[direwolf74]

Damn, even the ticket prices for the U.S. shows are completely outrageous. $73 for Cleveland? $75 for Burlington, VT? That is beyond ridiculous. For that kind of money, I hope you guys are all getting free steak dinners and beer with your tickets. Sadly this will be the first Hip tour in over 20 years that I will not be attending. With the insane prices and screamo Gord, I'm just not interested in seeing them live anymore...at least not until Gord sees a voice specialist and the band starts digging into their back catalogue more frequently (not just on a one-off anniversary tour).

[srb]

I managed to score a 2nd row Floor St. Catharines seat during the first pre-sale, and today, 2.5 hours after the public sale started, I got a 22nd row Centre Floor seat for Toronto! Aisle too

Funny that I did better for the Toronto show 2.5 hours after the public sale went on, than I did following 2 pre-sales for the same show.

I guess good things come to those who wait

[thebends]

I guess good things come to those who wait

That, or the pre-sale program for the loyal fans kinda sucks.

[sean.bonner]

A fan club show in Ottawa would make up for it I'd say

[chives]

Hearing rumblings of something in the works for Hamilton. Either in between St.Catharines/Toronto shows, or maybe at the end of the show. Surprise gig or Copps/First Ontario Center show? Something is a brewing

[edgoffin]

A fan club show in Ottawa would make up for it I'd say

I am guessing we're stuck with a Bluesfest show in Ottawa.

[hurls15]

I guess good things come to those who wait

That, or the pre-sale program for the loyal fans kinda sucks.

Agreed.

I also am not a fan of the band's use of the ticketmaster "Official Platinum" seat program- or at least the apparent number of seats in the first few rows that were held back for this program. The Toronto show in particular has had a relatively significant number of these prime seats available for purchase at various times since the public onsale started. To me, these are the seats that you would want to reward (and maintain) your most loyal fans with. I suppose one thought is that it is the most loyal fans that will pay double the price for those tickets. The fallacy in that is that the most loyal fans would have already participated in the presale process and purchased the best tickets they could through that process (which, incidentally, were of lesser quality than tickets available through the public onsale). The loyal fans had no idea that these Official Platinum seats were even an option post public onsale date. So a loyal fan has to- if they are both willing and able to shell out over $600 for a prime pair (yes, a big if) - dump his/her original tickets into the very secondary market that this official platinum program is trying to prevent good seats from accumulating in. There has got to be a better way. Its unfortunate that the opportunity for a Ten Club-like system has long left the barn.

I am probably being too idealistic. The cynic in me realizes knows that this is all about extracting maximum return from the ticketbuyers, and not leaving $$ on the table that are being swallowed up by the scalpers in the resale market. It is also about getting the most seats sold.

Hopefully the first few rows don't resemble/have the same spirit as much of the platinum seating area has during a Leaf home game.

[Escape@Hand]

I guess good things come to those who wait

That, or the pre-sale program for the loyal fans kinda sucks.

Agreed.

I also am not a fan of the band's use of the ticketmaster "Official Platinum" seat program- or at least the apparent number of seats in the first few rows that were held back for this program. The Toronto show in particular has had a relatively significant number of these prime seats available for purchase at various times since the public onsale started. To me, these are the seats that you would want to reward (and maintain) your most loyal fans with. I suppose one thought is that it is the most loyal fans that will pay double the price for those tickets. The fallacy in that is that the most loyal fans would have already participated in the presale process and purchased the best tickets they could through that process (which, incidentally, were of lesser quality than tickets available through the public onsale). The loyal fans had no idea that these Official Platinum seats were even an option post public onsale date. So a loyal fan has to- if they are both willing and able to shell out over $600 for a prime pair (yes, a big if) - dump his/her original tickets into the very secondary market that this official platinum program is trying to prevent good seats from accumulating in. There has got to be a better way. Its unfortunate that the opportunity for a Ten Club-like system has long left the barn.

I am probably being too idealistic. The cynic in me realizes knows that this is all about extracting maximum return from the ticketbuyers, and not leaving $$ on the table that are being swallowed up by the scalpers in the resale market. It is also about getting the most seats sold.

Hopefully the first few rows don't resemble/have the same spirit as much of the platinum seating area has during a Leaf home game.

Well Ten Club has it's own issues, so I wouldn't necessarily follow that plan, but the platinum seating is a total cash grab and doesn't reward us hardcore followers. I'm hoping that the platinum program doesn't spread to other venues, as I've always had great seats using the Hip's pre-sale method.

[thedarkcanuck]

I will be sitting out this tour as well(first one since 95) solely because of the prices. For the wife and I to attend the nearest show would be damn close to a $500 night with decent tickets + gas. Thats not even considering if we stayed overnight in a hotel, food, merchandise, $8 arena beer, etc. Cheap seats in the nosebleeds do nothing for me at an arena show, so while I can appreciate the low end prices on this tour, thanks, but no thanks. I bought 4 tickets to see the Rural Alberta Advantage, came home with a hoodie, 2 vinyl LPs, a tour poster and an RAA patch for a total of less than the cost of 1 prime Hip ticket. Thats insane! Not saying that the RAA are at the same level as the Hip, but the disparity is gross and almost insulting to me.

[sean.bonner]

SETLIST PREDICTION TIME

I'm guessing they'll warm up for a few tunes, then launch into FC.

I think The Last Of The Unplucked Gems would be the perfect segue into the FC album.

Me thinks the setlist could look like this.

01 - My Music At Work
02 - Grace, Too
03 - At Transformation
04 - Ahead By A Century
05 - Gift Shop
06 - The Last Of The Unplucked Gems
---
07-18 - Fully Completely

19-23 - Encore Stuff

[cochise]

SETLIST PREDICTION TIME

I'm guessing they'll warm up for a few tunes, then launch into FC.

I think The Last Of The Unplucked Gems would be the perfect segue into the FC album.

Me thinks the setlist could look like this.

01 - My Music At Work
02 - Grace, Too
03 - At Transformation
04 - Ahead By A Century
05 - Gift Shop
06 - The Last Of The Unplucked Gems
---
07-18 - Fully Completely

19-23 - Encore Stuff

Similar thoughts, but I am thinking there will be an intermission between a first and second set.

8-10 songs
intermission
FC
encore (2-3 songs)
second encore 1 song

[The Horrible Esthete]

Damn, even the ticket prices for the U.S. shows are completely outrageous. $73 for Cleveland? $75 for Burlington, VT? That is beyond ridiculous. For that kind of money, I hope you guys are all getting free steak dinners and beer with your tickets. Sadly this will be the first Hip tour in over 20 years that I will not be attending. With the insane prices and screamo Gord, I'm just not interested in seeing them live anymore...at least not until Gord sees a voice specialist and the band starts digging into their back catalogue more frequently (not just on a one-off anniversary tour).

I paid $60.75 per ticket - after all ticketbastard fees - for Cleveland, but even if it were $73, I just don't think that's 'outrageous'. Price is contingent upon demand, and the show sold out (the NFPA show at the same venue did not sell out, I don't believe, and even if it did, it did not sell this fast). Surely they knew there would be demand for this tour, and it is priced accordingly...and hell, $60 is nothing, really.

I also don't quite understand the criticism of Gord's voice. Sure, it's not what it used to be, but that's that's to be expected of anyone who sings like he sings, for as many shows as he has done. I thought he sounded just fine on the NFPA tour (the dates I saw, anyway). Better than 'just fine', really.

[sean.bonner]

I also don't quite understand the criticism of Gord's voice. Sure, it's not what it used to be, but that's that's to be expected of anyone who sings like he sings, for as many shows as he has done. I thought he sounded just fine on the NFPA tour (the dates I saw, anyway). Better than 'just fine', really.

I agree. I thought he sounded fantastic when I saw the Moncton/Halifax run for NFPA. Maybe I'm just desensitized to the singing from going to every show I can and always listening to the bootlegs.
From the videos I saw from the NHL Face-Off show, Gord sounded great and typical to me.

Also, great to see you back! Been a while since you've posted, me thinks!

[The Horrible Esthete]

Thanks Sean, I don't frequent the site like I once did, but I will always stop by when there are Hippenings.

I should say that I fully, completely understand why those who have seen many a show might choose to pass on this tour's steeper cost. Though from a personal perspective, it just isn't the least bit exorbitant. I realize $60 (or even $75) is a far cry from the $135 levied for some of these gigs, but the fact is, $75 would be the cheapest ticket price I've paid for any show in the last 5 years that wasn't a local or fledgling act. I paid $110 to sit in the in the top level opposite the stage in a 20,000-seat area to see Springsteen. Paying $75 to stand ten feet away from the Hip (if I so choose) is pocket change. If it's not for others, I get that. I told the my fellow Ohio Hipheads that we needed to snag tix as soon as the Presale started, because this show will sell. They scoffed. I said that lots of 'veteran fans' will be all over the chance to see them rifle through FC in a 1,200-capacity venue on Lake Erie. They scoffed again. Presale tix sold out immediately, as did the rest at public onsale.

There's no question that Gordie's voice doesn't sound like it did in 1993 when they toured here in the States in support of the initial release of FC. I remember conversations with my buddies after those shows where we'd wonder, "how can he do that, an do it all over again tomorrow night?". There was a period between then and now where I remember having different conversations addressing a sort of change in his approach...whether it was a product of a deliberate effort to protect his vocal cords, or of a style that was bred for the material they were doing at the time, or of something completely unintentional resulting from playing hundreds of shows across the globe...I can't say. Perhaps they realized they were likely going to be doing this for awhile, and he needed to protect his asset, so to speak? And maybe now they realize they're toward the end of the run, and there's no reason "save" anything? This talk about 'screaming and yelling'... it seems to me that this is the same approach I remember witnessing in the early 90s, and the observable differences between now and then are a result of tonal characteristics due to both wear and age. This, for me, doesn't sully anything. The band, as a whole, sounded terrific in the middle and at the end of the NFPA tour. I was quite impressed actually, given the fact there were almost 20 years and hundreds of shows between then and now. Would I like to hop in a time machine and see them perform in 1993 again? Well hell yeah I would.

I'd also like to be able to do everything exactly as I could at age 25.

[ikky99]

Thanks Sean, I don't frequent the site like I once did, but I will always stop by when there are Hippenings.

I should say that I fully, completely understand why those who have seen many a show might choose to pass on this tour's steeper cost. Though from a personal perspective, it just isn't the least bit exorbitant. I realize $60 (or even $75) is a far cry from the $135 levied for some of these gigs, but the fact is, $75 would be the cheapest ticket price I've paid for any show in the last 5 years that wasn't a local or fledgling act. I paid $110 to sit in the in the top level opposite the stage in a 20,000-seat area to see Springsteen. Paying $75 to stand ten feet away from the Hip (if I so choose) is pocket change. If it's not for others, I get that. I told the my fellow Ohio Hipheads that we needed to snag tix as soon as the Presale started, because this show will sell. They scoffed. I said that lots of 'veteran fans' will be all over the chance to see them rifle through FC in a 1,200-capacity venue on Lake Erie. They scoffed again. Presale tix sold out immediately, as did the rest at public onsale.

There's no question that Gordie's voice doesn't sound like it did in 1993 when they toured here in the States in support of the initial release of FC. I remember conversations with my buddies after those shows where we'd wonder, "how can he do that, an do it all over again tomorrow night?". There was a period between then and now where I remember having different conversations addressing a sort of change in his approach...whether it was a product of a deliberate effort to protect his vocal cords, or of a style that was bred for the material they were doing at the time, or of something completely unintentional resulting from playing hundreds of shows across the globe...I can't say. Perhaps they realized they were likely going to be doing this for awhile, and he needed to protect his asset, so to speak? And maybe now they realize they're toward the end of the run, and there's no reason "save" anything? This talk about 'screaming and yelling'... it seems to me that this is the same approach I remember witnessing in the early 90s, and the observable differences between now and then are a result of tonal characteristics due to both wear and age. This, for me, doesn't sully anything. The band, as a whole, sounded terrific in the middle and at the end of the NFPA tour. I was quite impressed actually, given the fact there were almost 20 years and hundreds of shows between then and now. Would I like to hop in a time machine and see them perform in 1993 again? Well hell yeah I would.

I'd also like to be able to do everything exactly as I could at age 25.

:thumb: