I saw the Magic City Hippies on Wednesday, January 21st in Washington, D.C. at The 9:30 Club, and it was a really good show. I knew very little of the band coming into it, and left pretty impressed from their performance. It was a diverse setlist that showed off a lot of their strengths, especially the talent of the individual members, and although they’re lighter on the ears overall, they are certainly electric and have flashes of power. Their music builds into a louder and exciting sound well, and they are a worthy, professional performance regardless of taste.
Fan Context
The only song I knew by MCH going into the show was “Fanfare.” I know, lame. I only knew their biggest hit. I had known of the band for some time, my brother is a big fan of them, and I had a rough idea of their type of music, but that was it. So I’d say I went into this show close to completely raw.
The Show…
Magic City Hippies came on at 9:15, a reasonable 30 minute wait after the opener (I think much more than a 30 minute-wait between sets is too long, depending on the size of the show, but especially at a venue like The 9:30 Club). It was a cool thing that I’d imagine was once pretty traditional, but the lights on stage started to flash at 9:08, seemingly signifying that the show was starting soon. I haven’t seen that many times before. At 9:13, a light drum beat played over the speakers, then some hard-to-make-out vocals along with it, then the band came out. With the beat still gliding in the background, the lead guitarist let out a quick, sharp pinch, which surprised me, already a bit of a harsher sound than I expected. He did this a couple times in rhythm with the beat, and shortly after with the sound building, the lead singer, Robbie Hunter, hopped out on stage with a drink in his hand, wearing a cheetah print sweater, and also wearing a big ole smile across his face. A very pleasant sight!
They opened with “Heavy Motion,” which I believed to be an interlude at the time, as my brother had told me that they have a number of those. It was pretty short, with Hunter picking up a guitar in the middle of it and playing a little. I always like to take note of how much a lead singer plays guitar, especially if he comes on stage without one around his neck or doesn’t grab one immediately. I always wonder, when they come on without one, is this the type of front man who only sings? Then I let them either surprise me or confirm my question from there.
They’re a six piece band, with a lead singer (who plays guitar at times), a lead guitarist, bassist, two multi-instrumentalists that primarily play guitar and trumpet (I’ll get into what else they play later), and a drummer.
Before the start of the next song, Hunter said “What’s up DC! … We missed you guys.” Then they played “BRNT,” which was a cool early-in-the-setlist song with the “Got me fired up!” lyric. There was a screeching trumpet solo that got the crowd enthused a good bit, and I remarked that I could definitely see the Chili Pepper influence in Hunter. Another thing that my brother mentioned to me before the show was that Hunter’s talked about how his biggest influence is RHCP, and he had some Anthony Kiedis dripping from him as he “rapped” the lyrics to this song more so than sang, but that’s not to say he doesn’t have his own style. He’s softer, less flamboyant and punching in comparison to Kiedis’ voice. I did think that his voice was pretty light throughout the show and could have been stronger at times. Not stronger in quality, he sounded good, but just in volume. It was funny, he wears the microphone really high, you almost want to go up there and lower it for him. The stand was raised up and he really sang upward at it, seemingly just catching enough of it for the sound to be picked up. It’s an interesting physical style on stage. Maybe his voice is meant to be softer, perhaps because they want the instrumentals to be more prominent than his voice. I don’t know. But I did wish I could’ve pumped up his volume just a touch or two in some songs.
They played “Franny” next. The crowd jumped in pretty big at the chorus, “FRANNY!” It was a fun song. Then they jumped right into “Water Your Garden” without stopping. It was a smooth transition, very nicely done. I enjoyed the lead guitarist’s slide riff in this one, and the drummer sang this song! I think he sang the whole song? Not sure if he just sang a verse or not, but I remember realizing he was singing about midway through. Correct me if I’m wrong. It was cool, you almost never see a drummer sing lead. MCH are a very versatile band, or atleast, the individuals within the band are very versatile musicians.
Before the next song started, Hunter said to the crowd, “Thanks for hangin’ with us on a Wednesday, I know it’s a school night” which was funny. Then they played “Just Not Over.” The bass jumped out at me a bit more in this song, and the guitar riff too. They are definitely more prominent live than they are in the studio version. Also I believe that they played the short voice over in the beginning that says, “We know there are other people, But it sorta feels like the whole world is sort of shutting down…” it comes out in a really deep voice, kind of sped up. Listen to the song and you’ll know what I mean. Anyways, I’m pretty sure they played it. If you were there or have seen them on this tour, let me know what you remember hearing. I feel it’s an important thing to note if bands/artists that use pre-recorded sound in their songs in live versions, because sometimes they’re essential, but when it’s just a spoken word recording like this was, it’s not essential to the song. Just my curiosity to see if a band wants everything to be truly live sound, or if they find that every sound from the studio recording needs to be included in a live show, even if it means playing pre-recorded stuff.
Also, after this song, Hunter jokingly mentioned that he was scared he might not be able to get through it because it’s too sad. The lead guitarist joked, “I’m proud of you.”
At this point, they had played one song off of each of their albums in order, my brother mentioned. Cool way to start out a setlist, I wonder if bands often try to mix a setlist up by album once they have a big enough discography. It seems that a lot of bands often talk about the new album they’re touring off of at some point in a show and say something like “We’re gonna play some songs off of it…” and then play three or four.
They went into “Lonely People” next, very energetic song. The clapping in the beginning of the songs gives you an easy rhythm to hang on to, that was something I remembered a bit more vividly than anything else. I also remember thinking that Hunter’s voice was impressive here, noting that his voice is “good, just not super powerful.” There was a really cool part in this song when Hunter, the lead guitarist, John Caughlin, and the tall, lanky guitarist/multi-instrumentalist (Jake Pinto) were all playing out an extended three-guitar jam in the song, and the drummer was “directing” the soloing, saying “Gimme three!” then one of them would play a lick, then he’d say “Gimme nine!” then another would play a lick. I don’t know enough about guitar to understand what those numbers might have meant, and I could have been mishearing him, but maybe it had something to do with the scales or notes they were playing in a riff. If you have an idea of it, let me know. Anyways, it was a really cool moment that pumped a little bit more rock into the show.
Before the start of the next song, Hunter said to the crowd, “Everybody nay like a horse… It’s the year of the fire horse,” then everybody (mostly everybody) did to some extent, which was funny, then he said, “Alright now we can start the song… This is the year we’re gonna do what we want!” Something like that. Of course, the song was “What We Wanna.” It was a fun song, with a cool keyboard solo in it, a glittery solo. It matched Pinto’s jacket, which was bright pink and stunningly glittery, it was funny. I loved the vocals at the end of the song between Hunter and Caughlin. A really special outro.
Something else I noted was that Pinto and Michael Fatum (the guy who primarily plays the trumpet) were both incredible multi-instrumentalists, often walking around stage in the middle of songs to switch instruments even, let alone in between songs. Pinto played guitar and keyboard a lot, and I think a synth at times, while Fatum played trumpet, tambourine, the fish (haha), the sticks (I’m pretty sure that’s what you call them?), and I think he also played the keys and a synth at some point. Also the cowbell and a shaker a few times. I mean, there was very little he did not play. Even playing a long list of the little boring, more truly “in the background” instruments that you don’t always even notice like that, I still find it to be incredibly impressive to know how to play so many and play them well.
Skipping ahead in the setlist now, they played “Let it Ring.” I really liked this song. It’s a slower one and sometimes I can be a sucker for that, but it was a really intimate opening with Caughlin singing lead this time, and his voice certainly isn’t as pretty and polished as Hunter’s is, but it fit the song well, with the deeper, thicker keyboard sound and a lower guitar sound too. Hunter joined in on guitar and he played a seductive little solo, then he and Caughlin jammed out the ending. It was a nice buildup. This was certainly a more mellow one that can bring the energy down in a live performance, but I give them credit for putting it into the setlist. I feel like every setlist has to slow down at some point, and I thought this was a great choice for that, and it’s a great showing of versatility because it’s definitely farther from their core sound than most of their songs (that I’ve heard, atleast).
“Queen” was next, then “Fanfare,” which of course are too much more energetic, upbeat songs after their slowest one. Totally makes sense to put them in that order. Queen was very catchy, and I’ll say that Hunter’s voice was not as high-pitched live as it is in the studio version. I actually found that to be better. And of course, Fanfare is an easy go-to. One of their most popular songs for a reason, it’s a super complete song instrumentally, and, in my limited but growing knowledge, it catches the Magic City Hippies’ sound in one song about as well as any. That trumpet blare is so recognizable and powerful. Great song. They really blew this one out, and rightfully so. It brought the place up a lot, and Hunter screamed, “I love you DC!” during it. I don’t know if he does that for every city they play in during this song, but even if he does, I’ll take the compliment. Also, my brother noted that this used to be their encore. I like them changing it up, they probably played it as an encore for a long while. It works in the middle of the set as a song to add some life into a show.
They slowed down to play “Diamond” next. But they finished it loud! The ending to this song really picks up, and it’s pretty pumping instrumental outro live. I liked it.
Hunter checked in with the audience before the next song, “How we doin? We still gettin’ lit on a Wednesday night? This song is kind of lit… like a slow burn.” He was clearly joking around with his use of “lit,” it’d be cringey if he wasn’t. I only really noted the “slow burn” reference because I’m a big fan of that expression. Life is a slow burn, and often the best things in life come from a slow burn. Anyways, this song did burn slowly. It was “Limestone,” and I thought it was great live. Hunter’s voice stood out to me the most here, he was a bit more raspy, lower, but threw in some sweet sounding high notes, and it was backed by an acoustic guitar, with some other instrumentals I can’t quite remember. I think this was my favorite song of the set.
Hunter said after this song, “They [the band] told me not to wear this sweater,” which got a laugh. It was a funny moment. These guys really kept it light. They seem to not take themselves too seriously. Couple a’ fun fellas.
Skipping a little bit ahead here, they brought out a saxophone player, I forget his name, but they did introduce him and said he was from D.C., which was cool. I believe that Hunter said, “We made this song with Cory Wong, and I’m really excited about it,” although setlistfm claims that this was a cover, not a collaboration. But Spotify says otherwise, giving both groups credit for the song. So I’m gonna trust that. I really don’t remember how this one went, though. Not to say it was a forgettable song, it just didn’t quite catch me personally, or atleast I didn’t note anything about it.
They played “I Can’t Let You Go” next, and Fatum and the new sax player did a fun, dueling trumpet and saxophone solo to close out the song.
Caughlin said before the next song, “D.C. we got two more for y’all tonight,” and they played “High Beams.” This was the peak of the show. Midway through the song, a stagehand tossed a keytar from the balcony up on the left side of the stage down to Pinto (and he caught it), which got a rise out of the crowd. So add the keytar to the list of different instruments Pinto played. Hunter also used some sort of tube to add an effect on his voice to make it really deep, which was cool. I think it was this song that had the tube, correct me if you were there. Anyways, they really extended this one, with Hunter walking off the stage and going over the barrier, walking out into the crowd, forming a circle around him. It was about 15-20 feet from me. The rest of the band was jamming and Hunter yelled something along the lines of, “D.C., we gotta break it down!” Then the instrumentals changed up, going up a level for sure, and Hunter was jumping around with the crowd. Then Fatum joined him, sneaking into the circle without many people noticing him until he got there, likely because everyone was looking at Hunter. It was a pretty epic moment. And it was funny, both Hunter and Fatum were really sneaky about it. I swear Hunter ended up back behind where I was standing after starting in front of me, it was like a magic trick. Then all of a sudden he was back on stage. Anyways, speaking on the music, the song really jumped, and if the band’s instrumental talent and chemistry wasn’t already shown (it was), it was certainly proven here. It wasn’t stuff that just any band can pull off, they really crushed this as a peak moment in the set, one of those “worth the price of admission” moments.
They played “Givin’ Up on Lovin’” next, then walked off stage at 10:36. They came back on a minute or two later and encored with “Something About Us,” which I learned was a Daft Punk cover. It was very gradual, as first Pinto only came back on stage and started playing the keyboard, then Fatum followed, then everybody else, before Hunter came out by himself and started singing. He used another effect on his voice for this song, it might have been the tube this time too, I can’t remember. And listening back to the Daft Punk song, it makes sense. Gotta be a hard song to cover when there are so many effects on the vocals, but hey, they pulled it off. And what do I know, maybe it’s easy.
The second song of the encore and final song of the night was “Champagne on the Rider.” They kind of lost me on the final three songs, so I don’t have too many comments here. It felt like it was the “resolve” after the climax of “High Beams,” which is okay. Not every set needs to end with the most energetic or recognized song. It’s a decent idea to have a peak of a show with whatever is going to impress your audience the most and allow them to enjoy themselves, then close out with a couple songs that feel more like a… comedown? Something like that. Especially because if you save your top song for last, I feel like you can run into time issues if something takes longer than expected, then you end up having to cut a song that people really want to hear. But like I always say, it doesn’t matter what people want to hear. Bands play for no one, and should play what they want. But of course, consideration of the audience seems to be a common thing when it comes to deciding what gets in a setlist and what doesn’t.
Anyways, they ended at 10:46.
This was a good show that earned my respect for Magic City Hippies more than anything else. They likely won’t become a band I listen to frequently any time soon, but there were some songs that strongly caught my ear and I will take those away from the show, which makes any show worth it. And I’ve already given them more of my time. On top of that, the chemistry and talent of the band is hard to deny. I mean, it ended up being a 20-song setlist that didn’t feel rushed, which is hard to do and a sign of quality in my mind (I’m of the belief that a longer setlist is not always a better setlist). Maybe a few songs could have been taken out, but nothing felt truly forced. I’ll let the bigger fans of the band weigh in on that. Anyways, Magic City Hippies are a fun, professional show with good, unique music worth seeing and hearing. If you were there or have seen them on this tour, please let me know your thoughts. Tell me I’m dead wrong, tell me I’m right. Tell me I’m slightly off. Tell me something about the Magic City Hippies and I’ll be happy.
*A quick nod to the opener…
I walked into the show at 8:07 and caught a handful of songs from Supertaste. They were a logical opener for MGH, similar sound. Psychedelic. They were a four piece band with a singer who played guitar at times, keyboard, bass (who also played lead guitar at times), and drums.
The lead singer had a pretty sweet voice, their keyboard sound stood out to me, and they did a cool transition from one of their songs into Dreams by Fleetwood Mac, then ran it back into the chorus of the original song they were playing. It was cool.
They got real funky at times, used synths a lot. The lead singer once said “Just doin’ synth stuff with my synth friends.” They also got a little jazzy in their guitar sound I think? The lead singer also said before another song, “This is the jazz section of the show.” They were talented instrumentally, with the lead guitarist/bassist carrying them a bit as a multi-instrumentalist.
At one point, the lead singer got into a short monologue about D.C. He mentioned that they had played DC9 before (a venue I need to check out myself), then he told a story about how they came down here nine years ago, drove down to the National Mall (to protest, I think). “A lot has changed since then… This song is about power. It’s about how the only divide is up versus down, not left versus right,” which was a really interesting thing to say. Very thought provoking. Anyways, it was a good song! I will probably go back and listen to it again.
I could have sworn at one point in one of their songs they mixed in a lyric/riff of “Instant Crush” by Daft Punk. If you were there, feel free to tell me I’m crazy or tell me I’m onto something. But I’d love to see if anybody else noticed that. Then, they did a cover of a song (I couldn’t understand what they said it was), but it was Daft Punk-esque. Clearly an influence there for both Supertaste and MCH. Their keyboardist sang with a heavy, heavy synth disguising his voice.
At the end of the set, the lead singer said, “This has been fuckin awesome… it’s a dream to play at The 9:30 Club,” then they played Supernova, which was “the title track of our first album.” It was an awesome song, I loved the instrumental intro. Definitely their best in my limited opinion on them.
So go check out Supertaste too, they’re definitely worth showing up a little early for and catching a few songs, or even their whole set.
Some notes on the venue…
I love The 9:30 Club. D.C. feels like a great music city in there. It’s really a legendary place with all the names that have played there, and more importantly, it’s the perfect size and in a great location, and the sound is really good. 1,200 capacity and the GA fits plenty of that 1,200, with bars on both sides that have never required a long wait in my experience. I love the room on the back right side with all the CDs and records (I assume it’s CDs of bands that have played there at some point), and the balcony isn’t a bad bet if you can get there earlier enough to hold a spot, but I find GA to be the most convenient decision for a show. And the bands/artists you get there… you are sometimes spoiled because you’re catching a top-tier band just before their peak. The peak before their peak, if you will. The 9:30 Club seems to be the last stop that truly great bands make before graduating to The Anthem, Merriweather, Capital One Arena, etc. (speaking on D.C. area venues only here, but the example applies anywhere), and, their ticket is about to get more expensive. It could be the last chance you can see them for a decent price. So, you can find yourself thinking, “I’m surprised they’re performing here and not at [a bigger venue].” And that is an awesome feeling as a fan, because you know you just saw something rare, and special. And in other scenarios you could see a band that never gets bigger than The 9:30 Club (or similar sized venues), but they’re a favorite of yours and you’re getting to see them in a tighter space, a more special experience. Or, you’re seeing a band that’s aging, coming down from their days of larger venue tours, but is still special to you and puts on a great show. My point is, you’re likely to get something good at The 9:30 Club. And it’s on the metro line on U Street, really easy to get to with The Lincoln Theatre just down the way. That street has a lot of character, and I love that there are two timeless music venues on/right off of it.
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