Hippo Campus at the Neptune

Most openers are met with mixed reviews, grumbles, and “When is the ACTUAL show starting”s. Now, Now (Also, from the Minneapolis area), the opener, was an exception Thursday night. The band reminded me of a pop-y-er, safer Paramore. Many of the vocal performances were solid, but the only songs I really gravitated towards was their performances of “Yours” and “MJ” off their new album, Saved.

They received a positive vibe from the attendees consistently through their set. This led to the band’s drummer in a addition to the lead vocalist, Cacie Dalager to constantly thank the audience for the support. At one point, the band repeated the same “Thank you so much for your support Seattle” schpeal after finishing 4 songs, four separate times. The over-thanking from the band was sweet, but took away a lot of momentum of the set itself, leaving an awkward taste in my mouth.

At around 9:15pm, Hippocampus came on. To preface this, I myself, do not listen to much Hippocampus. My friend Hanna on the other hand, is a huge fan. During the show, standing within the sea of die hard fans, the energy and excitement was unavoidable. At one point, someone in the front row started blowing bubbles at the band, dedication. While Hippo Campus’ set was mostly off their new album, Bambi, which I’m a fan of, it seemed as if they played it safe with how they presented it to their audience. Much of the set embodied their classic bubbly, light hearted vibe persona that they’ve been popular for. Their new album resembled somewhat of a change of pace with more grit and synth/electronic usage - their performance of songs on Bambi seemed to come up short of the experimental studio recordings.

That being said, Hippo Campus’ second night in Seattle was a total success. Performances such as “Suicide Saturday” and “South” carried the set along and made it worth the while.

Hippo Campus 2/7/19 Preview

Hippo Campus, an indie band out of St. Paul, Minnesota, is back in Seattle on their Bambi tour – this being their second performance in roughly the last year. Within the past year year or so, Hippo Campus has generated some waves in the indie scene: being named one of NPRs favorite new artists and accumulating over twenty seven million listens on their top hit “Way It Goes.” Hippo Campus is best known for its optimistic melodies and sunny hooks that have captivated an incredibly dedicated, majority female fanbase (my coworkers are in love). 

This time around, the band is promoting and performing their new album Bambi. Their second studio album has signified a fork in the road for the band’s style. In an interview with Billboard magazine, guitarist Nathan Stocker recalled a conversation with their producer where,  “BJ asked us, ‘Do you want to make another Hippo Campus record? Or do you want to make a record under the name Hippo Campus?’” They did just that – departing from their traditional sound and including a more expansive use of synths, and harsher vocal performances as seen on “Bubbles” off of the new album, Bambi. Other songs that I enjoy off the new album include “Mistakes” and “Passenger.”

Hippo Campus will be performing two shows in Seattle next week on February 6th and February 7th at the Neptune right here in the University District.