[Guncho]

Sorry I need to let it all out.

I wasn't going to go see this tour. Last time I saw them in 2013 I thought Gord's voice was shot. It seemed that instead of singing he was just shouting, almost on purpose like some weird satire. A few days before the Sunday show a friend said he got tickets and asked me if I wanted to go, I thought about it for a bit then said yes. Not so much as it would be a great show but as a chance to see them probably for the last time and to say thank you for all the years of great music. And just to be in a packed arena where everyone else is there for the same reasons. To see what that felt like.

Gord S and Rob Baker sounded great. Firing on all cylinders. Fay was adequate. Paul seemed tired or something. Gord alternated between singing and shrieking but sounded powerful.

I feel like the Hip have treated this tour like it was just another tour, supporting another album and it's obviously not. Maybe that's what they have to do to cope. It's amazing they are touring at all. But I would have liked to see something to acknowledge the situation. Like some special guests. Kate Fenner, Chris Brown, etc. Some video retrospective, a speech, something. Maybe I am just so saturated with media that I need a Hollywood "this moment is emotional" signal to trigger that part of my brain .

Sad given the circumstances but this might be my ideal Hip configuration. Namely Gord is not playing guitar at all and his ranting has been reduced to almost not. I find him playing guitar detracts from his vocals and muddies the sound while adding very little to the overall sound. Sometimes I like his rants for adding a little chaos to the proceedings and making it unpredictable, but sometimes it just detracts from what the other guys were playing.

Noticed the teleprompters around the stage. Can't blame him though. It's amazing he has the stamina to do what he's doing. He's like Mario Lemieux level stamina.

Love how Paul played acoustic for the first part of the Sunday show. Gave it a bit of air and gave the sound somewhere to go.

Sunday show they brought out the classics and I'm not one for the classics. Some people never listen to a band past their peak album and I am the opposite. I would much rather hear Dire Wolf or Vaccination Scar then NOIS or Blow At High Dough for the thousandth time but I decided to embrace it. Especially as it's probably the last time I will hear the Hip play Boots or Hearts, Three Pistols, etc live.

Apart from the new material I was surprised there were about one or two songs I did not recognize right away.

Wonder if anything happened Sunday before Unplugged Gems other than a costume change. Did he need a break?

I hate sitting in the upper levels. Feel like a spectator not a participant.

No Wheat Kings Sunday.

Whew that's it.

[redhill]

Really dude...WTF ?

[downie_24]

So you don't want the classics but you don't recognize Daredevil....I'm confused.

[Guncho]

Sorry I meant I didn't recognize them immediately not "had never heard them before".

[spasticreelin]

I think the very loud statement about everything Gord is going through is shown when they surround him for the first eight songs

I thought that was a brilliant way of acknowledging their friendship, brotherhood and support.

And it really was all they needed to do...very subtle and smart

[rivum]

not sure what you mean about the shrieking. The vast majority here (myself included) feel his singing is more on point than it's been in a decade. I didn't notice any 'shrieking' at toronto#2 anyway.

As for the setlists, not sure what more you could want. The show you were at had a bunch of hits, sure, but it also had Opiated, springtime, Flamenco, Daredevil, long time running, last of the unplucked Gems, escape is at hand.
what makes this tour so great (among other things) is the nice variety of hits and deeper cuts.
you just can't please some people, i guess...

[tkkarpen]

Sounds like you should've stuck with your original decision and stayed home. :nooooo

[paulster2626]

Wife, friends and I commented on how there's no way anyone could have not liked that concert last Wednesday. I said "nah, there's gotta be that ONE guy."

We found him!!

[Guncho]

Sorry I didn't mean to give the impression that I didn't like the show.

Best Hip show I've ever seen musically? No.

Glad I went and thoroughly enjoyed it and glad that I got to stand up and yell "THANK YOU!" to Gord and the boys probably for the last time.

ABSOLUTELY!

[bobfrombob]

People are pretty touchy. Poster gave his honest opinions. Most of it was positive. He certainly didn't trash the show. I found it interesting. Thanks.

[edgoffin]

Vocally I think he's pretty much picked up where he was during the Fully Completely tour. Some shows I saw on that tour were his best vocal performances, maybe ever. Possibly no coincidence he's not playing guitar. I always found is curious why Gord picked up the guitar in concert. I assume it was an extension of the song writing process, maybe to also to turn some of the focus on the band versus the individual.

I like the rants, the chaos, the improvisational jams and watching the band (usually Paul) reign Gord in and bring it all back together. No band can match those early days seeing NOIS sprawl into new tunes, and hoping those fragments of songs would appear on the next album. Part of what's always made them a compelling live band. The FC tour was a neat experience, but it was a bit more choreographed with video and lighting and it took away some of that "in the moment" spontaneity.

I don't doubt they're getting tired. In the "there's going to be more tours, small surprise shows, etc." talk, people forget that touring is hard work. Long hours of boredom, obligations to shake hands and smile, travel delays and sitting in lounges. Remember that they have also added in dates to what had been much longer buffer days between shows. I think Gord is rallying for these shows physically and emotionally, behind the scenes it's much harder than we imagine. It must also be wearing on the band. I get emotional time zones away watching these shows on periscope, can't imagine standing beside him on stage.

I had the same thought on "I need a signal that this is emotional". When they announced the tour, my first thought was bring out opening acts that they have toured with in the past. Some sort of "Last Waltz" finale. Watching online, I think how they have approached it has made sense. For the band I think it has to be a show like any other show, otherwise I'm not sure how you could get through it. The set lists, merchandise and band interactions have all the feelings of a goodbye, without the band carrying that publically stated weight on them as they move across the country.

I'm glad you went and got a chance to say thanks. I know the band I see this week is not the same one I saw 25 odd years ago. There will be songs I wished were in the set list. Casual fans beside me who don't get how cool it is to finally hear Emperor Penguin (I can dream), and then high five each other through Blow. A few years ago I thought I'd heard Courage too many times live....now I hope to hear it one last time....

[Guncho]

I also want to mention how very "Canadian" it is that Gord and the band for the most part are not doing any press.

If this was a US band they would be on Good Morning America and milking it for all it was worth.

Dignified.

[Chris Tanz]

Poster gave me two things to think about that had been gnawing at me:

1) gord clearly has a coping mechanism. It is to satirizes the meaningfulness of his lyrics when performed live in concert. Most noticeable for me on (everything) Scared. He usually spends the first half of the song almost mocking himself and the genuineness of the lyrics he wrote (i feel) before giving himself over to it. It is the phenomenon that birthed Screamo Gord, who thankfully has not been present on this tour.

2) it would not be the Hip to stand and deliver a non-tongue-in-cheek or non-cryptic farewell, so they don't. They play their hearts out and Gord does Gord and that's their "goodbye" if it is. But damnit if once I would love to see him step to the microphone and just say something about what we're all feeling. I don't fault him for not doing it, but it would be the dam burst that feels like it is necessary.

Ct

[Chris Tanz]

Just a tack on thought: gord reading that might say: "what am I supposed to step to the microphone and say that I haven't already been saying for thirty years. I gave you all of it. Gave you my entire insides out. And danced them all for you just now. I've used it all up. I'm just a man who is a machine for poetry, so I gave you all of it. Now take care of each other and we'll see you somewheres down the road."

[Guncho]

I wish he would say exactly what you just said.