(From DCist contributor Kristin Kovner) We remember Ari Hest when he was just another NYU student with killer pipes and a guitar. We remember when he played at virtually every indie venue around the country. After all, how could we forget? It was only a couple of years ago. And then, he signed with Columbia. So with great interest (and a dash of anxiety that he’d become just another John Mayer-type), we trekked out to…