For almost a decade, one of the biggest events of the year for local music lovers has been The Mighty Pines’ ’90s New Year’s Eve. And that’s even though the setlist generally features no original music.
As Neil Salsich, the band’s charismatic frontman, explains, ‘90s night is basically a series of big hits, one after the other—all the songs the band remembers singing along to as kids and later as touring musicians. “This was the music that all just got us geeking out together,” he explains. “We do 4 Non Blondes. We do Alanis Morissette. We do blink-182, we do The Cranberries.”
And that’s coming from a band known for its own compositions and its soul-inspired roots rock. Salsich compares it to karaoke night, saying, “This is the one night where we kind of just pretend that we are Sublime or Semisonic or The Red Hot Chili Peppers or whatever.” In some ways, it’s karaoke night for the audience, too, which lustily sings along. Says Salsich, “We’ve learned to just give them the choruses of certain songs.”
People love it. The band’s first ‘90s tribute show was around Halloween, but in 2018, they switched to New Year’s Eve. Since then, they’ve steadily played bigger and bigger venues—selling out each one—from Broadway Oyster Bar to The Old Rock House to The Ready Room to The Golden Record to, this year, Delmar Hall. Asked if they have their eye on Enterprise Center, Salsich laughs. “We’re really just aiming for The Pageant, but now that you’ve planted that seed, yes. I mean, we’d love to take the show wherever it wants to go.”
And in the process of this night of covers, Salsich has developed a new appreciation for the Top 40 songs of his youth. He cites as an example “You’re Still the One,” a huge hit for Shania Twain that, let’s face it, doesn’t always get respect from rock musicians. He’s now a fan.
“I’ve re-fallen in love with pop music again because of this show,” he says. “There’s all these little tricks, twists, and turns that most non-musicians aren’t aware of, but when you actually learn the song, you’re like, Wow, I’ll be damned!”
This year, The Mighty Pines will take the stage at Delmar Hall at 9:30 p.m. on New Year’s Eve, the quartet accompanied by Beth Bombara (she takes the lead on The Cranberries songs, among others), Bianca Fitzpatrick (she does a great Lauryn Hill and Whitney Houston), and MC Tres for the hip-hop hits.
Salsich, for one, is looking forward to what might sound like a musician’s worst nightmare: a night of battling the audience to be heard over its own joyful singing, a raucous party, a performance where none of his band’s own songs will be heard.
“Most musicians are actually kind of sick of their own music anyway,” he confides. “So this is the one night of the year that we just get to do this and, like, just let our freak flag fly.”
Tickets for The Mighty Pines’ New Year’s Eve show start at $35 and are available via Delmar Hall.
