[ewallman]

I find the most powerful moments at concerns are often the ones you don't expect. E.g., for me, 'Scared,' with its 'pleasure doing business with you' line was powerful, but I'd already played that scenario in my mind so often that its real-world impact was not as harrowing as it would have been had it caught me unprepared. 'This is our life' had moved me deeply in the Vancouver show; so the effect this time was more muted for me. On the other hand, I teared up dramatically at the very start when 50 Mission Cap started!! A lifetime of memories relating to the Hip came flooding back in that moment. Go figure.

And what *did* catch me unprepared was the primal screaming at the end of 'Grace Too.' 'Here? Now? NOOOO!!' It was impossible to believe that Gord was NOT channeling his own horror, rage, and denial at his own situation and pouring it into those moments. It was a shocking, stripping-it-all-bare act of primal sharing with the audience. 'I can make you scared' - indeed.

On a purely musical level, the most exciting moments, to my ear, were 'Machine' - WHICH F**KING KILLED, just killed - and maybe NOIS, just for the sheer ferocity with which it was played, every bit as committed and intense as the very first time.

The band did it right, as well knew they would. 100% total commitment, leaving nothing left. Watching Gord be physically supported as he left the stage for the final time pretty much said all you need to know about the incredible force of this, one of the greatest front-men in the history of rock and roll.

:thumb: Well said