thompson girl Wrote:This is going to sound weird if you thought it was a greatest hits show, but this show ranks in my top three of all time. Actually, at the end, I said this was the best show ever! But, its definitely all because of the seat. I had front row, right in front of Gord S. and Rob. I don't know how they did it, but in a rink of thousands, they made me feel like there was nobody behind me.Earplugs.
I smiled the whole time, danced the whole time and didn't want the night to end. For a long time I hated In View. But this past year, I've started to love it. Watch Rob through that song and it will change everything. Other highlights were Escape (just love the song), Nautical (much prefer it on its own and not meshed into NOIS), and of course, the big one for me, NFPA. I was hoping they'd play it at my last show, and I was thrilled to not only get the song, but Sarah Harmer with it. I've heard it twice before without her, and having the female vocals in there really makes a difference.
I can't hear anything today, but hey, that's a small price to pay!
chris Wrote:Nah, they're not for me - I can't stand them. I need to invest in those big industrial ear muff things! :musicthompson girl Wrote:This is going to sound weird if you thought it was a greatest hits show, but this show ranks in my top three of all time. Actually, at the end, I said this was the best show ever! But, its definitely all because of the seat. I had front row, right in front of Gord S. and Rob. I don't know how they did it, but in a rink of thousands, they made me feel like there was nobody behind me.Earplugs.
I smiled the whole time, danced the whole time and didn't want the night to end. For a long time I hated In View. But this past year, I've started to love it. Watch Rob through that song and it will change everything. Other highlights were Escape (just love the song), Nautical (much prefer it on its own and not meshed into NOIS), and of course, the big one for me, NFPA. I was hoping they'd play it at my last show, and I was thrilled to not only get the song, but Sarah Harmer with it. I've heard it twice before without her, and having the female vocals in there really makes a difference.
I can't hear anything today, but hey, that's a small price to pay!
hotmetal401 Wrote:I've slept on the show; I've slept on the day. Let's see what I can put together.
I was sitting out this tour. The price of tickets combined with my financial statement in the fall and the variable of the Arkells opening (I'm sorry, I just can't get into them) made it a fairly easy decision. Then, there were all those great setlists in the US. I'm not usually the kind of person who gets all over a setlist for not having deep cuts from every album - I'm there for the band and whatever songs they play, not for the certain songs played by the band (except for Fireworks and Springtime - I'm never there for those). However, there are a few tunes I'm chasing; I think everyone of them might have been played in Detroit (checking thehip.com confirms three of my four "never heards" on this tour were in fact played in Detroit). Seeing the sets from the shows across the country, I got the itch. While in the midst of a decently drunken conversation about how much the band means to a collective of us last Saturday night, I caved. I bought a cheap solo ticket up in the 300s.
This was a first for me. In my collegiate journalism days, I had done a couple of show reviews on my own; there have been sets I've seen solo at NXNE while either waiting for friends or getting stood up by them. These experiences were fine, but not often enjoyable. This was the first time in a rink. The first time where if I ran into someone I knew, getting near them would likely be impossible. But this was The Hip. And it was the ACC. If I'm going to see them in a large rink, I want it to be here. It's an intimate monstrosity. Compare it to the Barrie Molson Centre, where I saw Blue Rodeo last month. I felt closer to the action in the upper bowl here than I did in Barrie, where there is no such upper bowl, and a concert sell out is less than a quarter of what the crowd was last night.
So I'm there, alone, chasing songs I've prepared myself for not seeing (for the record: The Rules, Thugs, Eldorado and An Inch An Hour). I'm glad I did. It was the greatest hits set that has been mentioned. That's not the end of the world. If you remember the reviews I used to put together, it was the little moments during the shows that made them great for me. That's what I'm taking out of last night more than anything, finding out that those moments still exist, as the band evolves, crosses countries and moves from room to room.
At the end of Escape, we might have gotten our first preview of the next record. Gord kept repeating "Don't react / It's a reactionary world." While doing a quick YouTube search to see if Sinclair and Johnny had being doing that Police tease at the end of Courage in other cities (which I swear sounded like the tempo change in Driven to Tears, but I'm willing to be proved wrong), I found Gord said the same kind of lines at the end of Courage in Guelph. The ramblings, the monologues, the anything can happen nature of the shows, those are the reasons I became the fan of this band I am today. I still have the riot pads hidden away full of notes from shows with little cribs of lyrics to songs that would become stuff like Chancellor, Willow's Logic, Vacination Scar, Fly and so many more. As we get less rants (and more dancing or overt political statements), these moments become rarer, but all the more special when the pan out.
My favourite two one-two punches of songs were thrown out in last night's concert, being Courage-LTR and BobC-Nautical. I don't necessarily think Courage and LTR gain anything by being put back-to-back, but for me, it just reminds me of the first time I heard each played live, both at all and in that order. I'm sure there are still a decent amount of people on this board who were at the Dec. 3 Evening With show at the ACC in 2000. I've heard few crowds take over a song they way we did Courage that night and then the thunderous reaction that followed and led the band into one of their more beautiful songs... it was just awe inspiring.
There's something about the crowd in that room too that always does it for me. Toronto crowds are notorious for being awful at concerts; they don't dance, they don't really care. Truth told, the girl beside me did everything to prove that stereotype during the first two songs (she chided me for accidentally bumping into her while moving during Grace Too; in the spirit of being at a rock show, I ignored it when she used me a modified springboard to show her excitement when Poets kicked in). However, as someone who has been in that building far too many times when the Leafs have scored (I'm a Bruins fan), I still haven't heard it louder than after the "that night in Toronto" line during Bobcaygeon, or maybe even the "won the Leafs the cup" line in 50. There was a nice touch last night too by shining the light on Balriko's retired number 5 during the tune.
I'm saving the best for last. The highlight for me was Now For Plan A. It's a beautiful song on the record, perhaps my favourite (a toss up between that and Drip Drip Drip - I'll always call it that). To have Sarah Harmer come out and sing her backing vocal was a kick. The response she got was inspiring. Yes, there were some confused "who is that?" kind of faces, but overall, she got the recognition that such a national treasure deserves. I called her sticking around for a take on Wheat Kings. I guess I can't call the setlists like I used to. Oh well.
All told, I left show 32 thinking about show 33. I liked last night; not as much as the Hammer in 2009, but better than the Hammer last year. Not as much as the first three ACC shows, but better than the last one.
I've taken up enough of your time this morning. See you all on the road...
redhill Wrote:Valentine's Day was yesterday. Get a room.hotmetal401 Wrote:I've slept on the show; I've slept on the day. Let's see what I can put together.
I was sitting out this tour. The price of tickets combined with my financial statement in the fall and the variable of the Arkells opening (I'm sorry, I just can't get into them) made it a fairly easy decision. Then, there were all those great setlists in the US. I'm not usually the kind of person who gets all over a setlist for not having deep cuts from every album - I'm there for the band and whatever songs they play, not for the certain songs played by the band (except for Fireworks and Springtime - I'm never there for those). However, there are a few tunes I'm chasing; I think everyone of them might have been played in Detroit (checking thehip.com confirms three of my four "never heards" on this tour were in fact played in Detroit). Seeing the sets from the shows across the country, I got the itch. While in the midst of a decently drunken conversation about how much the band means to a collective of us last Saturday night, I caved. I bought a cheap solo ticket up in the 300s.
This was a first for me. In my collegiate journalism days, I had done a couple of show reviews on my own; there have been sets I've seen solo at NXNE while either waiting for friends or getting stood up by them. These experiences were fine, but not often enjoyable. This was the first time in a rink. The first time where if I ran into someone I knew, getting near them would likely be impossible. But this was The Hip. And it was the ACC. If I'm going to see them in a large rink, I want it to be here. It's an intimate monstrosity. Compare it to the Barrie Molson Centre, where I saw Blue Rodeo last month. I felt closer to the action in the upper bowl here than I did in Barrie, where there is no such upper bowl, and a concert sell out is less than a quarter of what the crowd was last night.
So I'm there, alone, chasing songs I've prepared myself for not seeing (for the record: The Rules, Thugs, Eldorado and An Inch An Hour). I'm glad I did. It was the greatest hits set that has been mentioned. That's not the end of the world. If you remember the reviews I used to put together, it was the little moments during the shows that made them great for me. That's what I'm taking out of last night more than anything, finding out that those moments still exist, as the band evolves, crosses countries and moves from room to room.
At the end of Escape, we might have gotten our first preview of the next record. Gord kept repeating "Don't react / It's a reactionary world." While doing a quick YouTube search to see if Sinclair and Johnny had being doing that Police tease at the end of Courage in other cities (which I swear sounded like the tempo change in Driven to Tears, but I'm willing to be proved wrong), I found Gord said the same kind of lines at the end of Courage in Guelph. The ramblings, the monologues, the anything can happen nature of the shows, those are the reasons I became the fan of this band I am today. I still have the riot pads hidden away full of notes from shows with little cribs of lyrics to songs that would become stuff like Chancellor, Willow's Logic, Vacination Scar, Fly and so many more. As we get less rants (and more dancing or overt political statements), these moments become rarer, but all the more special when the pan out.
My favourite two one-two punches of songs were thrown out in last night's concert, being Courage-LTR and BobC-Nautical. I don't necessarily think Courage and LTR gain anything by being put back-to-back, but for me, it just reminds me of the first time I heard each played live, both at all and in that order. I'm sure there are still a decent amount of people on this board who were at the Dec. 3 Evening With show at the ACC in 2000. I've heard few crowds take over a song they way we did Courage that night and then the thunderous reaction that followed and led the band into one of their more beautiful songs... it was just awe inspiring.
There's something about the crowd in that room too that always does it for me. Toronto crowds are notorious for being awful at concerts; they don't dance, they don't really care. Truth told, the girl beside me did everything to prove that stereotype during the first two songs (she chided me for accidentally bumping into her while moving during Grace Too; in the spirit of being at a rock show, I ignored it when she used me a modified springboard to show her excitement when Poets kicked in). However, as someone who has been in that building far too many times when the Leafs have scored (I'm a Bruins fan), I still haven't heard it louder than after the "that night in Toronto" line during Bobcaygeon, or maybe even the "won the Leafs the cup" line in 50. There was a nice touch last night too by shining the light on Balriko's retired number 5 during the tune.
I'm saving the best for last. The highlight for me was Now For Plan A. It's a beautiful song on the record, perhaps my favourite (a toss up between that and Drip Drip Drip - I'll always call it that). To have Sarah Harmer come out and sing her backing vocal was a kick. The response she got was inspiring. Yes, there were some confused "who is that?" kind of faces, but overall, she got the recognition that such a national treasure deserves. I called her sticking around for a take on Wheat Kings. I guess I can't call the setlists like I used to. Oh well.
All told, I left show 32 thinking about show 33. I liked last night; not as much as the Hammer in 2009, but better than the Hammer last year. Not as much as the first three ACC shows, but better than the last one.
I've taken up enough of your time this morning. See you all on the road...
you had me at " I'm a Bruins fan"
:thumb:
chris Wrote:Send me the footage - I'll sync it with my audio and my footage.Sounds good. Send me a pm and we'll figure out how. Might be a good time to swap footage using a hard-drive like we were discussing in Guelph!
thompson girl Wrote:For a long time I hated In View. But this past year, I've started to love it.I felt the same way too. On the drive to the Guelph show, I told me buddy that I was surprised at the previous show (Kitchener) how much I enjoyed the song, after not caring too much for it for 7 years. I guess it just goes to show how much the Hip's live experience can add value to any song they play!
redhill Wrote:hotmetal401 Wrote:I've slept on the show; I've slept on the day. Let's see what I can put together.
I was sitting out this tour. The price of tickets combined with my financial statement in the fall and the variable of the Arkells opening (I'm sorry, I just can't get into them) made it a fairly easy decision. Then, there were all those great setlists in the US. I'm not usually the kind of person who gets all over a setlist for not having deep cuts from every album - I'm there for the band and whatever songs they play, not for the certain songs played by the band (except for Fireworks and Springtime - I'm never there for those). However, there are a few tunes I'm chasing; I think everyone of them might have been played in Detroit (checking thehip.com confirms three of my four "never heards" on this tour were in fact played in Detroit). Seeing the sets from the shows across the country, I got the itch. While in the midst of a decently drunken conversation about how much the band means to a collective of us last Saturday night, I caved. I bought a cheap solo ticket up in the 300s.
This was a first for me. In my collegiate journalism days, I had done a couple of show reviews on my own; there have been sets I've seen solo at NXNE while either waiting for friends or getting stood up by them. These experiences were fine, but not often enjoyable. This was the first time in a rink. The first time where if I ran into someone I knew, getting near them would likely be impossible. But this was The Hip. And it was the ACC. If I'm going to see them in a large rink, I want it to be here. It's an intimate monstrosity. Compare it to the Barrie Molson Centre, where I saw Blue Rodeo last month. I felt closer to the action in the upper bowl here than I did in Barrie, where there is no such upper bowl, and a concert sell out is less than a quarter of what the crowd was last night.
So I'm there, alone, chasing songs I've prepared myself for not seeing (for the record: The Rules, Thugs, Eldorado and An Inch An Hour). I'm glad I did. It was the greatest hits set that has been mentioned. That's not the end of the world. If you remember the reviews I used to put together, it was the little moments during the shows that made them great for me. That's what I'm taking out of last night more than anything, finding out that those moments still exist, as the band evolves, crosses countries and moves from room to room.
At the end of Escape, we might have gotten our first preview of the next record. Gord kept repeating "Don't react / It's a reactionary world." While doing a quick YouTube search to see if Sinclair and Johnny had being doing that Police tease at the end of Courage in other cities (which I swear sounded like the tempo change in Driven to Tears, but I'm willing to be proved wrong), I found Gord said the same kind of lines at the end of Courage in Guelph. The ramblings, the monologues, the anything can happen nature of the shows, those are the reasons I became the fan of this band I am today. I still have the riot pads hidden away full of notes from shows with little cribs of lyrics to songs that would become stuff like Chancellor, Willow's Logic, Vacination Scar, Fly and so many more. As we get less rants (and more dancing or overt political statements), these moments become rarer, but all the more special when the pan out.
My favourite two one-two punches of songs were thrown out in last night's concert, being Courage-LTR and BobC-Nautical. I don't necessarily think Courage and LTR gain anything by being put back-to-back, but for me, it just reminds me of the first time I heard each played live, both at all and in that order. I'm sure there are still a decent amount of people on this board who were at the Dec. 3 Evening With show at the ACC in 2000. I've heard few crowds take over a song they way we did Courage that night and then the thunderous reaction that followed and led the band into one of their more beautiful songs... it was just awe inspiring.
There's something about the crowd in that room too that always does it for me. Toronto crowds are notorious for being awful at concerts; they don't dance, they don't really care. Truth told, the girl beside me did everything to prove that stereotype during the first two songs (she chided me for accidentally bumping into her while moving during Grace Too; in the spirit of being at a rock show, I ignored it when she used me a modified springboard to show her excitement when Poets kicked in). However, as someone who has been in that building far too many times when the Leafs have scored (I'm a Bruins fan), I still haven't heard it louder than after the "that night in Toronto" line during Bobcaygeon, or maybe even the "won the Leafs the cup" line in 50. There was a nice touch last night too by shining the light on Balriko's retired number 5 during the tune.
I'm saving the best for last. The highlight for me was Now For Plan A. It's a beautiful song on the record, perhaps my favourite (a toss up between that and Drip Drip Drip - I'll always call it that). To have Sarah Harmer come out and sing her backing vocal was a kick. The response she got was inspiring. Yes, there were some confused "who is that?" kind of faces, but overall, she got the recognition that such a national treasure deserves. I called her sticking around for a take on Wheat Kings. I guess I can't call the setlists like I used to. Oh well.
All told, I left show 32 thinking about show 33. I liked last night; not as much as the Hammer in 2009, but better than the Hammer last year. Not as much as the first three ACC shows, but better than the last one.
I've taken up enough of your time this morning. See you all on the road...
you had me at " I'm a Bruins fan"
:thumb:
