February 15, 2025

This past weekend marked my sixth Hippo Campus concert and my first Saturday night concert in what felt like forever. This concert (like the Wallows the week before) was at one of my favorite venues, The Astro. Before this concert, we went to dinner in downtown Papillion at Goose’s Bar and Grill. Walking into Goose’s we honestly weren’t expecting much. It smelled like a straight up bar serving only alcohol rather than a bar and grill. The inside had a small array of tables and chairs and one tiny kitchen with one cook for the entire dinner rush. Although the dining experience took well over an hour, the food truly surprised us. I split the Pork & Fork Mac Attack with my dad and let me tell you, it was delicious! The mac and cheese weighed more on the mac side rather than the cheese side, which for me is the preferred way to have mac and cheese. The pork on top melted in your mouth, while providing a burst of flavor. I will absolutely go back to Goose’s again.

Following dinner, we headed towards The Astro and arrived just in time to check our coats and watch the opener Mei Semones. A quick plug for the coat check team at The Astro—they rock! The process is smooth and the staff stacked our coats three on one hanger to help us save on the already minimal fees. Heading downstairs, Mei Semones and her five bandmates took the stage. Although not my favorite opening act, many fans stayed after the show in order to meet Mei and have her sign their merch.

Hippo Campus took the stage around 9:15 p.m. and played an impressive twenty-one songs. Out of the five prior Hippo Campus shows I’ve attended, this one took the cake. It was not only the most packed of all, but the vibes were immaculate. The setlist is largely the same as the other shows on the tour, but Hippo Campus does a nice job of mixing it up a song, or two, or three each night. Along with the set list mixups, they play a good variety from most, if not all, of their albums and including a good chunk of their singles and EPs. I danced the entire concert long and during “Buttercup” from their 2017 album Landmark, I screamed my lungs out too. Buttercup is one of my all-time favorite songs ever. Hearing it live always gives me goosebumps. From their new album, their song Everything At Once almost brought me to tears. It made me so emotional to hear these lyrics live. My parents both commented following the show that they sounded even better live than in their recorded songs, which is not a compliment taken lightly in our family.

Although the set consisted only of a light show, the lights were entertaining and matched the vibe of each song. The crowd, similar to Wallows, respected each other’s space for the most part. That being said, the crowd did not get as into the lyrics as those from the Wallows. Yet, everyone seemed to be having a genuinely good time and it appeared the band was too. The song right before the encore, Poems, was not the typical pre-encore song for this tour. But when I tell you my head bobbed, my arms flung in the air, and I sang my lungs out, I truly mean it. The only thing that could have scored this setlist a perfect ten would have been the addition of fan favorites Suicide Saturday or Violet to the encore.

Finally, for merch, I forewent my typical first stop (as is a theme from the past three or so concerts) and instead went for a quick after show merch table stop. The merch worked hard to earn a perfect 10/10 score. I bought both a t-shirt and a vinyl record, spending much more money than my wallet and husband would have preferred. I am so excited to blast Flood at home on my record player and wear my new flood-themed t-shirt to work. Thank you, Hippo Campus!

OVERALL RATINGS

Setlist: 9/10

Merch: 10/10

Set: 7/10

Artist Commentary: 6/10

Vibes: 15/10