Magic City Hippies @ Once Somerville

by Becca Pariente
2017-10-17

Magic City Hippies @ Once Somerville

Magic City Hippies
featuring Tipling Rock

October 4th, 2017 @ Once Somerville

By: Becca Pariente

Of the many new branches forming within the indie genre, the indie-funk hybrid that Magic City Hippies is sporting is one of the more intriguing. The pure and carefree tone of their music induces a hypnotic groove that is familiar due to its foundation in indie rock, but unique enough to keep the listener’s attention. The audience refused to stop moving through the duration of the (especially long) Magic City Hippies set on a Wednesday night.

Tipling Rock was there to warm up the crowd with a classic alternative sound; cooled down but still fresh and bouncy. The set included happy-go-lucky songs like “Campus Fashion” and “Low Tide Love” that really catapulted the room’s energy. They threw in a cover of “Someday” by the Strokes which was a perfect fit for their style and had everyone dancing and singing along. The combination of their fluttering guitar riffs and deeply polished vocals gave them a distinct and solid sound that is lovely to behold.

Magic City Hippies were met with huge uproar the minute they hopped on stage, and their bright enthusiasm radiated off them for the entire night. The group has a sort of charisma that can be detected in their music and stage presence that made every aspect of the show incredibly endearing. They opened with their sizzler song “Corazón” that features the funky rap stylings of their vocalist Robby Hunter, and they set it all loose. The audience was off the walls matching and raising the energy on stage. Magic City Hippies themselves were a machine rolling out one song after another without even a breather. The only dip in the set were songs like “Never Say No” and “Limestone,” which consist of soft, steamier tones that emphasize the side of their music that has a more dreamlike groove. At this point in the set, everyone experienced a moment when they were lulled into a beautiful and almost psychedelic sleep. Easily navigating us out of that stupor, they transitioned into “Bull Ride” that got everyone’s blood running with it many twists and turns. They added some flavor by throwing in tasty and very unexpected covers of “Caroline” and “Big Poppa;” after the initial shock of song choice they were once again attacked with hollering of lyrics.

The set had such a tumbling flow that when it started to come to a halt, the audience realized they were all exhausted… but not exhausted enough that they didn’t beg for an encore. Magic City Hippies came back out after only a hot second and jumped back in as if they had never left, playing their biggest hit and confirmed banger “Fanfare.” With this glittering and fiery track that exudes the Miami culture that produced Magic City Hippies, sitting still is never an option.