2004-09-19 - Cleveland, OH - The Odeon

jen · Post by **jen** » Mon Sep 20, 2004 5:54 pm

I can't wait to reply on this with all of the awesome Hipbasers that I met, along with my experiences of the night. I have to go to work now, but I will return.

gratts99 · Post by **gratts99** » Mon Sep 20, 2004 9:46 pm

at least we know their next release is greates hits. Someone should ask if their doing a greatest hits TOUR???

akoso · Post by **akoso** » Tue Sep 21, 2004 1:56 am

Alright folks, there isn't much left to say after Hugh's recap, but man would I ever like to re-emphasize the "greatest show I've ever seen" comment. Vapour Trails rocked, Looking for a Place was nice 'n unexpected and with even just one listen, I can guarantee that Fighter Fighter will become one of my favourite Hip songs (if they release a decent version somewhere).

I met Jen (highwaygirl28) and her husband (?) at the show and I must say they are two of the nicest people I have ever met... glad I had a chance to spend so much time with them. Also met Hugh (Hugh23), another awesome hipbaser. I heard Chris and Co. were also there, but unfortunately I didn't run into them.

I did, however run into a couple guys after the show... I can't quite remember their names, but if my memory serves me correctly, they introduced themselves as Bobby, Gord, Gord and Johnny. Needless to say... the experience of a life time. I shot the shit with Bobby for at least 20 mins and had a good quick convo with Gord S. too.

Ohh... and one more thing... as I was fighting unsuccessfully to get my hands on a setlist, my girlfriend walked over with an early Christmas present in her hands... hey, I never said I was the good looking one in the relationship.

smadabeer · Post by **smadabeer** » Tue Sep 21, 2004 12:27 pm

As stated in the above posts... 'What a show'! I thought the last Odeon preformance 2 years ago was outstanding, but once again I have to change my tune. It was great to meet everyone we did throughout the night, early morning.

If you haven't seen a US club show you are missing out on alot!! I have seen a good hand full... Looking forward to Pittsburgh in 3 weeks.

borgs · Post by **borgs** » Tue Sep 21, 2004 12:39 pm

i can't understand why some people are complaining about the hip playing unreleased songs live. i personally think that playing unreleased shit is one of the coolest things any band can do live for their big-time fans. the hip are infamous for not going out on a limb and busting out a crazy song... and that's fine, but when they decide to crack out something new or unreleased i don't think anybody should get on their back and just because they personally didn't know all the words to a single song.

whenever i've heard yet to be released tunes live i've loved them and i think the boys should keep it up and even throw a few more curveballs into their set lists.

Tthip · Post by **Tthip** » Tue Sep 21, 2004 12:45 pm

Who is complaining?

john cage · Post by **john cage** » Tue Sep 21, 2004 7:39 pm

I thought Cleveland was a better show than Detroit, and that's no knock on Detroit! Had never heard Looking live, and Vapour only once, so I'm really happy with that.

The crowd was excellent - very lively without any stupidity (beer tossing or crowd surfing).

I talked briefy with Brent the lighting guy after the show. He has lighting cues for 55 songs 'and the list is growing'.

The Darkest Canuck · Post by **The Darkest Canuck** » Tue Sep 21, 2004 8:26 pm

wow, what incredible set, Vapour Trails, Fighter Fighter, Looking For A Place To Happen, Springtime and Are You Ready, that's friggin awesome. i was really hoping to hear some IVL when i saw em cuz i never got to see em on that tour, but all we got was Silver Jet (although, if they were only gonna play one that was the one i wanted hehe).

thompsongirl21 · Post by **thompsongirl21** » Tue Sep 21, 2004 10:28 pm

I'm going to the show at the landmark and getting really excited. After a show like Cleveland, what do you think we can expect on Thursday??

boot · Post by **boot** » Wed Sep 22, 2004 12:54 am

Great show... great weekend. Think I'm finally recovered.

Detroit was great, Cleveland was greater. Loved hearing Fighter Figher, but I dont' recall much about it, I was too busy telling my friends that this was an unreleased song. Sounded like it would've fit in on IBE, though.

Hey to a couple of Hipbasers that I met out there, including Man Sized Eldorado in a Domino's after the show... but I was a little drunk at that point. Don't worry though, I may have been drunk, but I wasn't waving my Canadian Flag during the show...

And we got to meet Sam Roberts at the show! Got him to sign my Hip jersey (seemed appropriate at the time). My American friend who was with me - and had got her first listen to Sam in Detroit - got her CD signed by him... he signed it "Your secret is safe with me" after she told him that she enjoyed his show more than the Hip's....

The Horrible Esthete · Wed Sep 22, 2004 10:45 am

Some notes from The Odeon:

The Venue & The Audience - Small and cozy....The Odeon is about as intimate a setting as one could ever hope for in a public performance by TTH. Unless I’m mistaken, this show didn’t even sell-out; I believe fans were purchasing tickets at the door, and there appeared to be a little more space in “the back” than there had been at the previous three Hip shows I attended at “The O”. In terms of the acoustics, The O is not the greatest. It is very loud, which is fine with me, but the sound is very brash and mashed-together. The crew always seems to tweak and noticeably improve the sound by about the mid-set point, but it never sounds great in these small clubs with poor acoustic design.

Kudos to the typically non-local crowd....it seems as if the fan-base is maturing along with the band itself. I’ve now seen over twenty-five Hip shows, mostly in small Ohio venues, and I must say that instances of tawdry patriotism were few if not completely absent from this affair. For maybe the first time ever, this Ohioan finally felt as if he were part of a family of TTH fans and not an “outsider”.

The Atmosphere - Unmistakably abuzz with energy, yet falling short of frenetic madness. Major props to Sam Roberts and his bandmates for jacking up the crowd with a steady diet of fist-pumping, high-octane rock’n’roll. Probably the best opening act I’ve seen at a Hip-headlined event - I will definitely secure personal copies of all their releases. It’s nice to know there are up-and-coming bands that carry the torch for good ol’ fashioned rock music.

The Setlist - You’d probably love it if you hadn’t seen TTH perform, or if this was your first small-venue TTH show. A good arrangement of selections, and more than I’m used to hearing, thanks to the bonuses of Fighter Fighter and a second encore. But as the band’s catalogue grows, those of us who’d rather hear things other than the singles from each and every album are finding fewer of the obscure gems being mixed in. I was very disappointed that they didn’t play a single number from Road Apples, and only played one cut off Trouble at the Henhouse (at least it was Springtime in Vienna and not Ahead by a Century). Looking for a Place to Happen (absolutely incredible) and Vapour Trails (also pretty sweet) were the only ‘wildcards’, to make the setlist, aside from the aforementioned unreleased tune (which I found to be rather mundane).

Of the IBE selections, Gus did not disappoint as a deliciously hypnotic jam. However, I was very impressed with the rendition of Are We Family - it sounded fantastic - clean, subtle, and delicate; a better song than I had previously given credit for. Vaccination Scar was impressive, as Baker bellied up to the pedal steel guitar. Summer Is Killing Us, one of my favorite IBE tracks, was somewhat lackluster, being the second song in. The sound engineers had thus yet to make the necessary corrections, and this selection was somewhat of a mish-mash of noise...I found it difficult to aurally isolate those killer guitar lines.

All in all, a great show, but I wouldn’t say it was quite as impressive as either of the Cleveland performances at the Agora Theatre (TATH & PP Tours)....

jen · Post by **jen** » Wed Sep 22, 2004 2:06 pm

Well, pretty much everything has been covered as far as setlists and atmosphere. What I can add is my personal experiences.

I am obviously still in a state of bliss from meeting Gord, Gord and Bobby. A small group of fans waiting for about 1 hour (after the show) finally got the chance to talk to Bobby first. As others have stated, he is so amazingly gracious with his time. He told stories, answered questions, took pictures, all of that. He spent a good chunk of time with us, and I sincerely got the feeling that he was comfortable doing this not just because he felt he had to. After a bit, it felt like he was just part of the crowd hanging out. He far exceeded my expectations of meeting one that is 'famous'

Gord and Gord came out together about 1 1/2 hours after the show ended. They too were gracious with their time, doing the typical pictures, signing, etc. Gord Sinclair stayed around for about 10-15 minutes, and then the rest of the time was spent with Downie. He too shared stories, as with the one that Hugh spoke about (bending the mic stand) I have to say they definitely did not let down. They far exceed their call of duty and that again makes them one of the best bands out there.

On to the Hipbasers that I met: I apologize if I am forgetting anyone here, I met so many people: I do say this sincerely also: Meeting all of you was awesome! I am happy that I was able to snap a few pictures and I hope to post them here once I get them developed. (Yes, I am one of those old fashioned people who still doesn't have a digital)
First I ran into Chris (whom I recognized right away, thanks to his avatar

) He introduced me to Trevor, Yvan, Hugh and Mark. I also saw Josh once again(whom I met from Darien Lake) All super cool guys.
After the show I ran into a few more Hipbasers, whom I noticed thanks to the Hipbase shirts. (those work wonders for meeting each other at concerts

) Hugh was outside along with his wife Carolyn and friend Suzie. Super nice people also.
The last Hipbaser that I met but ended up spending the most time with was Akoso (Anthony) and his girlfriend. They even ended up giving my husband and I a ride back to our hotel after meeting the band and hanging out for a bit. Also some of the nicest people that I have ever met. (Thanks again, Anthony!!

)

We have an awesome community here and it really is a cool experience to meet each other in real life. I encourage any of you who dont have Hipbase shirts already, to get one. They help you meet each other and are great for conversation to the outside community. And another note, which Anthony can back me up on this:

**Gord Downie took great notice to the Hipbase shirts and said that they are "very cool swag" Now, if thats not enough reason, what is??

PS..Yes, Gord Sinclair does visit Hipbase and I have proof coming in the future. Stay tuned......

Tthip · Post by **Tthip** » Wed Sep 22, 2004 2:39 pm

highwaygirl28 wrote:PS..Yes, Gord Sinclair does visit Hipbase and I have proof coming in the future. Stay tuned......

OK, how about a little hint Jen?

mikeysaint · Post by **mikeysaint** » Wed Sep 22, 2004 2:46 pm

The show was good in my opinion but I had my car towed just before the show to dampen my experience, I will be at Atlanta and I know where to park.

jen · Post by **jen** » Wed Sep 22, 2004 2:54 pm

Tthip wrote:
highwaygirl28 wrote:PS..Yes, Gord Sinclair does visit Hipbase and I have proof coming in the future. Stay tuned......
OK, how about a little hint Jen?

Good things come to those who wait....

well, ok...it is a picture, but no more clues than that..I like to torment