Photo Courtesy of Hibou’s Facebook
I had my ticket ripped in half at the Hibou show. This mix up was entirely my fault, seeing as I had mistakenly walked through the 21+ entrance, and am *not* 21. After an embarrassing few moments later, with soggy ticket scraps in hand, Neumos and I were reunited. The first concert I attended upon moving to Seattle was at Neumos, but I hadn’t been back since.
Myself and the other underage attendees were herded off to the upstairs portion of the venue, where tables lined with candles set the mood for a night of warm tunes. Close Encounter, a local Seattle band, opened up the show. Their set was mainly shoe gaze and dream pop, and as a whole, effortlessly chill. The guitarist to the right of the stage donned a green velvet shirt as luxurious as the hazy notes ringing from his Fender. Also, it’s worth mentioning the fact that his Vox coiled cable is one of the coolest I have seen. Imagine your old landline phone cord: white and easily tangled.
If dream pop is your genre of choice, you can check out Close Encounter this upcoming month when they play Funhouse with Iffy Comma. (Peep the Facebook event for details, and say hi if you see me bopping around in the crowd!)
From my perch upstairs, I watched as the space filled up, and the number of Rainiers in the crowd increased. It’s becoming a habit of mine to count and compare the amount of Rainier and PBR I see at Seattle shows; on this night Rainier was actually outnumbered.
The guys from SLOUCHER, also a Seattle based band, filed onto stage with cans in hand (neither Rainier nor PBR, for reference), and proceeded to liven up the mood with what could be described as an homage to pop punk—if pop punk grew up, became a cafe manager, and brushed its hair, that is. SLOUCHER’s sound was met with lots of praise from the crowd below me-whoops and hollers to be specific. I was not expecting that much feedback from a generally older crowd, but SLOUCHER’s carefree attitude was contagious.
In between sets, Peter Michel, the brain behind Hibou, strolled about the venue. Back in his home town for the last stop of tour, Michel seemed to be in a good mood—this guy knew everyone. After stopping to shake hands with at least a dozen people, he hopped on stage with a smile. “It’s good to be home”, he said, before diving into the opening song shortly thereafter.
Photo by of Kayla Sanchez
Hibou was an artist I discovered through the KXSU music library on accident. I played the song “Above You” during my first radio hour on 102.1 FM. Hearing this upbeat track live, I couldn’t resist the urge to dance. The rest of the crowd seemed to feel the same way. Most of the audience swayed back and forth with the echoes of reverb. Michel announced that the band was working on some new music, heavier stuff, and played a track called “Madison” for us. If this is representative of the direction Hibou is taking, I commend their ability to expand their genre horizons, and I look forward to more shoe-gaze inspired sounds. “Madison” was less buoyant than Hibou’s other, more consistently poppy songs, yet still dynamic in the way which his music inspires constant movement. The songs that followed were off of his 2015 self-titled album.
The notes of Hibou’s music come at you in a flurry of sounds— it’s like being swept up by a wave, you move with them, unable to resist dancing. Michel himself was swinging around in circles on stage, his bassist and guitarist off in their own worlds focused on perfecting their pedal set up. Chorus and reverb soaked guitar fill the spaces complimented by higher, jangling notes. Michel’s feathery voice floats over the music. He seems to savor each note, especially during the new tracks debuted at the show. The new music felt slower, and more intentional. I could identify more prevalent shoe-gaze inspiration, which was much appreciated by myself and the crowd, who rocked along to the strung-out sounds.
My favorite song of the night was introduced with a little story. “Has anyone watched that show, Black Mirror?” Michel paused, with a sly smile curling up on his face. I heard him say the words “San Junipero” and I was hooked. For those of you who have done yourselves a huge disservice by neglecting to watch this particular episode of Black Mirror, here’s the rundown: Two women, an unlikely pair given their almost polar opposite attitudes, meet at a bar in a beach resort town. For whatever reason, though the two don’t seem to hit it off at first, one woman becomes enamored with the carefree, rambunctious stranger she just met. Essentially, the story evolves into a beautiful queer love story, and I highly recommend you log into Netflix after reading this article and watch San Junipero. The song encompassed the sleepy beach town feel of the episode. Its punchy bass line kept me bobbing my head along, and the percussive pattern felt almost 80’s influenced.
With an impressive performance behind him, I’m eager to hear what Hibou had prepared for us next. To close out the show, he decided to do a cover, which he introduced as “Mr. B”, a song he wasn’t sure if we would know—that sly smile should have clued me in. The opening chords of the Killer’s chart-topping, one might say, universally and simultaneously loved and hated, track “Mr. Brightside” were met with unanimous approval from the audience. I swear, everyone in Neumos was dancing along, singing along, or shaking their head in begrudging delight. This was the first, and only time, I have heard the song played live, and I really appreciated Hibou’s rendition of the classic. Michel bopped around the stage, giving the audience opportunities to shout along to the lyrics we all somehow, years later, still knew by heart. That night at Neumos, I think everyone felt like they were coming home.
Keep up with Hibou on Facebook, Instagram, Soundcloud, and Bandcamp.
MADELINE THOMAS | Coming out of my cage | KXSU Music Reporter