[eatmecompletely]

i'm sorry....can you repeat that?

:lol:

sorry guys
no idea why that posted 3 times
i guess my anger is shown

[canuckeh]

Hard to believe there wouldn't be enough interest by the public for the band to put together a small tour, major cities, maybe in between albums, and make it fully known and promoted as a "Deep Cuts & Forgotten Classics" tour, hell, even call it that. play two/three nights in each town at smaller theatres. Minimal stage/lights/production costs. No opener. Just a band reconnecting with it's hardcore fans. The diehards and curious alike will come and fully understanding that the "hits" will be left at the door.

Would do the band, and us, good and help recapture some of that live magic. Might settle Gord's restlessness a bit if that's the consensus

[cortezthekiller]

The problem is not the band. The problem is Gord Downie and his stupid fucken screaming. I don't think he screams because his voice is blown. I think he does it because he is as tired of the Hits as we are. I also feel like his heart was not in the music this past tour. I am starting to think this "elder statesmen" thing has put them in a box. A big mainstream box full responsibilities, obligations and expectations that kill passion.
Screw the big shows. Screw radio stations. Screw record sales and Screw the casual fans. The Tragically Hip are about the music. If it has become all about the money then they are no longer the band I fell in love over twenty years ago. This is some serious shit boys. Work it out before it's too late.

Gord isn't the only problem. If you think the rest of the band doesn't have WTF moments in concerts, you're in denial.

[cortezthekiller]

i agree that him playing guitar isn't the problem...but i also agree that it is hysterically buried in the live mix at level 1-2.

I've heard his guitar in some of shows that I've seen, but it isn't a bad thing for his guitar to be buried away. It doesn't add anything to the songs. It's good practice for him, and could help him in his solo career, which is fine, but it doesn't improve any Hip songs. Bob Rock's insistence on having his acoustic so loud on the WC album really was a poor choice.

[cortezthekiller]

I don't think he knows what to do with his arms and hands. He has mentioned that on a couple of occasions. I believe he also wants to contribute more to the overall sound of the band, but like someone else mentioned he is so deep in the mix I'm not sure its worth it. Don't know why this is the case since he is a talented guitar player, anyone that has seen him play solo can attest to that

I LOVED the solo Gord show that I saw. LOVED IT. However, you are the only person I've ever heard call Gord a talented guitar player. He's pretty bad, man. Let's call a spade a spade. Gord is a legend. He's one of Canada's finest, but his guitar playing is what it is.

[cortezthekiller]

The problem is they have lost most their creativity

Gord spends half the show dancing like an idiot or ranting about a mike

Gord its been 8 years, time to think of a new gimmick or gag

1993 gord would kick current gord's ass !

They are really mailing it in each show

They dont have the energy or ability to improv anymore

every show is the same crap

I am tired of seeing gord pull that crap with a hankie or rants about the mike

how about doing what you used to do and rant about whats on your mind!

Or how about letting Bobby go wild and jamm a song out

Honestly, how many bands have been continuously creative and performing a great, innovative live show as they approach their 50's? Can't think of too many. The Stones haven't been creative since the 70's, for instance.

I agree with you about the mic stand and the hankies. It was funny at first, but after so many years, it's time to put it to rest.

The Hip have had more years of continued excellence than most bands. Maybe their time is just up. Maybe they'll have a re-birth of sorts in the coming years. We'll find out in the years to come. If they don't have it in the tank for another great album or two or three, it was an awesome run.

[Rye]

After reading a lot of these threads I'm going to divide up my post with bullet points, help keep this concise since it's a bit long.

- I've been a fan of The Hip since 1995, when I was 12 years old. My first show was in 1996 on the Canadian leg of the Henhouse tour and I've seen them every tour since then. Although I haven't seen as many shows as many here (15), I feel like I've followed this band closely enough for a long enough time to have an opinion on "what's happened?" and hopefully add something to this discussion.
- Something changed between Phantom Power and In Violet Light. In the mid-late 1990's The Hip (and their management) were innovators on the web, one of the most connected bands out there to their fans and technology. When Music @ Work leaked well-before it's release, it seemed to leave a real bad taste in the band's mouths and they pulled away from the interactive fan stuff. Their shows started not selling as fast as they once did around this time, people weren't buying CDs with the emergence of Napster and the band only made one music video for M@W (still a big promotional tool at that time). It seemed like they kind of gave up on promoting that album thinking it was dead sales-wise because of the leak.
- I remember around the time of IVL or IBE someone met the band and asked why they don't release live shows (ie. Pearl Jam-style). Rob's response was something about it would saturate their market and people wouldn't want to go see the show, they could listen at home. Ridiculous, right? It would be an easy way to make some money for the band and die-hards would eat it up. It would also (possibly) help the band with keeping setlists fresh.
- Speaking of setlists, this isn't a new problem. The setlists haven't been "that" much different even going back to the 2002 and 2004 tours. In 2002, during the first Canadian theatre tour, they basically had two very similar setlists and rotated a number of songs in and out. If you saw them over two nights, you were likely to get the main 30 songs they were playing that year plus a few rare nuggets. In 2007 (which I saw someone quote as a great tour), they played the same five songs to start a show something like five shows in a row (this was on the US spring leg).
- Gord's voice. I started noticing a big change whenever "That Night In Toronto" came out. Check out M@W from that, lots of yelling back then too.
- The band should not be playing arenas in Canada anymore. Edmonton had 9,000. I was at Winnipeg and it couldn't have had any more than that. I was also at Brandon which was a 4000 seat rink and there were ENTIRE sections empty, it was probably half full. Play theatres, it helps justify ticket prices, make it tough to get tickets and generate some excitement.
- The ticket prices for the Canadian shows are absolutely insane. The first 10 rows in Winnipeg were $140 after service charges. If I've been to 15 shows, bought every album on the release date, and refuse to pay these prices, who are the fans buying these tickets? Pearl Jam is my favourite band (with The Hip being 1B) and their tickets are approximately $70-$80. I've seen Pearl Jam 38 times (will be 42 by the end of the year), with the show they consistently deliver it's awfully tough to justify paying more for something less than that.
- The band's live show has just become too predictably and dare I say, lazy. You know how many songs you're getting, what songs the order will be in etc, there are no surprises. If the crowd sucks, they should end it after 20 songs. If it's a good night, stretch it out to 25. They seem to put no thought into what they have played in the same city last time, and let's face it, not a lot of people are seeing The Hip for the first time anymore.

[direwolf74]

- The ticket prices for the Canadian shows are absolutely insane. The first 10 rows in Winnipeg were $140 after service charges. If I've been to 15 shows, bought every album on the release date, and refuse to pay these prices, who are the fans buying these tickets? Pearl Jam is my favourite band (with The Hip being 1B) and their tickets are approximately $70-$80. I've seen Pearl Jam 38 times (will be 42 by the end of the year), with the show they consistently deliver it's awfully tough to justify paying more for something less than that.
- The band's live show has just become too predictably and dare I say, lazy. You know how many songs you're getting, what songs the order will be in etc, there are no surprises. If the crowd sucks, they should end it after 20 songs. If it's a good night, stretch it out to 25. They seem to put no thought into what they have played in the same city last time, and let's face it, not a lot of people are seeing The Hip for the first time anymore.

Couldn't agree more.

:thumb:

[Kevala]

Wouldn't it be great if everything comes around full circle...? Good thing it does. When the Hip were just starting out, and you were sitting next to them after a show having a beer at the bar, no one really around, what times those were.
Has anything been gained or lost since then? Maybe this big dream happened somewhere in between. Now we are back again, to the simplicity of real life.

There is no "Hip" future. There is only your future and what you want to create.

The dream is over.... (maybe you can thank them for that?)

[NegPhil]

Ok. I'm kind of freaked out. Kevalas last statement makes sense to me. However I refuse to surrender the dream.

[The Darkest Canuck]

THE DREAM IS DEAD

[pars9393]

going to see pearl jam in buffalo on saturday and completely agree with everything said above, all they have to do is look to pearl jam to see what they should do

[pars9393]

going to see pearl jam in buffalo on saturday and completely agree with everything said above, all they have to do is look to pearl jam to see what they should do

[pars9393]

going to see pearl jam in buffalo on saturday and completely agree with everything said above, all they have to do is look to pearl jam to see what they should do

[Dark Canuck17]

Are you going to see Pearl Jam in Buffalo...lol