Let me explain to you why Percy Hill is my favorite band. Or not really, but why I never fail to go see them when they hit my area. I finally realized what exactly it was that appealed to me so much when I saw them for the fourth time Saturday, March 3 at Higher Ground. So, like me, you hate the Backstreet Boys and N’Sync, right? Forget the music, you would never listen to them out of pure principle, right? Or perhaps you don’t hate the plastic pop culture, but it is just one of those things that only can last so long before it just gets repetitive and boring. Percy Hill is the boy band for people who like good music. Yes, let’s get cheesy – perhaps it is the charm of the bassist John Leccese and his crazy glitter glasses. Or perhaps it is the boyish good looks of drummer and vocalist Aaron Katz. Or maybe even the somehow Sting-like qualities of guitarist Joseph Farrell. Whatever it is, Percy Hill can strike a chord for anyone out there who feels that void of emptiness left by the sterile crappiness of the pop culture boy bands.”What is it?” I asked myself, as Percy Hill struck up their first tune. The song was unfamiliar to me, yet I found myself filled with a girlish glee, convinced that this was in fact “the best band EVER.”It is not what I am usually into in terms of music. They are essentially a jam band that does not take itself very seriously. Percy Hill is filled with that pop sound, not because they hope to hear themselves on the radio someday, but because they like to have fun. “Why then, why am I here?” I asked again, amazed at the “variety,” I guess you could call of it, of the audience present.Simplicity, a friend of mine pointed out, and that was the handle. Everything they play, every note they sing, makes absolutely so much sense. Sure, they like to jam just as much as the next band, but there is something about it – you know they are not up there to impress people with some crazy, tripped-out jam sessions. They want their audience to enjoy it and have fun with it, so they keep it simple, and yet it just pulls you along.When I saw Percy Hill play at Higher Ground last semester, I noticed how they tended to get more and more intense as the show went on. They start you off happy, but leave you totally psyched and energized, and they always come back for an encore. They were definitely all about that again this time. By second set, you are psyched to be alive. At that point, they usually tend to break out with some eighties cover song which everyone loves, whether you are an eighties fan or not. All of the sudden, without even realizing it, they gradually throw you into a last few songs of tumultuous energy and enthusiasm without all the pre-planned boy band choreography. A Percy Hill show is almost like a house party with a couple of your friends jammin’ out in the front of the living room.So, no, Nick Carter is not the keyboardist, but believe me, that is a good thing. We want actual talent-something you do not find on the radio. These boys are much more fun, they actually play their own instruments, and I can guarantee that they are not plastic dolls in real life.