Hop Along Make Triumphant Return to the Stage
At Toad’s Place
By
Jesse E. Mullen
Singer/Rhythm Guitarist Frances Quinlan during her solo electric portion of Friday night's set.
(c) Jesse E. Mullen.
After a five month hiatus from playing out, Philadelphia’s beloved quartet
Hop Along returned to the stage Friday night (April 14th) at Toad’s
Place in New Haven, CT, in an event curated by Yale University. They played for
roughly an hour, and proved that they still have surprises up their sleeves.
At the shows start, frontwoman and sole songwriter Frances Quinlan took
to the stage solo with an ice breaking joke; “Good evening. I’m the merch
person for Hop Along.” And with that, she launched into “Happy To See Me,” a
rarely played highlight from 2015’s masterwork Painted Shut. To hear the song live was a real treat, as Quinlan’s
vocal and lyrical performance was hauntingly beautiful. She also did “Some
Grace” from 2012’s Get Disowned solo,
which had a somewhat different (but equally effective) sound to the album
version in the live setting. During this portion of the set, it became clear
that there was a group of students loudly talking and watching the hockey game
in the back of the club. Quinlan noticed, and joked “I hope they’re winning,”
before being joined by the rest of the group. Opening with “The Knock,” the
group unleashed a combination of melody and fury that only certain bands can in
the live setting. The beautiful noise was more than enough to drown out the
loud talkers in the back, who thankfully focused their energies on dancing. The
crowd’s energy only increased once “Waitress” began, with its universal tale of
guilt resonating deeply with the audience.
One of the more poignant non-musical moments came before “Powerful Man,”
a song which deals with abuse of power by an intimidating figure. “You’re
powerful. Use it for good,” Quinlan said to the student body. Later on came the
song that is possibly Hop Alongs biggest “hit,” the majestic “Tibetan Pop
Stars.” Quite possibly one of the saddest, yet most hopeful songs of the last five
years, it had several audience members (including yours truly) tearfully
singing along. Built around Mark Quinlan’s skull crushing drums, the two guitarists’
dreamy soundscapes, and Tyler Long’s thundering bass, Frances Quinlan’s always
stunning voice clear-cuts through the din to tell the story of one of the most devastating
assessments of a human relationship ever written.
Finally, the show came to a close with “Sister Cities,” the ending track
on Painted Shut. It is always a compelling
listen, with its lyrics describing four independent characters who become
interwoven at the end of the song. But last night, it was especially invigorating
and cathartic, with Quinlan’s delivery of the lyrics, and for the second time
of the night, I had tears in my eyes.
