Ultraviolet Hippopotamus’ stylized logo looks like it was lifted wholesale from a Stanley Mouse-designed poster for a Fillmore West concert circa 1967. While the group exhibits an obvious fondness for that era of musical expansiveness, there’s much more to UVHippo than retro worship. the Grand Rapids-based quintet’s sound has evolved by way of a series of changes at the keyboard position and progressively more successful recording experiences. The band’s lauded third album, Square Pegs Round Holes, weaves together a diverse assortment of sonic elements, showing influence from Southern Jam masters like Widespread Panic and Northern provocateurs like Phish, with flecks of Starcastle and early Kansas Prog Pop, Bruce Hornsby’s Dead-tinged Jazz/Pop, sweeping Fusion in the Jan Hammer/Jeff Beck mold and Electronica that nods in the direction of Sound Tribe Sector 9. UVHippo’s brilliance is in using sounds and styles as reference points without resorting to mere influence peddling and name-dropping.
ULTRAVIOLET HIPPOPOTAMUS plays Thursday, March 1 at The Mad Frog with guests Arpetrio. Buy tickets, check out performance times and get venue details here.
This article appears in Feb 22-28, 2012.