What could be better than listening to Hippo Campus with the smell of aloo tikki from the Diwali celebration upstairs filling your nostrils? Well, after experiencing that first hand, I'm afraid it's all downhill from here.
Hippo Campus is on tour after the release of their second album, Landmark. I drove up to Indy for concert, which was held in the Egyptian Room of the Old National Center. The show wasn't too crowded and wasn't too rowdy either. Opening for Hippo Campus was a band I had never heard of until the day of the concert: Remo Drive. Easily compared to Modern Baseball or The Front Bottoms in sound, the midwest-emo vibe of the band was a bit too much for the chill summer-y sounds of Hippo Campus. While I felt that HC could've been better complimented by a different band, Remo Drive was really cool to listen to, especially for a The Front Bottoms fanatic like myself, who enjoys a bit of whine in her vocals.
Hippo Campus opened with "Way It Goes", which was an amazing start to the show as it produced a chorus of "that's the way it goes" from the crowd. They stayed strong with a lot of songs from their Bashful Creatures EP, songs from Landmark, and their new singles. Overall Hippo Campus is a great live show to see. They don't play the exact album versions of all their songs, making it interesting to listen and enjoy. I think I fall in love with the songs and members all over again every time I see them (which is actually only twice now).
On the downside, the Old National's Egyptian room was quite a strange venue for a concert of this size. The room is a lot wider than it is long, so there were a lot of people crowded near the stage, but then it kind of fizzled out towards the back. I think a smaller room or venue would have suited them better, although in the Egyptian room, pretty much everyone gets a good view. That is of course, unless you're stuck behind a giant column that blocks out a band member or two.
Also pro tip: don't stand in the front center if you are well over six foot tall.
