Remember last week when we had that freak hail storm? Well while you were snapchatting and making classic “AWWW HAIL NAWW” tweets, I was trying to mask the terrifying sound, hoping Ne-Hi‘s Jason Balla wouldn’t notice and ask me if I was under fire. Balla is hanging out at home in Humbodlt Park in Chicago, gearing up for tour, and safe from golf-ball sized ice.

Ne-Hi is a no-frills guitar driven indie rock band with deep roots in Chicago. Being revered by the Chicago Tribune and selling out hometown shows regularly, it’s time for them to hit the road. While Ne-Hi is being spotted by the likes of Stereogum and NME, Balla said, “It’s exciting! I mean when I go on and see our photo on the homepage between Eminem and Jay-Z, it’s pretty funny and surreal, but so cool.” He may be even more psyched about the fact that the band just got their first van, which they are hoping to name during this tour.

With their new van, Ne-Hi is bringing some Midwestern charm on the road in tow and is particularly excited about this stop in Boston. “I’ve always been really impressed with Boston’s local scene. It’s known to be this really great community of talent and everyone is so supportive through the local scene,” Balla said. According to him, Chicago misses out on the perks of the small city-wide radius that Boston has. “In Chicago we have scenes that are very separate and spread apart from one another, we have the bar scene separate from the house show scene, separate from the hardcore scene…we don’t have the same closeness that Boston has.”

Ne-Hi originally brought the four (Jason Balla, Alex Otake, Mikey Wells, and James Weir) together to score a film for a mutual friend. Balla, Wells, and Weir all were roommates/hall-mates in college. While the notion to start a band with the guy who lives down the hall is common, having it work out to the point where you’re being written about internationally is anything but. The four have created a lo-fi sound equally fit for dirty garages as for beaches. The jangly guitar lines are basically irresistible so grab a ticket for this Thursday at Great Scott and welcome Ne-Hi into Boston with open arms. If you want to go that extra mile, bring a bottle of Topo Chico over for Balla, it’ll make his day.

Ne-Hi
w/ sturgeon
Thursday, August 13
Great Scott
1222 Commonwealth Ave.
9:00 p.m. – 18+ – $10