[merc110]

Thought we might hear AIWDTP in the acoustic set as well, especially since there was a keyboard player along.

[MalcolmKellyRaps]

I have been thinking about the topic of The Hip and their setlists the last week or show. I have been to 21 shows. Woodstock was my first and the recent Ladmark Theater show was the most recent. I love The Tragically Hip. I rock the albums, have my favorite songs, and get really excited for their shows. Ranking bands is hard, but Pearl Jam is my definite #1 (62 shows 96-09), Rush is probably 2(7 shows 96-08), and The Hip are a steady three.

I don't know if I can go to anymore Hip shows. The last two have been so incredibly disappointing. Here is what is getting to me. In 2009, I went to 5 Pearl Jam shows (Toronto, Chicago, Chicago, Philly3, Phill 4) and 5 Hip Shows (last three Artpark, Rain in Rochester, and Landmark). I don't know if comparing them is fair or appropriate, but it is almost impossible for me not to make these comparisons. Two of my favorite bands, 10 shows, August-November.

Lets start with a huge Hip exclusive gripe. These "Evening With" shows are disappointingly short.In 2000 they played 29 songs at the Evening with show I attended. This year, they played only 23-25. This was a joke in my mind. Long shows that are barley longer than normal shows and shorter than an average Pearl Jam show.

Okay, Pearl Jam. 5 shows. Here are some stats:
Toronto- 27 songs (2 from Backspacer-Fresh stuff for me)
Chicago1-27 songs
Chicago2- 28 Songs (1 new Backspacer)
Philly3- 30 songs (4 new backspacer)
Philly4- 43 songs (4 new backspacer- 5 shows since the album and I have heard all 11 songs live)

That is a total of 155 songs in 5 shows. In those 5 shows I heard 94 different songs and 61 repeats. That is pretty sick.

At the 5 Hip shows.
Artpark2- 24 songs (9 new songs from WATS)
Artpark3- 25 songs (2 new from WATS)
Artpark4 - 25 songs
Highland Bowl- 25 songs (1 new from WATS- THe only album I have heard in its entirety)
Landmark- 25 songs

That is a total of 124 songs or 31 songs less than I hear Pearl Jam play. I would have to go to another 25 song Hip show and then another show and hear the first 6 songs to equal the PJ song count. I could live with that, but the repeat factor with The Hip is absurd. 54 new songs and 70 repeats! Really? Really? And that number was helped by the acoustic sets.

We are the Same is the fist and only Hip album I have heard in its entirety.

There are only 3 album songs in PJ's entire catalog I have not heard live (silly Vitalogy and other non-songs on albums not included).

My top 5 Hip. (My live frequency of these songs)
1. 3 Pistols (twice ever, 0 since 2002)
2. Emperor Penguin (1 time, 0 since 2000)
3. 38 Years Old (1 time, 0 since 2007)
4. Something On (2 times, 0 since 2002)
5. Fully Completley (10 times, 3 this year)

My Pearl Jam top 5
1. Black
2. Sad
3. I Got Id
4. Light Years
5. Nothing man

It is too hard for me to figure out how many times I have heard the PJ songs, but I heard all 5 of those songs in the 5 shows this summer.

Am I being unfair to the Hip by making these comparisions?
Are other fans okay with the setlists?
I mentioned earlier that Rush is my #2 and my concert count is low for them. The reason is that once a tour is enough because they have 0 setlist frequency. Pearl Jam (and I thought The Hip) are different. Maybe I need to drop from 4 or 5 Hip shows a tour to 1. Maybe none.

[Tthip]

Besides Pearl Jam and Radiohead, are there any other bands that play such varied setlists? (no jam bands included)
I agree 100% The Hip should play more songs - but this last tour was very, um, varied which left most people happy.
With your figures:

Pearl Jam 60% new songs VS Hip 44%
Pearl Jam 40% repeats VS Hip 56%
And if you take into account The Hips 4 night stands this year new songs jumps over 60%
And for your stats you have 2 shows from Pearl Jam's "The Philly Experiment".

Those are still very decent figures from The Hip, compared to 99% of other bands with the same setlist every night including Rush which had pretty much the same setup as The Hip (11 songs intermission 12 songs 3 song encore)

Pearl Jam has more variety in their shows, but I am very happy with what The Hip have done this year.

[sherpa]

..including Rush which had pretty much the same setup as The Hip (11 songs intermission 12 songs 3 song encore.

To be fair though - the average Rush song is probably in the 6minute mark where the average hip song is probably in the 4minute mark. A 25 song Rush show runs in the 2.5-3h range versus a 25 song Hip show which runs in the 2-2.5h range.

[HandsInTheRiver41]

Besides Pearl Jam and Radiohead, are there any other bands that play such varied setlists? (no jam bands included)

As I've mentioned in another thread, with the exception of a small Brooklyn band called the National, the Tragically Hip have the least varied setlists out of all bands I've seen multiple times. And of the other bands, I'd only consider Phish a jam band.

Sometimes the lack of variety gets me down (after the 10.29.09 show in L.A. I too decided it wasn't worth my time to keep seeing the Hip) but other times the highlights of the show are actually songs like Blow at High Dough or NOIS and I remember the band does have the capacity to shake things up every once and awhile.

[mrsardo]

I like seeing the shorter shows like the last one posted on thehiptracker. Interesting to compare the shorter shows with acoustics in the middle. the show i just alluded to i think only had 4 new songs in the setlist, but its nice to see they haven't just forgotten material from WC, like they pretty much did after the M@W, IVL, and IBE tours.

[Tthip]

The SOTD is Leave from Club 279, Toronto, ON - 6/12/2

[joshwayy]

On the money...and bull's-eye.