Live Review: Hippo Campus at The Academy

Hippo Campus delivered an outstanding show on Tuesday night at The Academy’s Green Room.

The five-piece band walked on stage to a rush of applause and cheering from the sold-out crowd, exuding an infectious energy before their performance even began.

The indie-rock band from St. Paul, Minnesota, kicked off their 18-song set with the lead single and titular track of their sophomore album, Bambi, followed by ‘Golden’ and ‘Way It Goes’ from their 2017 album Landmark.

The band, comprised of Jake Luppen (lead vocals, guitar), Nathan Stocker (lead guitar, vocals), Zach Sutton (bass, keyboard), and Whistler Allen (drummer,vocals) showcased a mix of layered, melodic vocals and complex instrumentals throughout the night, with more than a few beautiful brass solos from de facto member DeCarlo Jackson (trumpet, percussion, bass).

Dressed casually in t-shirts and jeans with a mix of worn-in runners, Jake, Nathan and Zach led the show, gushing cool vibes as they danced around the small stage. Feeding off their passion, the audience blithely danced and sang along from beginning to end.

The music completely enveloped the intimate venue, with crooning vocals and clean instrumentals permeating the room as they played ‘Poems’, a vibey track from Landmark featuring waning, emphatic guitar solos and piercing harmonies.

One of many highlights came in between songs, as a chocolate birthday cake - complete with candles - was brought on stage for Zach, who turned 23 on the day of the Dublin show.

"Hello y'all, welcome… Welcome to Zach’s birthday party" Jake said, before the crowd burst into a rendition of happy birthday for the bassist as he blew out the flames.

After the animated instrumental track, ‘Interlude’, the band smoothly transitioned into the summery ‘South’ and slower ‘Simple Season’, before a performance of ‘No Pomegranates’ - the temporary name for an unreleased track the band has regularly performed during this tour.

Interchanging blue, purple, pink and green lights paired with a soft stream of fog created a dreamlike atmosphere in The Green Room, emblematic of the shift toward ambient music in Hippo Campus’s newest album, which was released last September.

Juxtaposing their usual busting, buzzing snares and drums, the band played songs from Bambi that strike a rather poignant chord, like ‘Why Even Try’, a sensitive track focused on a failing relationship, which features the lyrics, ‘It's all cyclical, so why even try? / why even try to change?’

Jumping back into their more upbeat songs, the band played ‘Bubbles’, a track laden with hypnotic electronic beats, as strobe lights flashed over the audience.

Jake acknowledged the crowd, saying, “Thanks for coming,” before diving into a performance of the fan-favourite, head-banger ‘Suicide Saturday’, one of the first songs that put them on the map back in 2015.

Hippo Campus finished their set with a zealous performance of ‘Violet’ as the crowd jumped along with their hands in the air. After a few minutes of the crowd ardently shouting for “one more tune”, the band returned to the stage to perform ‘Buttercup’, one of their most popular and lively anthems.

The entire crowd’s energy was amplified during the song’s bridge, as Nathan delivered hard-hitting vocals in the form of the lyrics, “I’ll be fine, I’m all right, it’s my body / Gonna stick to my guns like you taught me,” as Jake danced around on stage without a shirt on, yelling out, “You’re all fucking great, thank you!”