[Rocker_Matt]

I was at the show last night, and in Winnipeg on Saturday. The Winnipeg show was absolutely fantastic, but the Brandon show was even better! I was also lucky enough to stand in the front row right in front of Rob both nights! After seeing them six times, I'm so glad I FINALLY got to hear Locked In the Trunk of a Car! Been chasing that one since the very beginning. Was also great to hear Boots or Hearts, The Modern Spirit, and In View. The only thing from the setlist in the first post is that Goodnight Attawapaskat was not played. I managed to get Johnny's setlist, and it was on there but crossed out.

I pulled into Brandon about 2:30 and drove by the Keystone Centre and saw the tour busses outside. Since it was a warm day (for January), I decided to stand outside in the parking lot with my Up To Here LP in hand. Paul came out for a smoke, so I got him to sign it and we chatted for a bit. He's such a friendly guy.

He then headed in for sound check, so I went into the lobby to try and hear. They sound checked with Modern Spirit, Man Machine Poem, and Dire Wolf!!! Felt very lucky to hear that, especially since it wasn't in the set.

What made this show so much better than the Winnipeg one is that the band seemed to have a lot more energy. Must have been the day off in between, with only two hours to travel. Gord was screaming much more, Rob and Gord S seemed to be smiling a lot more, and Johnny was givin' er as usual. Even caught a couple laughs from Paul! New Orleans Is Sinking was unlike any other time I've heard it. Felt like such a jam song, with Rob playing his part a lot different than usual, and Gord singing the lyrics in a completely new way. Even compared to Saturday night it felt like such a different version, but it was definitely my favorite version I've heard.

As for the crowd...not sure what to really think. There were hundreds of empty seats, and about four complete empty sections, which is very sad since Brandon never gets concert, and the arena is tiny. So tiny that it almost felt like a bar show. Everyone seemed to be having a great time. Wasn't too much singing along, which made me think that most people who bought tickets had only just "heard" of The Hip and took advantage of a rock concert in their hometown. One of the most epic moments of Hip shows, I find, is the singalong to Courage. This didn't happen last night, as I said no one seemed to sing along to anything. The boys seemed to get a kick out of Gord having to sing that part, for once.

After the show I was hanging around the bus, and was the only one, surprising. All the guys, except Johnny, came out and signed my record. Johnny never did come out and get on the bus, and the bus eventually took off without him, maybe? Unless he headed straight to the bus from the stage. Had a nice chat with Gord D, and he seemed to remember me from the Winnipeg show. I told him how much my mother appreciated the fact that he handed her the microphone stand in Winnipeg, and he thought it was very cool that her and I have attended so many shows together. Despite it being cold out, he took a few minutes to stand outside and chat with me, which I very much appreciated. These guys truly are the nicest and friendliest band in the world.

All in all, after seeing The Tragically Hip six times, this show was hands down the best one of the six. It's only been twelve hours and I'm already going through withdrawal.