the 1996 tour may have been the band's peak performance.

the 1996 tour may have been the band's peak performance. - Printable Version

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the 1996 tour may have been the band's peak performance. - mark - 08-08-2016

i'm listening to Live between Us for the fist time in a long time.. the performance really is amazing and i think that tour may have been their peak in term of live shows. the band was tight and gord vocals were spot on.

although, the 1998 tour ("an evening with" tour, i believe) was pretty damn good too.

what are your thoughts? when do you think they reached their peak?

Re: the 1996 tour may have been the band's peak performance. - Lizard King - 08-08-2016

mark Wrote:i'm listening to Live between Us for the fist time in a long time.. the performance really is amazing and i think that tour may have been their peak in term of live shows. the band was tight and gord vocals were spot on.

although, the 1998 tour ("an evening with" tour, i believe) was pretty damn good too.

what are your thoughts? when do you think they reached their peak?

That's tough, some people say they peaked in the 90's but I'm not so sure, between 2000-2004 I saw a ton of shows and they were amazing. They've always been great live up to now, but for me the live act lost something when Gord started his screaming/shouting phase. But the band has never wavered in its playing ability one bit, it was just the way he was singing just to be clear.

Re: the 1996 tour may have been the band's peak performance. - mark - 08-08-2016

Lizard King Wrote:
mark Wrote:i'm listening to Live between Us for the fist time in a long time.. the performance really is amazing and i think that tour may have been their peak in term of live shows. the band was tight and gord vocals were spot on.

although, the 1998 tour ("an evening with" tour, i believe) was pretty damn good too.

what are your thoughts? when do you think they reached their peak?

That's tough, some people say they peaked in the 90's but I'm not so sure, between 2000-2004 I saw a ton of shows and they were amazing. They've always been great live up to now, but for me the live act lost something when Gord started his screaming/shouting phase. But the band has never wavered in its playing ability one bit, it was just the way he was singing just to be clear.

the screaming was the reason i was so turned off by them in the last few years. the band has always been tight.

but that 1996 tour was magical.

Re: the 1996 tour may have been the band's peak performance. - Lizard King - 08-08-2016

mark Wrote:but that 1996 tour was magical.

I saw them in 95, but not sure if i saw them in 96, Id have to look at the tour dates to jog my memory.. if i did it wasn't Toronto because Ive never seen them in maple leaf gardens, probably Hamilton I saw a lot of shows there in the 90's.

the only band i ever saw at MLG was Oasis and it was nuts I almost got crushed to death.

Re: the 1996 tour may have been the band's peak performance. - mark - 08-08-2016

Dec 8, 1996 was my first ever Hip show. i was in the 3rd row and when they came out i remember thinking "holy fuck. this is actually happening".

great show too. highlights included: pigeon camera, escape, thugs, 50MC and greasy jungle.

<a class="postlink" href="http://www.thehip.com/shows/728/">http://www.thehip.com/shows/728/</a>

Re: the 1996 tour may have been the band's peak performance. - Lizard King - 08-08-2016

mark Wrote:Dec 8, 1996 was my first ever Hip show. i was in the 3rd row and when they came out i remember thinking "holy f**k. this is actually happening".

great show too. highlights included: pigeon camera, escape, thugs, 50MC and greasy jungle.

<a class="postlink" href="http://www.thehip.com/shows/728/">http://www.thehip.com/shows/728/</a>

wow, a setlist with coconut cream, apartment song and put it off.

what a great first show

Re: the 1996 tour may have been the band's peak performance. - Lizard King - 08-08-2016

mark Wrote:Dec 8, 1996 was my first ever Hip <a class="postlink" href="showhttp://www.thehip.com/shows/728/">showhttp://www.thehip.com/shows/728/</a>

My first.

<a class="postlink" href="http://www.thehip.com/shows/899/">http://www.thehip.com/shows/899/</a>

I still have vivid memories about that night not to mention it was -40 below zero outside, I almost died waiting to get in. I still have the shirt i bought that day.

Re: the 1996 tour may have been the band's peak performance. - mark - 08-08-2016

Lizard King Wrote:
mark Wrote:Dec 8, 1996 was my first ever Hip show. i was in the 3rd row and when they came out i remember thinking "holy f**k. this is actually happening".

great show too. highlights included: pigeon camera, escape, thugs, 50MC and greasy jungle.

<a class="postlink" href="http://www.thehip.com/shows/728/">http://www.thehip.com/shows/728/</a>

wow, a setlist with coconut cream, apartment song and put it off.

what a great first show

:lol: yeah, could have done without coconut cream. but i have always like put it off.

Re: the 1996 tour may have been the band's peak performance. - mark - 08-08-2016

Lizard King Wrote:
mark Wrote:Dec 8, 1996 was my first ever Hip <a class="postlink" href="showhttp://www.thehip.com/shows/728/">showhttp://www.thehip.com/shows/728/</a>

My first.

<a class="postlink" href="http://www.thehip.com/shows/899/">http://www.thehip.com/shows/899/</a>

I still have vivid memories about that night not to mention it was -40 below zero outside, I almost died waiting to get in. I still have the shirt i bought that day.

seems to me i have that on VHS ... or at least i used to.

Re: the 1996 tour may have been the band's peak performance. - direwolf74 - 08-08-2016

'96 was a good one for sure. Whenever I think about that tour, I always remember those epic 15-minute long versions of 100th Meridian. In almost every bootleg I had from that tour (and the two shows I attended), they stretched that sucker out every single time; whether it was the band trying out new riffs, or just Gord telling crazy stories or playing around with new lyrics, etc... It was mind-blowing.

Personally though, I think the 1998/99 Phantom Power tour was probably their greatest live era. The band was at the peak of their powers creatively, the setlist variety was awesome, and Gord was at the top of his game in terms of his singing, improvisation and stage antics. This was also the last tour where they used both NOIS and Meridian as workshops where they experimented with new material. It always bugged me that they stopped doing that altogether in recent years. Sure, they still stretch them out a little bit, but nowhere near the kinds of exploratory jams we witnessed between '96 and '99. Not to sound hokey, but Hip shows in those days were transcendent experiences. You never knew what you were gonna get, as every show was different. When "Screamo Gord" emerged around 2011, I started to lose interest in them as a live band and went to fewer shows as a result. It irritated me to the point where, for the first time in my life, I skipped out on an entire Hip tour last year (FC reissue tour). And then wouldn't ya know it, the one tour I decided to skip, Gord started singing in his natural range again. Go figure.

All that being said, I really think this current tour is making a strong case for greatest Hip tour of all time, and certainly the most inspiring in Canadian rock n' roll history. The setlists have been amazing, Gord's vocals have been spot-on, the band is sounding stronger and tighter than they ever have, and the energy and vibe at these shows has been absolutely magical. If not the greatest, then it's easily their best tour since 2009, hands down. And it's been really cool seeing the entire country caught up in Hip mania again. Their July 24th Vancouver gig might the best rock show I've ever seen by anyone.

Re: the 1996 tour may have been the band's peak performance. - Rye - 08-08-2016

I don't think you can go wrong with any show from 1992-1999. I have the same complaint about the shows in 2000 as I do in 2009; while the shows were quite good they were a bit unfocused and the song selection felt like taking the Hip's catalogue and pushing the shuffle button on it.

As for the screaming, I think the vocals started going downhill as far back as 2004. There's some performances on the Toronto dvd from 2004 that are really sloppy and scream-y. When Sirius did their Hip station back in June they played the Hamilton show from 2007 and there were some terrible, scream filled vocal performances in there.

For the Fully show last year and the one show I saw this year, Gord seems to be really trying to focus on getting the lyrics correct and toned the yelling down substantially (although, it's still there on certain songs).

Re: the 1996 tour may have been the band's peak performance. - sherpa - 08-08-2016

I've seen almost every tour from Road Apples onward and I'd say the Henhouse/Phantom Power era is probably my favourite for shows I saw. That being said my top show was Road Apples at the Concert Hall in 1991. It is one of my top 5 shows of all time by any band.

Here is a review of the show
http://www.darrincappe.com/music/hip91-3-1.jpg

Re: the 1996 tour may have been the band's peak performance. - mark - 08-09-2016

direwolf74 Wrote:'96 was a good one for sure. Whenever I think about that tour, I always remember those epic 15-minute long versions of 100th Meridian. In almost every bootleg I had from that tour (and the two shows I attended), they stretched that sucker out every single time; whether it was the band trying out new riffs, or just Gord telling crazy stories or playing around with new lyrics, etc... It was mind-blowing.

Personally though, I think the 1998/99 Phantom Power tour was probably their greatest live era. The band was at the peak of their powers creatively, the setlist variety was awesome, and Gord was at the top of his game in terms of his singing, improvisation and stage antics. This was also the last tour where they used both NOIS and Meridian as workshops where they experimented with new material. It always bugged me that they stopped doing that altogether in recent years. Sure, they still stretch them out a little bit, but nowhere near the kinds of exploratory jams we witnessed between '96 and '99. Not to sound hokey, but Hip shows in those days were transcendent experiences. You never knew what you were gonna get, as every show was different.

i saw 2 shows on the PP tour and they were so good. got to hear Inch an Hour and Yawning.

Quote:When "Screamo Gord" emerged around 2011, I started to lose interest in them as a live band and went to fewer shows as a result. It irritated me to the point where, for the first time in my life, I skipped out on an entire Hip tour last year (FC reissue tour). And then wouldn't ya know it, the one tour I decided to skip, Gord started singing in his natural range again. Go figure.

exactly the same as me. i have't seen them since 2007 but part of the reason was because they didn't play the east coast again until 2011. by that point, i had heard a few bootlegs and enough people were complaining about the screaming, that i skipped the 2011 show and the next 3. i couldn't bring myself to pay $100++ for a ticket just to heard him scream at me for 90 min. of course, i'm now wishing i had gone to the FC show in Moncton last year. *sigh* Cry

Quote:All that being said, I really think this current tour is making a strong case for greatest Hip tour of all time, and certainly the most inspiring in Canadian rock n' roll history. The setlists have been amazing, Gord's vocals have been spot-on, the band is sounding stronger and tighter than they ever have, and the energy and vibe at these shows has been absolutely magical. If not the greatest, then it's easily their best tour since 2009, hands down. And it's been really cool seeing the entire country caught up in Hip mania again. Their July 24th Vancouver gig might the best rock show I've ever seen by anyone.

:thumb: i totally agree. but once again, i will miss out.

Re: the 1996 tour may have been the band's peak performance. - andrew sharpe - 08-09-2016

Live Between Us is my favourite official live album, with honourable mention to Pearl Jam's Live on Two Legs, E-Street Band 1975-1985, Johnny Cash's Folsom Prison, and Bob Marley and the Wailers Live. Yes, I honestly feel LBU is that good.

For me what makes LBU so amazing is that it's pretty much uncut. Most live albums are edited, if not spliced together from many shows, if not mixed with studio performances like stupid Kiss. LBU is ONE show.

However I will say I have listened to hundreds of Hip bootlegs from all eras and I would say that show, although a standout, is not atypical in terms of performance. The truth is that the band are just killers live, and always have been.

Re: the 1996 tour may have been the band's peak performance. - paulster2626 - 08-09-2016

andrew sharpe Wrote:However I will say I have listened to hundreds of Hip bootlegs from all eras and I would say that show, although a standout, is not atypical in terms of performance. The truth is that the band are just killers live, and always have been.

I've seen them screaming, not screaming, well-rehearsed, and impromptu performances. Up close, down low and way back and up high. Dead sober, and sometimes a little too drunk. Every single time has been awesome.