Karen Ponzio Photos
Hank Hoffman.
“I’ll do my impresario thing, which is normal, and then I’ll do something which is not,” said Hank Hoffman, who on Saturday night not only played the part of executive director of Best Video Film and Cultural Center, but also stepped up to the stage on vocals and guitar for the band Happy Ending, which he has been a part of since 1983.
Another special role Hoffman played on this evening: birthday celebrant.
The band always plays a show annually near Hoffman’s birthday, but this year’s was a special one. Hoffman — famously a Beatles fan — was turning 64.
Happy Ending-themed birthday cake.
Prior to the show the crowd regaled Hoffman with their version of “Happy Birthday.” The cake was decorated with lyrics from that Beatles song as well as photos of Happy Ending album covers. A wealth of friends and family surrounded Hoffman and band members as everyone enjoyed a slice and spoke of getting old and making music and other merriness. Commemorative t‑shirts were also available, designed by artist Graham Honaker, who also works at Best Video as a barista.
A Case of Space set up for the evening.
Another special addition to this night was A Case of Space, who describes themselves as an “old-school liquid light show with a modern twist.” Ansonia-based artists Dan and Adrie used oil, water and dyes on two glass plates, along with digital enhancements, to provide a backdrop of psychedelic color, light and animation. It appeared behind the band on a movie screen while they performed. According to Dan, this type of light show had been around since the 1960s, originally being done with overhead projectors, but is now done digitally.
“You swish it together and feel what you feel,” he said. Though they have worked with Happy Ending as well as other bands, they have also performed at art installations, libraries, and even with Girl Scout troops. “It’s fun being able to interact,” Dan added, “and have people try it as well.”
Interaction was a big part of the evening for Happy Ending as well. The band — which along with Hoffman included Richard Brown on guitar and saxophone, Randy Stone on bass, and Tom Smith on drums — exhibited what results when longtime friends with an everlasting love for music perform for a crowd that reciprocates that love. A 13-song set list included selections from the band’s three albums — 1983’sHave a Nice Day!, 1996’s Smile for the Camera, and 2014’s Electricity for the Youth of Today — and volleyed between 1960s- and 1970s-seasoned electric garage pop and an all-out psychedelic freak-folk shred fest while A Case of Space’s lava lamp-style visuals enhanced every mood. For all the jokes between the band and audience about getting old, the four musicians showed a vibrancy and vitality that could silence any and all comments about ageism. With Stone and Smith’s rhythm section tight as tight could be, alongside Brown and Hoffman’s deft and delightful string work that also seemed at any point could ignite a fire at their fingertips, this band in just over an hour gave a master class on how to make a rock band and rock music that lasts, searing through songs such as “Psychedelic Summer,” “Planet Hell,” and “Surfing on Mars,” which caused the standing-room-only audience to respond with joy, awe, and gratitude continually throughout the night.
Through all of that sound, the lyrics still were laid bare. They cast a light on a variety of issues important at the time of their writing, and also at times prescient in nature. In “This is Our America Today,” Hoffman began, “cracked concrete and broken glass / widow tossed out on her ass / college grad can’t find a job / big bankers they still thieve and rob,” while in “They Got Three I’s,” he sang, “There’s a lot of chairs in the Job Service office / there’s a lot of chairs but there ain’t no jobs.”
The band also took their turn at a couple of covers, including “Walk Away Renee,” made popular by The Left Banke. Hoffman mentioned that their lead singer had died recently.
“Not our lead singer, their lead singer,” Brown added.
The band ended its set with a version of, you guessed it, “When I’m Sixty Four,” after which Hoffman’s wife Jane brought up a gift attached to two balloons while the rest of the audience applauded and screamed for an encore. The band obliged, after consulting with each other for a moment.
“It’s called ‘Everything Will Be Fine,’ but I wouldn’t count on it,” said Hoffman. True to his nature of not slowing down, but also giving time and space to those and that which need to be heard, Hoffman and Happy Ending ended the night setting the tone for what can be possible with enough passion and the support and love of friends, and still celebrated long after the music ended.