Staff Editor on November 18th, 2019

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Long-running alt-rock faves Letters to Cleo brought some early Christmas cheer to the Hi Hat on Saturday in support of their holiday EP, “OK Christmas.” There to enjoy the night was a crowd that spanned age groups, from those who go back to the band’s 1993 debut “Aurora Gory Alice” to those who met frontwoman Kay Hanley via her vocal work in “Josie and the Pussycats” to indie kids whose favorites are influenced by the Boston-bred rockers.

Immediately after taking the stage, Hanley shouted out to some familiar faces in the crowd before Letters to Cleo launched into 1995’s “Demon Rock.” “Do we have anyone representing Boston?” she asked after the song, and a cheer from the side erupted led by a couple wearing their Boston T-shirts.

The band had the fans singing along to “Because of You” and “I Want You To Want Me” and pogoing along with the band members to 1993’s “Here & Now.” Also included were tracks such as “4 Leaf Clover” and “Hitching a Ride” from the band’s 2016 reunion EP, “Back to Nebraska.”

The holiday spirit was provided by the new original song “Miss You This Christmas,” along with “Father Christmas,” and “(Wtfamp) The Christmas Song” from their new EP. Notable was “Father Christmas,” originally released by the Kinks in 1977. Letters to Cleo recorded their new EP not long after the tragic mass shootings in El Paso and Dayton, so the Kinks’ version of the song got a lyrical tweak. The tune is about a department store Santa who is beaten up by a gang of poor kids who demand money, or, if their gift must be a toy, a machine gun. The Kinks’ original lyric “But if you’ve got one I’ll have a machine gun / So I can scare all the kids on the street” was changed in the Letters to Cleo version.

In the EP announcement, Hanley explained: “I decided to turn to Twitter to ask the Kinks if they had any suggestions, which encouraged fans to chime in with ideas of their own. One Twitter follower, Eric Reiberg (@Eric_time) came up with the idea that I ultimately used to construct the new lyric, which became ‘And can you meltdown all the machine guns / So the kids are safe on the streets.’”

At the Hi Hat, Letters to Cleo’s set also included an encore tribute to Kim Shattuck, the Muffs’ frontwoman who died in October after a battle with ALS. During the encore break, Hanley made a quick shirt change and came out sporting a Team Shattuck T-shirt. Louise Post of Veruca Salt joined the band for a cover of The Muffs’ “Funny Face.”

As the final encore song “Go!,” was coming to an end, three fingers went up and the band kicked out three final down beats and then said farewell until next year.

Opening the night was a very excited Tiny Stills, whose lead singer Kailynn West mentioned more than a few times how important it was to open for Letters to Cleo.

Setlist: Demon Rock, Fast Way, 4 Leaf Clover, Big Star, Cruel To Be Kind, I Got Kind, Awake, Miss You This Christmas, Father Christmas, (Wtfamp) The Christmas Song, Because of You, Anchor, Find You Dead, Veda Very Shining, Hitch A Ride, Here & Now, Pizza Cutter. Encore: Funny Face (The Muffs cover with Louise Post), I Want You To Want Me, Go!

Photos and recap by Notes From Vivace