09-10-2009, 11:15 AM
Great reviews so far guys! I'll throw in my comments and concert experience to add to the mix:
I was in third row dead center, by far the best seats I have ever been in for any concert (Hip or Not). This was great for making eye contact with all of the band members while singing along to every song in the set. I appreciated how everyone in front of me was standing, adding to the excellent atmosphere of the concert. One note to make was that it was LOUD. The first three songs were extremely loud. After that, it seemed like the band played a lot tighter, and the sound mix was tweaked to find a perfect groove.
I talked to some people after the first set, and they said that they could go home now and be completely satisfied. This show was that good.
The setlist: All throughout the concert I thought to myself - "Sean Bonner would have really enjoyed this setlist!" - With Pigeon Camera, Nashville, and Struggle making appearances.
Special moments: I loved how Gord forgot the words to Fully Completely. As I have heard the song live before, I didn't mind him changing things up a bit. You could tell he was scrambling and thinking to himself what kind of rant he should fill to the Fully jam. He selected the "Synonym Girl" Rant, and it went over very well! Quite a special treat indeed.
To introduce Fiddler's Green acoustic, Gord said: "This song is called Sailor Heaven". The performance blew me away, gave me chills, and touched me deeply.
Locked in the Trunk of a Car was incredible. Being my all time favourite song, and never seen it performed live before was a special treat. Downie acted as though he was tied up in a burlap sack, and knocked for some one to let him out!!!
Blow at High Dough: That was the longest version of the song I had ever heard (A bunch of songs had extended jams, which was a great surprise). The crowd was in a frenzy over Blow. Then it all happened so quickly: Gord jumped off stage, leaned into the crowd and got some front rowers to sing BLOW!! He then proceeded to come directly at me, leaned on my shoulder for support and pointed the mic into my face. I was stunned, shocked, and didn't know what to do besides blurt out: "BLOW!!!" Intense! He then proceed to make his way to about the 11th row and let others yell out(probably about 20 people in total). I had to help feed the microphone cable, to give him slack to get deeper into the crowd!
The goods: Midway through the first set, Gord booted an unused white handkerchief up into the crowd, I extended my arm and snatched the thing right out of the air, and stuffed it into my pocket!
At the end the show, I stuck around to see if I could snag a setlist. Billy Ray was cleaning them up and giving them to fans. He picked up Johnny's setlist and walked my way and tossed it into the crowd. Unfortunately there was a row 2er that was directly in front of me who got the setlist. After he inspected his goods, he realized/thought that he had received two setlists. He then turned around and gave me one! I gave him a pat on the back and offered my thanks. It turns out that he gave me the first half of the setlist, and he kept the last half. Had he known that he had the whole show, he probably wouldn't have given it to me.
It appears that fate was with me that day. What a great concert. What a great experience. The Hip made many lifetime fans at the 09/09/09 show in Winnipeg.
I was in third row dead center, by far the best seats I have ever been in for any concert (Hip or Not). This was great for making eye contact with all of the band members while singing along to every song in the set. I appreciated how everyone in front of me was standing, adding to the excellent atmosphere of the concert. One note to make was that it was LOUD. The first three songs were extremely loud. After that, it seemed like the band played a lot tighter, and the sound mix was tweaked to find a perfect groove.
I talked to some people after the first set, and they said that they could go home now and be completely satisfied. This show was that good.
The setlist: All throughout the concert I thought to myself - "Sean Bonner would have really enjoyed this setlist!" - With Pigeon Camera, Nashville, and Struggle making appearances.
Special moments: I loved how Gord forgot the words to Fully Completely. As I have heard the song live before, I didn't mind him changing things up a bit. You could tell he was scrambling and thinking to himself what kind of rant he should fill to the Fully jam. He selected the "Synonym Girl" Rant, and it went over very well! Quite a special treat indeed.
To introduce Fiddler's Green acoustic, Gord said: "This song is called Sailor Heaven". The performance blew me away, gave me chills, and touched me deeply.
Locked in the Trunk of a Car was incredible. Being my all time favourite song, and never seen it performed live before was a special treat. Downie acted as though he was tied up in a burlap sack, and knocked for some one to let him out!!!
Blow at High Dough: That was the longest version of the song I had ever heard (A bunch of songs had extended jams, which was a great surprise). The crowd was in a frenzy over Blow. Then it all happened so quickly: Gord jumped off stage, leaned into the crowd and got some front rowers to sing BLOW!! He then proceeded to come directly at me, leaned on my shoulder for support and pointed the mic into my face. I was stunned, shocked, and didn't know what to do besides blurt out: "BLOW!!!" Intense! He then proceed to make his way to about the 11th row and let others yell out(probably about 20 people in total). I had to help feed the microphone cable, to give him slack to get deeper into the crowd!
The goods: Midway through the first set, Gord booted an unused white handkerchief up into the crowd, I extended my arm and snatched the thing right out of the air, and stuffed it into my pocket!
At the end the show, I stuck around to see if I could snag a setlist. Billy Ray was cleaning them up and giving them to fans. He picked up Johnny's setlist and walked my way and tossed it into the crowd. Unfortunately there was a row 2er that was directly in front of me who got the setlist. After he inspected his goods, he realized/thought that he had received two setlists. He then turned around and gave me one! I gave him a pat on the back and offered my thanks. It turns out that he gave me the first half of the setlist, and he kept the last half. Had he known that he had the whole show, he probably wouldn't have given it to me.
It appears that fate was with me that day. What a great concert. What a great experience. The Hip made many lifetime fans at the 09/09/09 show in Winnipeg.