Even the awful, drunk, crossfit fuckface who could not shut the fuck up the whole goddamn concert couldn’t spoil an absolutely kickass show from Mipso at One Longfellow Square on Thursday night. OK, sorry, had to get that out of my system.
This was my first time seeing Mipso, and it’s a really good feeling when you leave a show looking forward to the next time you get to catch them. They just set a great tone – they are loose and very clearly enjoy making music together. Oh, and they’re really, really good at it.
The show featured much of the work from their first two records, Dark Holler Pop (2013) and Old Time Reverie (2015) as well as a few new songs from a forthcoming album. The interplay between Joseph Terrell (guitar, vocals) and Libby Rodenbough (fiddle, vocals) is a real highlight of the live show, as they both are really creative improvisers. Rodenbough’s solos were pitch perfect and you could feel the crowd moving in a little closer or stomping a little harder as she’d propel a song forward with a few quick chops followed by searing lead breaks. It’s also the interplay between the vocals that makes this band so much fun to listen to: Terrell sings with a subtle drawl and a smirk, while Rodenbough sings from her gut, and Jacob Sharp’s lead vocals have an airy quality to them that adds yet another dimension. But when the band harmonizes, with bassist Wood Robinson, they are truly something special.
Highlights from the show were “Marianne,” a song with a great palm-muted groove to it, the gorgeous tribute to Terrell’s grandmother Eldora, “When I’m Gone,” a ramped up version of “Bad Penny,” following the really fun new song, “Hurts So Good.” The crowd stomped for an encore, and were rewarded with an excellent version of Bob Dylan’s “When I Paint My Masterpiece,” with openers Lula Wiles (here’s a sweet version with The Steel Wheels).
Mipso is playing The Red Room on Friday night (that’s tonight folks) and at then at Rough Trade in NYC on Saturday. Catch them live; it’s a great show.