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By Joanne Davidson
What better place is there to see the smooth, eclectic, and excitingly cool quartet, Percy Hill, than in Boston’s renowned Middle East club? The Cambridge club is notorious for bringing in a variety of acts, but New Hampshire based Percy Hill seemed to fit in perfectly in the dark, smoky basement. The energetic audience anxiously waited through two opening bands; the positive karma of the room growing every second.
Knowing that “there’s no time to waste,” Percy Hill opened with “Beneath the Cover,” off their album Color in Bloom. Percy Hill automatically drew in the audience with their intellectual lyrics, strong guitar rifts, and soothing drumming. The slow grooves were soon followed with an upbeat “Slave (self-promoted).” A truly danceable song, Percy Hill pushed the audience overboard into musical ecstasy. It was followed closely by “Sun Machine,” which provided a nice sunshiny buzz that no other band today seems to be able to provide. The bands energy emigrated into the responsive audience and the club was nothing short of blissful. Aaron Katz and the other members of the band responded well to each other, judging the musical transitions perfectly.
Ultimately connected to the audience and their fans, Percy Hill returned the fans to sense of musical euphoria. Often compared to the 70’s band, Steely Dan, Percy Hill was able to give the audience a true taste of what music should be. The show continued in a way only Percy Hill knows how, slightly erratic but unnervingly calm all at the same time. When they closed with their encore “Been So Long”, the audience was left hoping it would not be so long until they saw Percy Hill again.
Setlist: Beneath the cover, Another Air, Light Up & Leave Me Alone, Slave (self-promoted), Sun Machine, Soul Sister, After All, Ammonium Maze > Fallen > Ammonium Maze, Abide, The Now
E: Been So Long
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