Hot Water Music began their set at the 930 Club Wednesday night by meandering into “Position” with a creaky flourish that sounded like vintage Neil Young and Crazy Horse. The Gainesville, Florida quartet exploded into a fast and dense guitar frenzy shortly after that intro, however, and rarely altered that gallop for the duration of a challenging 50 minute set.
Bassist Jason Black asked the crowd if they were having fun at one point during the show, but it seemed a cursory gesture: HWM played with a grim-faced intensity that left little room for merriment. Guitarists and duel lead singers Chuck Ragan and Chris Wollard flung themselves about the stage while trading howls on songs like “Remedy” and “Free Radio Gainesville”, which burrowed ahead on anguished, minor key melodies.
Curiously, the crowd reacted cooly to Hot Water Music’s emotional surges. Whether it was the drain of witnessing the loud and intense declamations of three punk-derived opening acts, or the unfamiliarity of new songs like the cathartic “I Was On A Mountain” ----the band’s latest album, “Caution”, was only released Tuesday--- the audience was considerably thinned by set’s end. It hardly seemed to affect the band, though, who gave the impression that they would shout, jump and grimace just as hard if they were playing in a basement with just a, well, hot water heater to hear them.
Washington Post, 2002
