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Night Hikes, Richie Dagger’s Crime, Hotel Vignette bring dream pop to Kame House

August 2nd, 2019: Kame House

Night Hikes, Richie Dagger’s Crime, Hotel Vignette bring dream pop to Kame House August 5, 20191 Comment
Night Hikes headlines Kame House. // Photo by Naomi Pringle

Kame House, a venue hosted inside of a home in the Central District, feels casual and familiar, and, if it wasn’t for the stage and equipment in the living area, it would be indistinguishable from a regular house party. Attendees filtered in with six packs to hang out and chat in the kitchen and the backyard patio before the show. 

Though the house show environment gave the impression of a low maintenance setup, there was extreme care taken to turn the living room stage area into a venue of merit. The Kame House organizers had installed a professional caliber lighting system, with rows of red and blue bulbs affixed to the ceiling above the stage. Two cameras — one set up on the ground floor and one at the top of the stairs leading to the upper level of the house — recorded the set and projected a flickering, blue-washed version that switched between the two views onto the wall behind the bands.

Nils Petersen and Eric Padget, performing as Hotel Vignette, took the stage first. Though only two people, they didn’t allow their sound to be hindered by the size of their act. Petersen handled vocals, keys, acoustic guitar, and synth, with Padget providing vocals, synth, and beats. The complex melodies that resulted were incredibly inventive, tying together disparate musical elements in ways that worked surprisingly well. 

Petersen’s vocals, especially, were skilled and rich. His resonant, folky sound made it impossible to miss a word and complemented the more classical acoustic elements as well as the experimental, synth-rock beats. Attendees spread themselves evenly within the available space, so transfixed by Petersen and Padget that you couldn’t tell which audience members came to the show together. 

A spell was broken when Hotel Vignette’s set was over; the listeners shifted and turned towards each other, transforming the scene back into a house party. 

The next group dwarfed the first act in size. Musicians spilled from the stage. Richie Nelson on lead vocals, sampler, and rhythm guitar; Lauren Hepburn on sax; Eric Padget on cornet; Ben Songster on drums; Alex Markey on keys; Lauren Freman on violin and backing vocals; Erik Sanchez on bass and backing vocals; and Schwa on lead guitar and backing vocals are the impressive assemblage that make up experimental pop group Richie Dagger’s Crime. Though their size could have easily made their sound unwieldy, the band did a remarkable job of remaining cohesive throughout the set.

The musicians, on louder and more unusual instruments for a pop group — like sax, violin, and cornet — delivered arresting solos and also blended seamlessly into the background of the arrangement when they weren’t being featured. Nelson’s strong vocals consistently came through over the rest of the instruments, bringing each piece together with excellent range and clarity. 

Night Hikes was the final band of the evening, made up of Olivia Godby and Matthew Farrell. Between Godby’s competent control of guitar and Farrell’s plush synth, Night Hikes immediately achieved the lush, graceful sound all dream-pop acts strive for. The first track of the set, “Avila,” will be the first single released from their upcoming LP, which is dropping this fall. But, most of their repertoire came from their first release, The Blue Hour. This LP was mixed by Rusty Santos — who has worked with dream-pop duo Beach House — a perfect choice for Night Hikes, whose looping arpeggios are a dead ringer for the melodies that propel Beach House’s best tracks.

Godby and Farrell’s complementary chemistry made the act. Farrell’s bright, airy synth was a flawless counterpart to Godby’s precise guitar playing. Their vocals fed off each other, as well; they traded off main vocals almost every song for a refreshingly balanced set, singing backup for each other, so their songs still felt tethered as one. Night Hikes’s soothing, steady pop melodies were the perfect end to the night.

By Naomi Pringle

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