HIPPO CAMPUS // G2 (VENUE), GLASGOW
HIPPO CAMPUS FINISH THEIR EUROPEAN TOUR IN GLASGOW
PICTURE CREDIT - RESCUE ROOMS
★★★★★
There was a buzz of excitement coming from the young crowd that was packed into the small G2 venue in Glasgow. A very large portion of that crowd came after the main and only support 'Toothless' and the venue filled up just ten minutes before they were due to play to watch what would be the Hippocampus' last gig of their European tour.
The four piece came on and went straight into playing 'Little Grace' under purple lights on a well lit stage. This bright and energetic track that was brilliantly received by the crowd, something the band appeared to be really pleased by. Right from the first track the band sounded exceptional with every harmony being perfectly in tune and every melody on time. The energy the members produced from the off was very commendable with every one of them seeming to really enjoy playing from the moment they struck their first chords. The band played through four songs before front man Jake Lupen began chatting to the crowd commenting on how good the atmosphere was. After this they played another three tracks with great energy before stopping to ask their sound tech the score in their hometown, Minnesota Vikings, team's NFL match. The vikings won which heightened the band's mood and they celebrated before they went into their next song, this showed the band's good light nature character whilst really entertaining the crowd.
They continued with more brilliant songs and excellent harmonies before moving onto a more relaxed song, Monsoon. This started to lose some of the crowds attention and people began chatting among themselves, this was noted and some incredible vocals managed to recapture the crowds attention and from there the band had full control of the audience. This was really apparent when a member of the crowd launched a bra right towards the front man who responded by laughing saying "ohhh nice, very nice" and proceeded to place it over his mic stand where it remained for the rest of the show. One negative point was the drummers energy, specifically the lack of it, he seemed somewhat disinterested and almost tired looking although his rhythms were still always spot on. This was the only negative point that can be said about their performance and the energy of the guitarist alone made up it, he was often seen bounding around the stage whilst still playing complex parts and he even jumped onto the kit further into the set. The bassist was much the same all be it with a tad less energy, both of the bassist and the guitarist provided some wonderful back up vocals which were excellently balanced by their touring sound tech. Having a sound tech that good really made a huge difference to the show although the lighting stayed the same throughout the whole show which was something that if improved could have potentially made the gig more immersive.
This was a gig where everyone was well aware time was running out so the crowd hung onto every last lyric and riff whilst they still could and the band gave it their all with the last three songs. The drummer actually came to life in the last song and looked really alive which was a shame as if he had begun the way he finished the show may have been more energetic. The crowd were gutted when Hippocampus left the stage which brought on the classic Scottish chant of "here we here we here we f**king go" to bring the band back for their final song. Hippocampus played the popular Violet as their final number for the night that had the G2 bouncing and begging for more.
As a way to end their tour this gig was brilliant and seemed to more than satisfy everyone in the building, evident from the happy atmosphere as everyone left the venue. It's safe to say that if Hippocampus announced another show everyone in that building would love to go back.
HIPPO CAMPUS'S TOUR CONTINUES:
Thur October 26th 2017 - BLOOMINGTON Castle Theatre
Fri October 27th 2017 - LOUISVILLE Headliners Music Hal
Sat October 28th 2017 - INDIANAPOLIS Deluxe, Old National Centre
Mon October 30th 2017 - FAYETTEVILLE George's Majestic Lounge
Tues October 31st 2017 - OKLAHOMA Acm@Uco Performance Lab
Thurs November 2nd 2017 - DALLAS Trees
Fri November 3rd 2017 - AUSTIN Mohaw
Sat November 4th 2017 - HOUSTON White Oak Music Hall
Mon November 6th 2017 - BIRMINGHAM Saturn
Tues November 7th 2017 - ATHENS 40 Watt Club
Thur November 9th 2017 - TALLAHASSEE Club Downunder, Florida State University
Fri November 10th 2017 - COCOA BEACH Rootfire at The Park 2017
Sat November 11th 2017 - GAINESVILLE High Drive
Mon November 13th 2017 - WASHINGTON, D.C 9:30 Club
Tues November 14th 2017 - CHARLOTTLESVILLE Jefferson Theater
Wed November 15th 2017 - MILLVALE Mr. Small's Theatre
Fri November 17th 2017 - DETROIT Magic Stick
Sat November 18th 2017 - CLEVELAND Beachland Ballroom
Sun November 19th 2017 - MILWAUKEE Turner Hall Ballroom
Sat November 25th 2017 - MINNEAPOLIS Fine Line Music Cafe
Tues January 16th 2018 - BOZEMAN Rialto Theatre
Thur January 18th 2018 - VANCOUVER The Imperial
Fri January 19th 2018 - SEATTLE Neptune Theatre
Sat January 20th 2018 - PORTLAND McMenamin's Crystal Ballroom
Mon January 22nd 2018 - SANTA CRUZ The Catalyst
Tue January 23rd 2018 - SAN FRANCISCO The Fillmore
Thur January 25th 2018 - SAN DIEGO House Of Blues
Fri January 26th 2018 - HOLLYWOOD Fonda Theatre
Sat January 27th 2018 - PHOENIX The Van Buren
Mon January 29th 2018 - SALT LAKE CITY The Complex
Wed January 31st 2018 - TREENGLEWOOD Gothic Theatre
Thur February 1st 2018 - LAWRENCE THE BOTTLENECK
Fri February 2nd 2018 - COLUMBIA The Blue Note
Tue February 6th 2018 - GRAND RAPIDS THE PYRAMID SCHEME
Wed February 7th 2018 - CINCINNATI 20th Century Theatre
Fri February 9th 2018 - MOHEGAN SUN Wolf Den
Sat February 10th 2018 - BROOKLYN Steel
Sun February 11th 2018 - PORTLAND Port City Music Hall
Tue February 13th 2018 - SOUTH BURLINGTON Ballroom
Wed February 14th 2018 - ALBANY Jupiter Hall
Fri February 16th 2018 - CHICAGO Vic Theatre
Sat February 17th 2018 - ST. PAUL Palace Theatre