Hello Mary at Bowery Ballroom: Backstage With the New York Rock Band
Image Credit: Griffin Lotz for Rolling Stone
It’s been a big year for Hello Mary, who are in the middle of a long North American tour in support of Emita Ox. “We’ve been touring really relentlessly,” Wave says. “I think by the end of this tour we’ll have played 95 shows this year.”
Hello Mary at Bowery Ballroom
Image Credit: Griffin Lotz for Rolling Stone
Oppenheimer, who’s currently an undergrad at Bard College, does some homework backstage before the show.
Playing Bowery Ballroom was a big deal for the trio of native New Yorkers. “We’re very excited about it,” Wave says. “We’ve played there as an opener a couple times, but headlining it feels really crazy.”
Hello Mary at Bowery Ballroom
Image Credit: Griffin Lotz for Rolling Stone
They’ve spent much of the year opening for bands including Silversun Pickups and American Football. Now, they’re at the top of the bill. “As an opening act, you know that whatever you do, it’ll probably be fine,” says Wave (shown here during soundcheck). “But for the headline shows, it’s like, ‘Oh shit. These people may have actually listened to the record. We’ve got to make sure we sound good and tight.’”
Hello Mary at Bowery Ballroom
Image Credit: Griffin Lotz for Rolling Stone
They recorded Emita Ox this past January at Drop of Sun Studio in Asheville, North Carolina, where MJ Lenderman, Wednesday, and other leading indie acts have worked. “We got to Asheville on New Year’s Eve, and we started recording on Jan. 1,” Straight says. The album came out in September, 18 months after their self-titled 2023 debut.
Hello Mary at Bowery Ballroom
Image Credit: Griffin Lotz for Rolling Stone
Wave, Oppenheimer, and Straight (from left) relax backstage with a game of 20 Questions. Hello Mary don’t have any major pre-show rituals. “We used to sit on the floor cross-legged and kind of just take a moment and meditate, but that was short-lived,” Wave says. “Now, because we’ve been touring so much, we’re just, like, ‘See ya onstage.’”
Hello Mary at Bowery Ballroom
Image Credit: Griffin Lotz for Rolling Stone
Their performance at the End of the Road festival in the English countryside this past summer was a highlight. “We thought no one was going to be there,” Wave recalls. “And then we walked out and there was a sea of people. I think they were just there for the festival, but the fact that people came early to the tent that we were playing to see us was just really surreal and awesome.”
Hello Mary at Bowery Ballroom
Image Credit: Griffin Lotz for Rolling Stone
Oppenheimer and Straight watch one of the opening acts. Before Hello Mary’s set starts, they play a deconstructed electronic version of “The Cha Cha Slide” that Oppenheimer made on her laptop, and Wave emerges to dance alone onstage. “It gets me excited to play the show instead of nervous,” the drummer says. “Originally, the idea was to have a projected video of our animated selves doing the cha cha slide. The audience could also do the cha cha slide, and then everybody’s feeling good. But we couldn’t get that animation together and we’re too scared to actually do the cha cha slide in front of all those people.”
“Except for Stella,” Straight says. “She can do it.”
Hello Mary at Bowery Ballroom
Image Credit: Griffin Lotz for Rolling Stone
The new album features an expanded instrumental palette, including more keyboards, vibraphone and percussion accents, and an upright bass on several songs. “There’s definitely a different mood on this album,” Wave says. “It’s darker and more subtle.”
Hello Mary at Bowery Ballroom
Image Credit: Griffin Lotz for Rolling Stone
They open their set with “Float,” which is also the first song on Emita Ox. It’s one of several songs from this album that feature intricate finger-picking from Straight (pictured), dreamy harmonies from her and Wave, and a feral, thrashing ending. (Fans of a certain age might be reminded of Radiohead circa the My Iron Lung EP.)
Hello Mary at Bowery Ballroom
Image Credit: Griffin Lotz for Rolling Stone
The set peaks a few songs later with “0%,” Hello Mary’s unanimous choice for the most fun song to play live. “That one’s really fun,” says Wave (pictured), whose cathartic screams take the lead vocal spotlight on the song. “And it’s toward the end of the set, so the nerves have worn down.”
Hello Mary at Bowery Ballroom
Image Credit: Griffin Lotz for Rolling Stone
The set concludes with “Knowing You,” a fan favorite that they’ve been playing for more than a year. “It has a fun ending that can be drawn out,” Straight says. “I feel like a lot of our songs kind of end tightly, which is not all that exciting for a finale. It’s fun to just have feedback and noises.”
Hello Mary at Bowery Ballroom
Image Credit: Griffin Lotz for Rolling Stone
And that’s it. Hello Mary don’t do encores. “It’s just like, why?” Straight says. “If you want to play the song, why do you have to get offstage and then go back?”
“I think we’ve done encores before, but only when it’s like, genuinely, we were not planning that,” adds Oppenheimer (pictured).
Hello Mary at Bowery Ballroom
Image Credit: Griffin Lotz for Rolling Stone
Afterward, everyone’s in a great mood. “I always feel amazing, regardless of the set,” Straight says. “Actually, if the set is bad, I’m like, ‘Fuck’ — but I’m glad I’m offstage. And if the set is good, I’m like, ‘Hell yes, let’s fucking celebrate.’”
“By the time it’s over, I’m just so elated and energized from the adrenaline,” Wave says.
“I feel like I get energized for 10 minutes and then the adrenaline wears off, and then I’m ready to sleep really deeply for a long time,” Oppenheimer says.
Hello Mary at Bowery Ballroom
Image Credit: Griffin Lotz for Rolling Stone
Hello Mary have a few more shows coming up on this tour, including dates in Brooklyn (Oct. 26), Washington, D.C. (Oct. 27), Durham, North Carolina (Oct. 28), Atlanta (Oct. 30), Denton, Texas (Nov. 1), and Houston (Nov. 2), before wrapping with an appearance at Austin’s Levitation festival on Nov. 3. After that, they’ll look for some time to start thinking about their next project. “The gears are starting to turn,” Straight says. “Mikaela has been the most prolific — she’s brought in a couple things already. It’s been hard to find time to write, but we definitely will.”
