for the following acts and set the mood: a mish-mash of different styles.

Moving on and the stage next saw Alexis, Owen and Felix of Hot Chip take over as headliners to start their set. Following briefly on from the previous acts' carnival inspired beats, this quickly degenerated into Dolly Parton's 9 to 5 followed by country singer Willie Nash and Salt N Pepa. These three records alone should give you an idea of the kind of mix Hot Chip had in store; lots of old records that you would expect to find in a charity shop but still had a bit of life in them - provided of course that you didn't take it all too seriously. Theirs was a nice mix of house, funk, disco and pretty much whatever else they could get their hands on and put together a great set that delighted and confused the crowd in equal measure at the varied and sometimes bizarre selections.

The same was pretty much true of Four Tet, a regular feature at Oxjam and frequent donator to the store, and later Simian Mobile Disco, who continued the disco vibe with their collection of retro tracks. Playing to a high standard, both certainly didn't disappoint and left the crowd wanting more as they were turfed out to the kerb.

All in all, the evening can be likened to a bunch of guys putting on a disco in your front room. The music is at times laughable and silly but catchy all the same and tinged with a bit of nostalgia. Above all, it was a really fun gig to be at and ultimately that's what you go to an Oxjam gig for.

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