Ex Hex (Photo by Ryan Floring)
It’s the time of year when the concert schedule slows down, and those yearning for a good show don’t have many, if any, options. If you’re in Baltimore, you won’t have that problem when Ex Hex break it down at Ottobar on Saturday, Dec. 14. Like most bands, Ex Hex wrapped touring earlier this year, but the DC power pop band still have the Ottobar date, rescheduled from a missed show over the summer.
Ex Hex, of course, sizzled across the world in 2019 after the release of the band’s sophomore album, It’s Real, via Merge Records. The resulting tour saw Betsy Wright revert to her preferred guitar rather than bass, and the band recruited a bassist for the tour. Ultimately, the trio expanded to a quartet with the addition of DC veteran Michelle Mae, formerly of the Make Up and Weird War, as bassist.
Meanwhile, vocalist Mary Timony and drummer Laura Harris continued to punch a hole in our collective hearts with their “girl group” dynamics, adding a tinge of glam metal to their already punky aura. The results have been absolutely electrifying, and the gig in Baltimore’s cozy Ottobar is one not to be missed.
Watch Ex Hex perform “Rainbow Shiner” live on KEXP on April 19, 2019:
Writing for the Washington Post after the Ex Hex show at 9:30 Club in May, Mark Jenkins said, “The road-tested musicians were in fine form, meshing skillfully on such sleek tunes as ‘Diamond Drive’ and ‘How You Got That Girl.’ The band chugged through 14 songs in 55 minutes… The cannily derivative material was stoked by power chords and refrains sung in unison” by Mary, Betsy, and Laura.
Ex Hex
w/ Gauche, Quattracenta
Ottobar
Saturday, Dec. 14
Doors @ 8pm
$16
All ages