Hippo Campus at First Avenue, Minneapolis (12 Mar 2017)
Taking a brief break from their West Coast tour, local rising stars Hippo Campus played a two-night sold-out residency at the historic First Avenue mainroom over the weekend. We caught the band on the second night (March 12th).
Hippo Campus Setlist
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Sun VeinsTour Dates
03/15/17 Austin, TX Empire Control Room & Garage
03/16/17 Austin, TX Blackheart Bar
03/16/17 Austin, TX The Mohawk Patio
03/17/17 Austin, TX Austin Convention Center
03/17/17 Austin, TX Bar 96
03/18/17 Austin, TX Waterloo Records
03/22/17 Nashville, TN Basement East
03/23/17 Atlanta, GA Masquerade
03/24/17 Charlotte, NC Visulite Theatre
03/25/17 Carrboro, NC Cat’s Cradle
03/28/17 Philadelphia, PA Union Transfer
03/29/17 Washington, DC Black Cat
03/31/17 New York, NY Irving Plaza
04/01/17 Boston, MA Paradise Rock Club
04/03/17 Toronto, ON Horseshoe Tavern
04/04/17 Ferndale, MI The Loving Touch
04/06/17 Columbus, OH Newport Music Hall
04/07/17 Chicago, IL Metro / Smart Bar
04/08/17 Madison, WI Majestic Theatre
05/28/17 BottleRock Napa Valley
06/08/17 Bonnaroo Music
10/03/17 Berlin, Germany Privatclub
10/04/17 Amsterdam, Bitterzoet
10/06/17 Brussels, Belgium AB Club
10/07/17 Paris, France Les Etoiles
10/09/17 Bristol, Bristol Fleece
10/10/17 Nottingham, Rescue Rooms
10/12/17 London, Koko
10/13/17 Manchester, Gorilla
10/14/17 Glasgow, G2
10/15/17 Glasgow, O2 Academy
Opening up the show was Florida’s Magic City Hippies…. in for a treat with the snowstorm outside.
Normally a trio (Robby Hunter, Pat Howard, John Coughlin), the Miami-based band was expanded to a five-piece with a keyboardist and additional guitarist. This was the band’s first national tour, and they were super excited to be billed with Hippo Campus.
Although they’re described as “indie-funk”, at times they felt like a jam band playing songs from their latest Heart Wants album. The songs mixes in hip-hop, ska, funk, rap (for ‘Fire’), and R&B.
Singer Robby Hunter “rocked so hard” that he broke a guitar string prior to playing their set closer, ‘Bull Ride’.
The buzz for Hippo Campus at their homecoming show was simply amazing. As soon as the band took the stage, a hundred cellphones went up in the air to record every moment of the band. The audience was generally young teenagers, but that is expected for a semi-rare all-ages weekend show at First Avenue.
The last time we saw Hippo Campus, they were definitely one of the key attractions to Rock the Garden 2016. Their RTG 50-min set “wowed the many in the crowd who were there to see them play a danceable mix of familiar and some yet-to-be-released songs.” Some of those preview songs are now available on their debut record landmark (Grand Jury Records).
With critical acclaims from NPR’s Bob Boilen, Noisey, NYLON, Paste, BBC Radio 1’s Annie Mac, Consequence of Sound, AV Club, Alternative Press, etc., the record proved to be one of the hottest debut from this local Minneapolis band. We’re proud to see that the BJ Burton-produced LP landed #1 New Alternative, #2 Heatseekers and #6 Current Alternative.
Now, currently on tour to promote the album, expect Hippo Campus’ profile to go even higher (especially when they land in Austin, Texas, for the popular annual SXSW Music Festival).
Since the band was filming and recording both nights (possibly for music videos or future live album), the band had little to say between songs… concentrating on playing a well-paced show. The lights were over-the-top saturated and colorful, while the fog machine was in overdrive for the special filming. The fans in front, who were often dancing, absolutely loved the light show.
As expected, the band’s set was landmark heavy, starting with ‘Sun Veins’ and ‘Way It Goes’ and filling in with middle (a block of ‘Western Kids’, ‘Poems’, ‘Monsoon’, ‘Simple Season’, and ‘Vines’) and ending with another block (‘Boyish’, ‘Interlude’, and ‘Buttercup’). The ended strong with favorites ‘Violet’ and double-song encore of ‘South’ and ‘Sula’.
After the show, we spotted about 20 fans waiting outside the venue to get autographs from the band. We don’t typically see so many fans asking for autographs for local bands.
Hippo Campus’ landmark is out now on Grand Jury. Come check out one of the hottest bands right now at one of their upcoming shows.
