Hippo Campus at Armory
Setlist
Tour Dates
05/06 - Manchester - Academy 3
05/08 - Glasgow - G2 05/09 - London - The Garage 05/10 - Antwerp, BE - Trix Bar 05/11 - Cologne, DE - Jaki 05/13 - Amsterdam, NL - Bitterzoet Read More
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And so they were, the hometown band, making a stop, midway through their tour to promote their aptly named studio album, LP3.
Quite a spot to land, The Armory, a venue that can hold close to 8,000. A pretty big jump from the concert We Heart Music covered at First Ave in 2017. But this band of schoolmates (Jake Luppen (lead vocals/guitar), Nathan Stocker (lead guitar/vocals), Zach Sutton (bass/keyboard), and Whistler Isaiah Allen (drums/vocals) has been on a steady ascent since graduating from the Saint Paul Conservatory for Performing Arts and releasing a self-assured single/music video Little Grace in 2014.
Right from the start there were those bright, warm, interlocking chords, seeming to overcome the cold and snow. Breezy, ethereal, it was the kind of pop music to propel you, as you drive, windows down, through a frozen landscape.
Opening act, Ginger Root, making their 19th and final appearance with Hippo Campus, share the same creative spirit as their lead, even accepting the request from Hippo Campus’ guitar tech to join them on stage for the song Loretta, a song Kai had learned over the first leg of the tour.
Then Hippo Campus took the stage with a brash, auto-tune-anthem, 2 Young 2 Die, and then proceeded to enliven the hometown crowd.
Nathan remarked that they have been a band for eight years, which maybe forty in pop years. And even with the two-year pandemic layoff, there was no rust as they played through an extensive and impressive catalogue.
For being in a space the size of an airport hanger, the band’s sound was lush, tight and popping. The crowd was with them from the beginning, joining in on Suicide Saturday, even taking over the refrain at the end of the song.
DeCarlo Jackson, who joined the group in 2017, was a fan favorite with his laidback flugelhorn solos, especially on Sex Tape, as he sailed above the rollicking skip of the guitars like a cool ocean breeze.
For a time The Armory was the home court for the Minneapolis Lakers before they moved onto Los Angeles. Opposing players would often complain of getting shin splints from the rock-hard floors. That’s why I was surprised when the floor seemed to have some bounce when the crowd started jumping up and down to the jubilant South.
Earlier, when slipping my belt back on, after passing thorough security, I noticed a headline from a 1964 Minneapolis Sunday Tribune newspaper in a display case: THE BEATLES BOMBED IN MINNEAPOLIS. The article stated that only 400 fans showed up to The Armory concert. No such nosedive would happen to Hippo Campus with their sold out show.
“So good to be back home,” said Jake to the crowd. “The best day of my life!” It wasn’t hyperbole. There was a feeling that this concert was a celebration of a venture that started at Seventh Street Entry and culminated earlier that day with the highest form of recognition bestowed on a local band: Their name on the fabled First Avenue wall.
dave ♥ weheartmusic.com ♥ twitter.com |
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