Jeremy Frazier, who runs a blog at www.chicagojamscene.com, which places a partiuclar focus on local bands, shares this look one of his local favorites.
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Ultraviolet Hippopotamus, Founders Brewery, Grand Rapids, Michigan (8/28/10)
If you love live music and haven’t seen Ultraviolet Hippopotamus, I offer my sincerest condolences. Granted, aside from a jaunt out to Colorado/Montana earlier this year, they haven’t spread their love much outside the Midwest. But if you happen to live in the Midwest, you have undoubtedly taken notice that UV Hippo have made themselves a serious member of the new wave of homegrown jam music. Appearances at regional music festivals like Muncie Springfest, Summercamp, Rootwire, and Hoxeyville (and the upcoming Wuhnurth!) have made Midwest festivalgoers solid believers in the Hippo.
Fighting out of Grand Rapids, Michigan, UV Hippo has engineered an eclectic & otherwordly sound that defies genres and electrifies the partyin’ peeps. The band is led by Brian Samuels, a founding member of UV Hippo, who brings an infectious positive energy along with his dense thump of bass guitar sounds. Pounding out the rhythms are Joe Phillion on the skins and Casey Jones on auxiliary percussion instruments. Like most bands of their ilk, UV Hippo features two guitarists. But what separates Hippo is the fact that neither of them is the ‘lead guitarist.’ Sam Guidry and Russell James bring the heat with treacherous riffs, lightning-fast simultaneous finger tapping, and shred-heavy solos that would make any metalhead swell up with raw enthusiasm. Rounding out the group is the newest member, Dave Sanders. Even though he is the junior member, Sanders has really taken the reins of this band with his work on the keys, and most importantly, his Moog Little Phattie. The addition of Sanders to this band exponentially increased the electronic energy of the music and amplified the band’s already present songwriting prowess. His impact on the band is readily apparent when today’s shows are compared with live recordings taken during the pre-Sanders era. The result of this evolution is a sound that is undeniably intense & complex. They eagerly bend genres with fiery original tunes that slide easily into the emerging genre of ‘jamtronica’ and pump out incredible covers from the likes of Pink Floyd, Frank Zappa, Pink Floyd, and Umphrey’s McGee. This band is on a skyrocket trajectory indeed.
I left Chicago on a Saturday afternoon headed for Founders Brewery in Grand Rapids, Michigan. This was to be my first full, two-set UV Hippo show and my excitement level was through the roof. I only previously saw them perform festival sets and an opening set for the legendary Garaj Mahal in Evanston, Illinois in December 2009. Needless to say, the craving for a two-hour-plus Hippo show had been building for a while. We arrived to Founders early enough to catch a sound check of “Square Pegs, Round Holes”. I ordered a Red’s Rye and sampled the most intriguing item on the beer menu. Something called Devil Dancer called out to me with its intimidating advertisement of a 12% alcohol content. The barkeep hooked me up with a snifter and I threw it back eagerly, not expecting this potent elixir to taste more like a mixed drink than beer. It was strong— a little too strong for the night I was hoping to have. Nonetheless, by the time Hippo hit the stage Founders brew had me feeling right and I was ready to shred.
Sam Guidry’s got criminally insane guitar chops
The set began before I had even come in from the brewery’s outdoor deck. Although I didn’t recognize it, the first song had that Hippo electricity I crave. I was beyond stoked when they ripped into “Head In The Trees”. This is my favorite song from their album Songs For The Reaper and I had yet to hear it live. This version began just like the album cut with a heavy bassline from Samuels and a reggae-tinged energy. But it soon became apparent that Sanders had gotten his paws all over this song— despite not being on the studio recording— as the keys were now a prominent element of the song’s structure. Since the first time I heard this tune I thought it had the energy of a song written in the late 60s. A musical old soul, if you will. The lyrics are elevating, the instrumentation is ethereal, and the overall aesthetic of the tune makes it feel well aged. But before long on this night it took a sharp upwards turn in energy and the music took on an entirely new dimension. Sanders had jumped in on his Moog and sent the sound into orbit. This song got the already hyped crowd absolutely locked into the groove of the show.
Russell “The Love Muscle” James
The rest of the set was pretty much my dream list and included many of the songs I was hoping to hear. When a gentle storm of sound began brewing, I knew what song was coming. Hippo covers classic rock songs really, really well and their version of Pink Floyd’s “Welcome To The Machine” was no different. They treated this timeless song with the utmost respect but managed to add their own flavor to the mix as well. Of course Sanders had his fun with the strange electronic sounds, but it was Casey Jones’ auxiliary percussion that put this jam over the top. Right after the first build-up of lyrical energy, they unleashed a dance breakdown fueled by Jones’ sharp drumming. The beats added a jungle-esque energy that made the crowd go crazy. Hippo then found their way to an original song called “Running With Giants” that always brings an exuberant force. This song always feels like it breaks out into a full sprint. In addition, “Giants” has some of the most lighthearted energy of any Hippo tune. This song led the way for another cover and yet one more stellar homage to an original version when they destroyed Umphrey’s McGee’s “Nothing Too Fancy.” This is one of Umphrey’s most well-known & popular songs and one of their staple jams to get the crowd fired up. UV Hippo expertly cut this song nearly in half but retained all the power of the original. The instrumental hook was dialed in and the jam sections took on a life of their own. Russell James took the first lead section and shredded with hurricane force. When Sam Guidry took the next guitar jam section the sensation was like tossing a bucket of gas over a bonfire. This was an explosive stretch of music that had me dancing like a fiendish primate, so overcome with primal energy that I was thrashing around the dance floor. Hippo kept the song under 10 minutes, leaving out the large, meandering jam section UM always spins into a musical journey. Instead, they segued impressively into another of my favorite Hippo originals, “Cream Soda.” Just when I thought the energy in the room couldn’t have gotten any higher, they unleashed this monster of a song. To me, ”Cream Soda” is one UV Hippo’s cornerstone jams, similar to Widespread Panic’s “Chilly Water” or Umphrey’s McGee’s “Hurt Bird Bath”. This tune is nothing short of a sonic sledgehammer and this night’s performance was impeccable. Though it seemed the conclusion of the set arrived with the closing of “Cream Soda,” Founders gave Hippo an extra 30 minutes to continue the assault.
Dave Sanders is a madman on the Moog.
What happened next was perfectly indicative of Dave Sanders’ impact on Hippo’s sound. When faced with the prospect of more music time, what song do they break into? Is it a classic like “Two Pigs”? Is it a cover like “City of Tiny Lites”? Negative. The boys settled back in and busted right into a pair of songs with Sanders’ fingerprints all over the crime scene. “Dave’s New Tune (DNT)” > “The Scar” was the perfect demonstration of where the band’s comfort zone currently lies and how much they have embraced Sanders’ intense brand of songwriting. “DNT” was a like a nuclear warhead for my ears and “The Scar”, although a bit more laidback, was another song that didn’t give the hungry crowd a chance to even consider taking a break from dancing. The first set wrapped and I couldn’t stop beaming, despite the fact that I was a giant, sweaty mess.
A wizard on the skins, Joe Phillion.
The second set began just like the first set ended—with a heaving helping of Sanders. They lifted off with their newest song, “Verlander.” Just like the rest of Sanders’ tunes, ”Verlander” is as dangerous as a pile of gunpowder lying next to an oil fire. It’s volatile, shreddy, and filled with Moog madness. The onslaught of Sanders songs kept coming with a staple combo, “Square Pegs, Round Holes” > “Run Rabbit Run.” “Square Pegs” is a jovial song that is the musical equivalent of a shit-eating grin. “R3” reminds me a lot of “Giants” in that I feel like the sound takes breaks into a full gallop at times. It has a certain Eastern European/gypsy-esque vibe that forces me to change my whole dancing style and hop around like a dweeb. Joe Phillion put down some of his sharpest drumming of the night during “R3” and amazed me with how he changes gears so quickly. The guy is a machine. This song is one of my personal favorites of the new breed of Hippo jams and by the end I was totally lost in Jam Bliss. I was also beginning to feel pretty sauced up on Founders’ ultra-dank IPA—so this is where the set gets a little fuzzy.
Brian Samuels wears a grin like this the whole show
Not long after the ecstatic “R3” they threw down “Colonel Sanders Breakdown”. This instrumental jam has an out-of-the-box sound in comparison to much of the rest of Hippo’s catalog. Rest assured, it’s still set at a breakneck pace. But instead of finding myself approaching the limits of outer space, I’m smack dab in the middle of a rip-roaring barn party in Kentucky. When I looked around during this song the expression on people’s faces was one of pure delight. This song felt so good that it even brought some of the bums sitting at the bar up to dance with the rest of us animals in front of the stage. Many of the people who were lured out of their seats found themselves staying on the dance floor due to the massive amount of fun experienced when dancing at a UV Hippo show. It’s a good thing they did because Hippo brought out one of their secret weapons to end the show. The entire second set consisted of stuff I never would have predicted so I didn’t even bother to speculate on the encore song. Luckily, I couldn’t have hoped for a better song. Apparently they knew just exactly how to send their greased up & wooked out crowd into a frenzy—play some Grateful Dead! When those first few powerful notes of “Shakedown Street” burst into the air at Founders Brewery the largest uproar of the night was unleashed. Everyone was getting down. Brian Samuels’ vocals oozed exultant & comforting energy, fueling the crowd’s good vibrations. And yet again, Casey Jones pushed this song over the top with his boogie-inducing percussion. If you were in that room and at least one part of your body wasn’t jamming out you were probably in a coma. This “Shakedown Street” was the perfect way to close the show and sent everyone home with a giant grin & a comfortable ringing in their ears.
This show instantly became one of the very best I have seen in 2010. And it’s not as if I could possibly want to see these guys any more than I already do. But I honestly have to say that I’m going to try to attend UV Hippo shows as often as I can for the foreseeable future. If you love going to a concert to become enveloped by sound and to lose yourself on the dance floor, then you should do whatever you can to see Ultraviolet Hippopotamus. Don’t worry, if they keep pumping out shows like this they will be making their way to a festival near you very soon.
