[direwolf74]

Just back from Sasquatch, and I gotta agree with everybody here. That was by far the best Hip performance I've ever witnessed. It was a little short, but the energy was unbelievable, and I loved how Gord worked in all those hilarious rants about the weather (the intro to Nautical was absolutely brilliant). The new songs sounded amazing, and if the rest of the new album is as good as those three songs, then I think we may have another classic on our hands. I can't wait! My friends and I ended up hanging out all day with an American group from Seattle that we met in line while waiting to get into the grounds. They were all new to the Hip, and the reviews were varied. One couple thought they were incredible, one dude thought they were ok, while another girl in their group didn't like them at all. Different strokes for different folks I guess. She was mainly there to see the Shins, who I thought were pretty awful, so there ya go. In the end it all comes down to personal taste.

As for the hail storm, that was easily one of the strangest things I've ever experienced. I got a sunburn AND froze my ass off all in the same day! Like many of you, my sister and I were down in front of the stage watching Neko Case when the shit went down. It was crazy. Everybody started running in all directions looking for whatever shelter they could find. We ended up making a b-line for the porta potties and hid inside them for a good 10 minutes or so. It was totally nuts. None of us brought a change of clothes, so we were all soaking wet and cold for the remainder of the show, but we toughed it out and stayed until after Ben Harper's amazing set.

I'll never forget it. What an incredible day!