My first concert at First Avenue, one of my favorite bands, with some of my best friends. I had pretty high expectations for the night. I was trying to huddle up in a penguin like group with student’s Tori Everson and Paul Sandford, but we were still freezing and they weren’t too keen on the whole penguin idea. We tried to ignore the cold while waiting for the doors to open but my uncontrollable shivering led to a man offering me some tea telling me he observed how cold I was. I was hesitant at first but he reassured me by telling me he was the father of Nathan Stocker, the guitarist for Hippo Campus, and appreciated me supporting his son. The cold just got a lot warmer and “Minnesota nice” has never been so relevant.

We rushed inside trying to get a good spot and by the end of the hour long wait for the opening act, everyone was practically hugging. The Magic City Hippies was a pleasant surprise for me, not being too familiar with their music, they played some of their popular indie songs and also played some funky slow songs. The crowd loved the opening act and that’s nothing compared to their excitement about the main event.

Hippo Campus finally came out and exceeded my expectations. I’m a bit biased because I think they’re fantastic but that’s arguably a fact. Hippo Campus is at a point where they are experimenting with their sound and it’s paying off. They played some of their old favorites that everyone could sing word for word. Then they played some songs off of their new album, Landmark, and the crowd knew every word off of that album too, of course.

The guys rocked some of my favorites, Buttercup and Way It Goes, turning the crowd into their newest backup singers and a moshpit. I think their stage presence is amazing for being such a young band. They really have a presence and play with the crowd.  A less playful point in the concert included the performance of Monsoon which was one of their new singles from Landmark. Monsoon is an emotional song for Hippo Campus about dealing with the death of a family member and it was played beautifully. Suicide Saturday and Little Grace, from Bashful Creatures, were also played which was a fun throwback to some of their older music.

I think the concert was a perfect mix of old and new and it represented their latest album well. Their new album is definitely a leap in the right direction and perfect for spring. Finally seeing one of my favorite bands at First Avenue and elbowing my way to the front row was definitely a landmark.