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Re: What is your favourite personal Hip experience? - chancellor - 07-04-2016

emperor penguin Wrote:Mine would have to be the June 24th, 2006 Fort York Show. That show featured the best setlist of any of the 20 Hip shows I've seen and was also the night they pulled out 38 Years Old after a 12 year hiatus. Several members of the base were there, and can attest to that moment, but as soon as Gord said "This next story's true... and it isn't, true" I knew exactly what was coming from listening to numerous early nineties bootlegs. Then Paul launched into those iconic acoustic chords and the place went nuts. I got full body chills instantly. 38 Years Old was my first favourite Hip song. In high school I would write out all of the lyrics to pass the time during class so getting to hear it at all, especially so unexpectedly, is a moment I'll never ever forget.

I can attest to this moment. It was fantastic. I was with Beanmedic and he lost it when it started. Definitely one of the best shows I have been too.

Re: What is your favourite personal Hip experience? - daylight - 07-04-2016

Hearing what sounded like Fiddler's Green being rehearsed as I waited in line for a Calgary WC warm-up show, dismissing that as impossible, and being flabbergasted to hear it played for the first time a couple hours later.

Re: What is your favourite personal Hip experience? - Escape@Hand - 07-04-2016

daylight Wrote:Hearing what sounded like Fiddler's Green being rehearsed as I waited in line for a Calgary WC warm-up show, dismissing that as impossible, and being flabbergasted to hear it played for the first time a couple hours later.

I missed that show by one night! I went to the 2nd and 3rd nights in Calgary, which were some of the best shows I've seen. I finally got to hear Escape at Hand on the second night, which is one of my most memorable experiences. I actually heard it at my first show in 1996, but obviously didn't recognize it, and don't remember it at all. I do remember them opening that show with Grace, Too, which was awesome. I was way up in the nose-bleeds, but can still clearly hear the opening drum beat. What a great first Hip song to hear live!

Re: What is your favourite personal Hip experience? - The Darkest Canuck - 07-05-2016

Not to brag (ok, maybe a little bit), but I've seen them play Fiddler's Green twice 8)

Hamilton 2012 and Sudbury 2013

Re: What is your favourite personal Hip experience? - sean.bonner - 07-06-2016

The Darkest Canuck Wrote:Not to brag (ok, maybe a little bit), but I've seen them play Fiddler's Green twice 8)

Hamilton 2012 and Sudbury 2013
Hmmm let's see.
2006-11-09 - Montreal
2008-06-30 - Charlottetown
2009-05-02 - Montreal
2011-06-28 - Moncton
2011-06-30 - Charlottetown
2013-02-02 - Halifax

Six times.
Would never have believed I would ever say that in September of 2006.

Re: What is your favourite personal Hip experience? - SRK - 07-06-2016

2006-11-09 Montreal
2007-02-02 Ottawa
2008-02-21 Brockville
2008-02-23 Kingston
2009-09-26 Ottawa
2011-07-09 Ottawa
2015-04-14 Kingston

7! What do I win? (And that one in montreal in 2006 was insane. Had no idea it was coming...hadn't heard about calgary yet.)

Re: What is your favourite personal Hip experience? - direwolf74 - 07-07-2016

Just thought of another one!

ARA '93, Race City Speedway in Calgary. For me this show still holds up as the greatest double-bill I've ever witnessed. The Hip were my favorite band at the time, but Midnight Oil was a close 2nd. The Oils kicked my ass so hard that day, I remember saying to my friends "holy shit, I don't know if the Hip can top that." But top it they did. By the time the boys hit the stage just as the sun was setting, there was no question whose show this was. Hip mania had reached a fever pitch that summer thanks to the massive success of Fully Completely, and people went absolutely nuts at their shows back then. I remember being right near the front, and I could see the Midnight Oil guys watching from the side of the stage; Peter Garrett nodding his head along to the music. This was also the height of the grunge craze and there was crowd surfing galore. Constant waves of bodies being pulled over the barrier. Definitely the wildest Hip show I've been to just in terms of crowd energy. I'll never forget the big, bushy Grizzly Adams beard that Gord sported on that tour, which combined with his crazy stage presence made him seem like some sort of escaped lunatic. This clip from Heksenketel beautifully captures the insanity of that tour:

[youtube]nCj_NCdNthY[/youtube]

Re: What is your favourite personal Hip experience? - Killer Whale Tank - 07-07-2016

That's great! I was at ARA in '93 on its Montreal stop, and I had EXACTLY the same response - 'holy smokes, how can the Hip top what Midnight Oil just did??' I remember the Oil's harmonies giving me goosebumps and Garrett's presence being unbelievable. Sure enough the Hip came on and mowed down all comers. :rambo:

(Personally, though, my all-time favourite Hip show was probably the next iteration of ARA - 1995? - when he came on wearing a straw hat which immediately blew off, and the band just BLEW OUR SKULLS OFF with the killer, killer material they'd accumulated from UTH to DFN. Holy crap was that incredible. I was down in the mosh pit for that one, boy...still remember everyone screaming LEMEEEE OUUUUUUUUUUTTTTT!!!!! for the cathartic climax of 'Trunk' :lol:

Re: What is your favourite personal Hip experience? - direwolf74 - 07-07-2016

Killer Whale Tank Wrote:That's great! I was at ARA in '93 on its Montreal stop, and I had EXACTLY the same response - 'holy smokes, how can the Hip top what Midnight Oil just did??' I remember the Oil's harmonies giving me goosebumps and Garrett's presence being unbelievable. Sure enough the Hip came on and mowed down all comers. :rambo:

(Personally, though, my all-time favourite Hip show was probably the next iteration of ARA - 1995? - when he came on wearing a straw hat which immediately blew off, and the band just BLEW OUR SKULLS OFF with the killer, killer material they'd accumulated from UTH to DFN. Holy crap was that incredible. I was down in the mosh pit for that one, boy...still remember everyone screaming LEMEEEE OUUUUUUUUUUTTTTT!!!!! for the cathartic climax of 'Trunk' :lol:

In the book "Have Not Been the Same", the band talks about how special that '93 tour was. Going on after a legendary band like Midnight Oil was the biggest test they had ever faced at that point. They were big fans of those guys and really wanted them on the bill. But the Oils were big headliners in their own right and were kind of on the fence about playing second fiddle to another, less established band. The Hip had to convince them that this wasn't an opening thing, but more of a double bill situation where they would get equal stage time as the Hip, to which the Oils finally agreed. Thankfully they did, because it's the only time I've ever seen Midnight Oil live. Word is they're reuniting and planning an international tour next year. I'm crossing my fingers for a Vancouver date. It would be pretty f'n amazing to see those guys live again.

I agree, ARA '95 was also incredible. I was at the Alberta stop, and I remember it pissed rain for the entire afternoon. But just as the Hip were walking onto the stage, the clouds parted and the sun came out, as if the rock n' roll gods had stepped in and said "ok, the Hip are on. Let's get these clouds out of here". Excellent lineup as well (Spirit of the West, Rheostatics, Ziggy Marley, The Inbreds, Eric's Trip, etc..) I still have the poster and the setlist from that show.

Re: What is your favourite personal Hip experience? - NWOntario - 07-08-2016

One of my favourite Hip experiences happened sixteen years ago today: my first show, as well as the only time (so far?!) I've seen them in the States, at the Minnesota State Zoo Amphitheatre. We took my mom for her 50th birthday, reasoning she should celebrate the start of her 50s with a rock concert (happy 66th, ma!). And so we took her to Minnesota to see the Hip in a venue that's roughly the size of a university lecture hall. I wore my Queen's frosh week t-shirt because...actually, I don't know why I did that. And they played five songs I've only heard live that one time.

Re: What is your favourite personal Hip experience? - cochise - 07-08-2016

direwolf74 Wrote:Just thought of another one!

ARA '93, The Oils kicked my ass so hard that day, I remember saying to my friends "holy shit, I don't know if the Hip can top that."

We were at the Ottawa Lansdowne Park show, it was just incredible. Midnight Oil had the volume cranked, I still say to this day it was the loudest concert I have ever heard. In between Oil leaving the stage and The Hip coming on was a very long break. Word came around that apparently Oil blew some of the sound system. Not sure if it was true or just rumour, but it was definitely a believable explanation why there was such a long break between the two.

I remember getting back to the car that night and literally had to yell at each other to hear. I've never had my ears ring like that before. Definite permanent damage done that night!

EDIT - Jebus, that was 23 years ago....frig I feel old

Re: What is your favourite personal Hip experience? - direwolf74 - 07-08-2016

cochise Wrote:I remember getting back to the car that night and literally had to yell at each other to hear. I've never had my ears ring like that before. Definite permanent damage done that night!

EDIT - Jebus, that was 23 years ago....frig I feel old

I'm actually afraid to get my hearing checked. 30 years of concert going and 10 years playing in various bands when I was younger has likely damaged my hearing in a big way. I can still hear fine, but when I go to concerts these days I don't really get the ringing sensation anymore. I'm guessing that's not a good sign, haha.

Re: What is your favourite personal Hip experience? - SoylentGreg - 07-12-2016

Definitely April 2006 at the Two Rivers Art Festival in Pittsburgh. My first time seeing the Hip live after revering them for like three years - getting there hours before everybody else in the Hipbase meetup and literally stumbling into their soundcheck. I sat on a bench with like five other people who'd obviously just wandered up to see who these people were and watched The Hip rehearse Fly, Lake Fever, Heaven is A Better Place Today and Sherpa. Then got drunk with a bunch of you assholes and stood five feet away from them, all of us singing our lungs out. Even got to meet Gord and shake his hand after the show. It was fucking magic.

Re: What is your favourite personal Hip experience? - thompson girl - 07-13-2016

I've got a lot of great personal Hip experiences. One of them is Paul coming up to me after his show in Waterloo. He said "I see you at all of my shows, thank you for the support". I was honestly taken aback by that. HE is thanking ME? Also, he recognizes me? Wow.

I guess my first personal Hip experience is still my favourite one - the Silver Jet video shoot. I had just moved back to Ontario from Halifax and was jobless so I had all the time in the world to take part in a video shoot. The email came out asking people to enter to take part in the video. I entered, then clearly remember being outside in my backyard when a call came from Revolver Films. They wanted me on set at like 8 a.m. or something early like that. Wear all black. You are going to be part of a small (early) main group as part of the video.

I took the GO train in from Ajax and made my way up to Lansdowne and Dupont. I will never forget that building and am sad every time I drive by and see the condos in its place. Walked in to this warehouse type thing. I had zero expectations at this point, and had no clue what I was in for.

Tables and chairs were set up. I started chatting to some people. Then we sat and waited, and waited, and waited. Some people played cards, some read. CHUM FM was playing on a radio. Ahead by A Century happened to come on the radio, and it was at that exact point where I realized what I was doing and what was about to happen. Holy sh!t, I was about to meet the Hip!

A second (larger) group of extras came in later in the morning, and we all started asking the Revolver Films folks if the guys would come out to talk to us. They said they'd see what they could do, but they doubted it. Some sing-alongs started, and that passed the time.

Then, what must have been five hours since we had been sitting there waiting, a door opens and out comes Gord Downie. I almost fell off my chair. Jaws dropped. Nobody knew what to do because nobody expected any of them to come out. After a second or two, people started going up to him. And then Johnny Fay and Rob Baker came out. So there was lots of chatting, picture taking, etc. I went up to Gord, and he was very nice, asking my name, thanking me for coming. Went over to Rob, and I remember being surprised when he grabbed me around the waist for a picture! lol, I didn't think you were allowed to touch celebrities!

About an hour or two after that, we FINALLY got on set. Being in the early group, I was allowed to go in first. I was right at the front of the stage, right in front of Rob (as many know, that is still my favourite spot!). Video shoots are boring, lots of repetition, lots of moving, lots of re-do's. What was so cool about this, was that the guys jammed during all the little breaks.

We went in and out of the set a few times from what I remember. We were all hot, Gord Sinclair was giving out his bottles of water. The day was wasting away, and I had to catch a GO train back to the 'burbs. I think I finally had to call it a day around 8pm.

I picked up my autographed poster (for being on the early crew), and made my way back to Union Station, with a huge smile on my face, warmth in my heart, and a knowledge that I had just experienced something pretty special - I just met the Hip. I'll never forget the show at the Hummingbird Theatre, which was about a month later. It was totally different for me. I had a completely different awareness of the band and it forever changed the way I saw them perform on stage. It definitely brings a more personal aspect to their shows for me.

Re: What is your favourite personal Hip experience? - Moof_Milker - 07-13-2016

^ Great stories there, Thompson Girl. Very cool.

I just happen to notice that 20 years ago today, July 13th, 1996, The Hip headlined the Eden Music Fest in Bowmanville, Ontario. At 16 years old, this was my second Hip show...and to this day was the largest Hip show I've been to. Definitely one of my favourite Hip memories. I remember fighting my way up to the front of the crowd...right up to the security fence...and after all that waiting hearing the first notes of Giftshop as the band came on stage. Magic.