Review: Old School Percy Hill Returns

Powered by Nate Wilson’s prodigious Hammond skills, Ferrell’s subtle guitar work, Powley’s singing and lyrics, and a strong rhythm section, that version of Percy Hill toured heavily across New England and beyond between 1993-1996 and was mentioned along with moe., Ominous Seapods, and Strangefolk as one the nascent jam-scene’s surging second tier of up-and-coming bands. In 1998, Percy Hill underwent a huge lineup change, became a four-piece with only Farrell and Nate Wilson remaining, and adopted a starkly new sound, and with it, a new repertoire which jettisoned many of the band’s longtime popular songs. While the last version of Percy Hill would go on to achieve more acclaim and success than any predecessor, the concept shift and new repertoire alienated some old-time fans, me among them. I stopped seeing the band regularly in 1999 – well before the four piece Percy Hill’s final show more than four years later.

As the early ’90’s six-piece I had once so loved took the stage to play a reunion show of early-day repertoire, I suddenly became a bit nervous. “Is this a mistake?” I thought to myself. “Will yesterday’s memory be better than today’s reality? Is this like going to a 10-year high school reunion to find that the prom queen had become a saggy mother of five or the captain of the football team a felon? Will they make it through the composed sections of their early repertoire? Can they hit those harmonies? Will there be that energy?”

Ironically, the group opened with Million Years, a song which had actually debuted shortly after Hill had left the band in 1996. When the tight and funky intro groove of Sooner or Later came next, and a nailing of the song’s tight vocal harmonies was followed by a blistering Nate Wilson Hammond solo with Isn’t She Lovely teases and a solid representing of the Allman-esque guitar harmony outro, I felt myself relax. These guys were still doing it.

How were they doing it? While musical skill, muscle memory, and pure guile may have all played a part, hours of recent practice certainly did not. In fact, the band had met at the venue for their only practice for their first public show in more than twelve years only that morning. They had all even been together only once since Hill left the band in 1996 – last summer, when they played a private party in Stowe, VT.

In July, Jeremy Hill’s friend was turning 30, and a band was needed for her birthday party. Hill thought of the most unlikely of solutions: reuniting the 1993 – 1996 lineup of Percy Hill. “I thought it wouldn’t work, but I made a few calls, and the guys were into it,” explained Hill. They all reunited for one day of rehearsal and the next day played a well received performance to a “kinda shocked” Stowe crowd mostly unfamiliar with their material. The show went so well, they opted to try a public performance later in the year. Stone Church, an old stomping ground only a few miles from Percy Hill’s birthplace at the University of New Hampshire, was a perfect choice for a venue. The few hundred tickets sold out online quickly, especially to local fans eager to relive the magic of early Percy Hill, and the scene for the night was set.

The first set continued with fan favorite Golden Bottle and a screamer of a guitar solo from Farrell on the outro to the darker Jasper. Set one closed with the catchy Lifetime and the high energy room rocker Othello, in which front man Powley nailed the chorus’ highest notes and the band’s rhythm section pulled off a short but tasteful “drums.” While watching Zack Wilson subtly compliment Halacy as he landed a few nasty tom rolls, I was reminded of the strength of Percy Hill’s drummers. Among the band members in the best playing shape, Halacy is only one of two members still working as a professional musician, most recently for the touring live performance of It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia.

The second set started strong with debut album favorite Prison Sentence. Fallen followed – one of the only songs from the original catalogue to be played into the 2000’s by the four-piece version, and Nate Wilson displayed his solid falsetto range and skills as a flautist. Next came the night’s only reminder that this was a reunion show: Powley thanked the crowd and promised “this wouldn’t be the last show” by this version of the band. In fact, they are considering another show at Stone Church in April. So I guess they are on tour – a slow, stationary tour, but a tour nonetheless.

The band later settled into a pillar of their old live sets, Been So Long, grounded by Hill’s always solid bass playing, Zack Wilson’s tasteful percussion, and the song’s tight and funky stops and twists. Again, Farrell shredded and Nate Wilson, fresh from his solo band’s opening act performance, rocked a hopping room with his Hammond. The room later exploded after a reprised trick from the old days: Nate passed his driving solo at the end of Rush Hour Traffic to Farrell who brought the number home by firing off his own blistering licks over the outro. The band would later close the second set with the popular Setting the Boat Adrift, highlighted by the best of the evening’s several great solos from Farrell, a singing, anthemic, ripper.

The encore was a treat for the room’s real old-time fans – original 1993 drummer Tim Leavy was strong as he took over for Halacy on Way Back Home, which was among the band’s first songs. Like it sometimes did in the ‘90s, the song started with a tasty Hill bass solo. And much like the rest of the night, the band basically made it through each change as if they had just played the song the night before. Not to gloss over an occasional wart – the night wasn’t perfect. But in the context of a band 12 years away from the stage, it was nothing but – Percy Hill played close to three hours of music without missed changes, forgotten words, sour harmonies, or painful flubs. On one day of practice. Like some kind of jam-band instant noodle (another early ‘90’s favorite of mine), Stone Church added a little water and a little heat, and a Percy Hill popped out. No real preparation needed, but it still somehow tastes pretty damned good.

And then much as it started, the night ended in a way very unlike your average reunion show. “Thank you! We love you all so much for coming out. We’ll see you all soon!”

Of course they will. After all, they are a band on tour.

• Audio: Old School Percy Hill @ Stone Church SBD MATRIX

Percy Hill
December 11, 2009
Stone Church
Newmarket, NH

Set 1: Million Days, Sooner or Later, Golden Bottle, Sunrise, Car towing announcement > Jasper, Lifetime, Casa De Vino > Othello

Set 2: Prison Sentence, Fallen, Been So Long, Seems Like the Time, Rush Hour Traffic, Setting the Boat Adrift
Encore: Way Back Home

Old School Percy Hill @ Stone Church Stream