The Mother Hips

Wed, May 9, 2018

The Mother Hips

with Leon III

About The Mother Hips:

Twenty-five years into a celebrated career is an unlikely time to switch things up, but the “divinely inspired” (Rolling Stone) Mother Hips have never been ones to follow convention. For their brilliant and exhilarating tenth album, ‘Chorus,’ the California stalwarts turned their recording process on its head in order to make their most fully realized and essential collection yet. 

Originally signed by Rick Rubin while still just students at Chico State, The Mother Hips have spent two-and-a-half decades at the forefront of a new breed of California rock and roll—one equally informed by the breezy harmonies of the Beach Boys, the funky roots of The Band, and the psychedelic Americana of Buffalo Springfield—and established themselves as “one of the Bay Area’s most beloved live outfits” (San Francisco Guardian) through countless headline shows, massive festival appearances, and dates with everyone from Johnny Cash and Wilco to Lucinda Williams and The Black Crowes. The New Yorker lauded the band’s ability to “sing it sweet and play it dirty,” and ‘Chorus’ is perhaps the finest example yet of that intoxicating dichotomy, a richly melodic album firmly rooted in gritty rock and roll with the kind of evocative storytelling that The Mother Hips do best.

About Leon III: 
Although Andy Stepanian and Mason Brent are longtime bandmates and collaborators in Virginia’s Wrinkle Neck Mules, their duo Leon, III's initial output bares only a hazy resemblance to that band’s alt.country past. Originally conceived by singer and principal songwriter Andy Stepanian as a vehicle for his moodier pieces, the project has trappings of a solo project – even adopting a moniker from his lineage. But, Brent plays a vital role in pushing the material out of the realm of songwriter introspection with his rock sensibility and deft guitar and bass playing.

The pair employed the help of Nashville’s Mark Nevers to produce their forthcoming debut. Nevers brought along a familiar cast of characters from his Lambchop pedigree highlighted by Brian Kotzur (Silver Jews) on drums, Tony Crow (Lambchop) on piano, Pete Finney (Bobbie Bare, Dixie Chicks) on pedal steel, Jordan Caress (Caitlin Rose), Kai Welch (Abigail Washburn) and Chris Scruggs (Marty Stuart). The result is a dynamic and multi-textural ride through a cycle of thematically linked songs. Expertly produced and arranged, the work touches on the instrumental largeness of Pink Floyd, the shadowy realms of The Velvet Underground – whose song Jesus is covered on the record - and the psychedelic streams of Grateful Dead.

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  • Doors

    6:00 PM
  • Show

    8:00 PM
  • Price

    $15 Advance

    $18 Day of Show

SHOWINGS

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