09-10-2006, 04:35 PM
I rank this show pretty low on my list, probably in the bottom 5 of the 25 or so shows I have seen. The sound was just off in parts - sometimes it was the soundboard's fault (master volume seemed to change and get really quiet sometimes) and other times it was the band. Someone mentioned Gord's voice being too high. It wasn't the pitch, it was the treble. It was sometimes piercing...way too much treble, not enough bass (earplugs would help that, I'm sure)
The past few shows I've seen, I've been mildly distracted by worries that Gord's voice wouldn't hold out for the show, but never have I worried as much as this show. He screams too much, too early, and you can see/hear him paying for it through the whole show. I'm distracted throughout the show, wondering if his voice box is going to explode, and if he'll be able to keep this up for many more years.
Overall I did enjoy the show, but it wasn't up to par for the Hip. However, the new songs all sounded great. I disagree with the people who have said that Pretend doesn't fit as an encore song - this has been my highlight of the last two shows I've seen, by far. In England, and now again at Stratford, I left the shows singing this song the whole way home. Ocean is great too.
And In View sounded great. I thought Gord sounded great in this song, except, surprisingly, at the end ("Day erases dark of night..."). He couldn't hit these notes; it's not like he was off key, it was more like he couldn't get any sound out of his throat. It's strange because this part is actually lower in pitch than the beginning of the verses (eg: "I love you..." and "I trust you") but he hit those notes just fine. Live, this song sounds like a typical, great Hip song, and yet it still sounds like the studio version. They haven't tampered with it at all. It's just missing the keyboard bits.
The only new song I don't love is Rink. I do like the crescendo part, but the lyrics and the chorus don't do anything for me, and I'm actually quite surprised that people have bashed In View so much, while people seem to love Rink. It's another Hip-hockey song, and this time with a simple, somewhat boring chorus - one line repeated over and over again (at the lonely end of the rink: you and me....etc. etc. etc. etc. etc.).
Pretend makes up for Rink, with its simple yet unique arrangement (this won't make sense if you haven't heard the song, but it sounds like there's one more "Yes I can" in each chorus than naturally fits ("I can pretend, yes I can, yes I can, yes I can" - when you hear it the first time, it sounds like the second "yes I can" doesn't belong...at first)...but it makes the song more interesting that it's there.
Anyway, all in all, an enjoyable show, but not nearly as good as the London show or any other Hip show I've seen in the past few years.
CB
The past few shows I've seen, I've been mildly distracted by worries that Gord's voice wouldn't hold out for the show, but never have I worried as much as this show. He screams too much, too early, and you can see/hear him paying for it through the whole show. I'm distracted throughout the show, wondering if his voice box is going to explode, and if he'll be able to keep this up for many more years.
Overall I did enjoy the show, but it wasn't up to par for the Hip. However, the new songs all sounded great. I disagree with the people who have said that Pretend doesn't fit as an encore song - this has been my highlight of the last two shows I've seen, by far. In England, and now again at Stratford, I left the shows singing this song the whole way home. Ocean is great too.
And In View sounded great. I thought Gord sounded great in this song, except, surprisingly, at the end ("Day erases dark of night..."). He couldn't hit these notes; it's not like he was off key, it was more like he couldn't get any sound out of his throat. It's strange because this part is actually lower in pitch than the beginning of the verses (eg: "I love you..." and "I trust you") but he hit those notes just fine. Live, this song sounds like a typical, great Hip song, and yet it still sounds like the studio version. They haven't tampered with it at all. It's just missing the keyboard bits.
The only new song I don't love is Rink. I do like the crescendo part, but the lyrics and the chorus don't do anything for me, and I'm actually quite surprised that people have bashed In View so much, while people seem to love Rink. It's another Hip-hockey song, and this time with a simple, somewhat boring chorus - one line repeated over and over again (at the lonely end of the rink: you and me....etc. etc. etc. etc. etc.).
Pretend makes up for Rink, with its simple yet unique arrangement (this won't make sense if you haven't heard the song, but it sounds like there's one more "Yes I can" in each chorus than naturally fits ("I can pretend, yes I can, yes I can, yes I can" - when you hear it the first time, it sounds like the second "yes I can" doesn't belong...at first)...but it makes the song more interesting that it's there.
Anyway, all in all, an enjoyable show, but not nearly as good as the London show or any other Hip show I've seen in the past few years.
CB