[fingernailsonhull]

Very fun night last night. Second row, right in front of Gord D. I always like the new songs because Downie sings them the way they're meant to be sung. The harmonies sound right. Escape was a very nice treat - I'd never heard it live before. Same deal for Eldorado. The crowd was pretty subdued for both of them, but I loved it. I know the song is starting to lose its allure for many, but WWTBI sounded very good. Gord's voice was strong (less growly/yelly than on the Calgary cut from the deluxe album version) and the harmony with Paul sounded excellent. I could do without Streets Ahead. The album version is enjoyable, but it loses its lustre live. Kids was a nice treat, too. Third time hearing it live (I'm lucky) but it should stay in the set. Gord forgot the second verse to Fully, mumbled through it, then started in on it right before the bridge. Gord S. and Johnny shared a laugh over it.

Little Bones closed with something to this effect: "Make sure to take care of each other. You have so much money. Spend it on others. Save us, Edmonton! Save us!" Was reminiscent of the rant from the Grace, Too live cut on the deluxe album.

The response to the Arkells was pretty ho-hum. They did get one very positive reaction - they mentioned what an honour it was to play a cross-Canada tour with The Hip...and play Edmonton and skip Calgary.

[nomadic]

This was my first Hip show, I was 11th row centre. I had a fantastic time start to finish! My highlights were Eldorado and Fully Completely.

I agree with most of fingernailsonhull's comments, except for this one:

encore was blah.

Sure the encore was full of greatest hits, but the vibe was nothing but awesome. I know this was my first experience so I don't have anything to compare it to aside from the live recordings I've got, but I don't think I'll ever tire of hearing courage. :wink:

The Arkells rocked it! I was dissapointed at the little amount of love they received from the crowd throughout the show. My +1 and I were 2 of the 10 -15 people standing on our feet throughout their set, except for when the Akrells asked people to get off their chairs.

I don't have one complaint except that I wish I could see The Hip perform more often. I hope to be lucky enough to one day say that I've seen them even half as many times as most of you in this forum!

[Tthip]

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The Hip’s lovable freak fronts a well-oiled machine


BY SANDRA SPEROUNES, EDMONTON JOURNAL JANUARY 24, 2013

Review

The Tragically Hip

With: Arkells

When: Wednesday night

Where: Rexall Place

EDMONTON - Gord Downie and The Tragically Hip are about as Canadian as hockey — which doesn’t quite explain why they’re selling jerseys with Boston colours on their latest tour.

Not that local fans seemed too insulted by the faux pas during Wednesday night’s show at Rexall Place, sandwiched between the first two home games for the NHL’s Oilers.

Dozens of fans sported the black, yellow and white sweaters — complete with a logo of a polar bear, perhaps the very same one from The Hip’s classic track, Gus: The Polar Bear From Central Park, from 2004’s In Between Evolution.

Aren’t they all classic tracks at this point in The Hip’s career? Thirty years and 13 albums in, we know the Kingston rockers won’t give us a stinker of a show. (You know, like the Oil’s tragic home opener against the San Jose Sharks Tuesday. Pee-uww. Hooray for free beer!)

As usual, Downie and his bandmates — bassist Gord Sinclair, drummer Johnny Fay, and guitarists Rob Baker and Paul Langlois — flowed through their rumbly rock tunes like a well-oiled machine or a (slightly aging) team of Cup contenders, scoring with song after song in front of a simple backdrop of glittery rectangles.

At Transformation, a smouldering number from The Hip’s latest album, Now For Plan A. Grace, Too, accompanied by wafts of weed throughout the arena and Downie’s deranged delivery. (The lovable freak sounded hoarser, lower and yellier than usual — a result of the dry and frigid Alberta air?)

Escape Is At Hand For the Travellin’ Man, followed by Man Machine Poem, featuring Downie pretending to fight with his microphone and stand. (Hey, he seems to get along swimmingly with his bandmates, so he needs to create some sort of tension.) Then came Gift Shop, the acoustic gem Ahead By A Century (accompanied by more weed), and Streets Ahead, one of The Hip’s most straightforward tunes of the night — clocking in at three or so minutes.

Only Eldorado, the last song from 1992’s Fully Completely, seemed to fall flat. As Downie crooned about man-sized cars under a summer sunset of lights, the crowd of 9,000 Hip followers — including a few Los Angeles Kings — grew quiet, some even taking their seats for the first time in an hour.

Maybe it was an intentional move on the part of the band, their attempt to shush the arena before launching into one of their most beloved numbers, Poets, with Downie shaking his ass for good measure.

Oprah, he wasn’t. In fact, I wonder what she’d make of our national treasure. He flailed his arms like windmills. He might’ve made a quip about breasts. He kicked his microphone stand. He acted out scenes like he was a mime. He crouched lower and lower like he was going to go to the ...

Just once, I’d like to see the more stoic of his bandmates come on stage and act as goofy as they do in some of their videos — like dressing up as a mariachi band in The Lookahead from 2012’s Now For Plan A.

Of course, such stunts are the antithesis of the fivesome — can you imagine Nickelbackian pyro at one of The Hip’s shows? I guess they don’t really need fire or costumes — Downie is their not-so-secret weapon.

As one of Canada’s musical institutions, The Hip have their pick of top-notch opening acts — Broken Social Scene, Hey Rosetta!, The Sadies, and By Divine Right were some of their previous ones.

Hamilton’s Arkells earned the honours for this tour and more than lived up to their predecessors.

Led by Max Kerman, the fivesome played a bouncy 40-minute set of soul-rock on the verge of descending into garage punk — including such songs as Michigan Left, The Ballad of Hugo Chavez, and Kiss Cam, a sweet and raspy number about sitting in the nosebleeds — ideal for hockey games and other sporting events.

Perhaps, one day, Arkells will get to sing the tune in Edmonton’s just-approved (again) new arena?

“The Hip are on tour, there’s a blizzard outside, hockey’s back,” Kerman rejoiced.

“This is a Canadian experience.”