09/13/07: Halifax: Metro Centre

Been to a show and would like to give a review?

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Gortron
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Post by Gortron »

Amazing show. Gord was insanely animated and the music was great as always. Gord's voice seems to be in way better shape than I remember it from some shows last year.

Oh yeah, I seen some hipbasers on the floor. Which one of y'all was the guy with what looked like a black team Canada jersey on. I think with him I seen a guy with glasses possibly and a girl. Just curious...
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sean.bonner
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Post by sean.bonner »

Gortron wrote:Amazing show. Gord was insanely animated and the music was great as always. Gord's voice seems to be in way better shape than I remember it from some shows last year.

Oh yeah, I seen some hipbasers on the floor. Which one of y'all was the guy with what looked like a black team Canada jersey on. I think with him I seen a guy with glasses possibly and a girl. Just curious...
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Post by wpghipfan »

The gent in the black jersey was our very own Highlander. Immediately to his right was my lovely fiancee Brandy and I was to her right. Gent with the glasses was the talented mrlayance, or Lance to the real world, and his wife Lynette. The dude going nuts during Queen Bitch was Sean.Bonner. We all had an absolute blast! DVD is in the works as I type this...

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Post by trevor »

Looks like a really cool stage setup!
Glad you enjoyed the show boys!
Can't wait to hear the "backstory" to Queen Bitch Sean!
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wpghipfan
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Post by wpghipfan »

From today's Halifax Daily News:

Hip's Downie shimmies and shakes like a goofy Mick Jagger
JIM REYNO

He squiggles. Then he squirms, then he ... what? Would you call that a shimmy?

Gordon Downie, frontman for beloved Canadian rockers The Tragically Hip, is his usual eccentric self in front of about 9,000 fans last night at the Metro Centre. The Hip mix songs from last year's World Container CD with their older material, all brought to life by Downie uninhibited.

Wearing a cap, white T-shirt and black pants, he's an entertaining sight: parading around the stage immersed in his music, yet still bringing everyone into his world.

Downie's got to be the best mime in rock 'n' roll.

During concert-opener The Lonely End of the Rink, he waves a white handkerchief while skidding across the stage like Mick Jagger (trade the sexiness for goofiness). Downie then pretends his microphone is stuck in his heart, playfully going into the audience and getting a fan to pull it out.

Now he's pulling his heart out, tossing it in the air and shooting it during Grace, Too. He's looking into the crowd during Courage, crossing the stage as if he's in a canoe and the microphone stand is a paddle.

Here's a good one: while the band rocks away on Fully Completely, Downie scurries like a monkey, causing one couple in Section 10 to exchange bemused glances.

But Downie's at his best when his prop is an acoustic guitar, which it is a good part of the night:

"New Orleans Is Sinking!" he screams before attacking the strings and launching into the second song of the night.

"You're Not the Ocean ... yet," he warns.

"No dress rehearsal," he sings, strumming away to Ahead By a Century. "This is our life."

Cue the crowd roar.

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highlander
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Post by highlander »

Personally I've never compared Gord D to Mick Jagger. Their styles are completely different, albeit both are animated on stage.I'd say the reviewer wasn't up on their Hip 'stuff'.

How'd the video come out Rory? Music @ Work got interrupted because of the low battery! :( I had no less than 5 security come to me before the show telling me that I was allowed to use the video camera BUT if it was too high or someone complained it had to come down. Gee, thanks buddy. Whose next on the list to come see me so they can look and and feel important? I know they were just doing their job but coordinate and say, "Yeah I already talked to him." Anyways, no issues, although I think a few in the crowd around us were pissed off that we were taping..unsure as to why.

See ya'll in C'town!

D
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Post by mrlayance »

Image

Hip handles Halifax flawlessly

By STEPHEN COOKE Entertainment Reporter | CONCERT REVIEW | 6:56 AM

Few Canadian bands thrive in the bloodstreams of their listeners like the Tragically Hip.

There are countless kids entering college this year who were probably conceived to Up to Here, and judging by the age range in the crowd at the Halifax Metro Centre on Thursday night, a healthy proportion of them were there.

About 8,000 fans turned out to catch the Hip at the tail-end of its Canadian tour — the band plays a smaller-scale show tonight at CBU in Sydney — before it sets out on a European jaunt, and they were rewarded with a show crackling with electricity and brimming with vitality.

While the guitar duo of Paul Langlois and Rob Baker with bassist Gord Sinclair and drummer Johnny Fay laid down the fierce rock groove, frontman Gordon Downie was a one-man, three-ring circus, a vessel of fervour and emotion.

"Smoke what you gotta smoke . . . drink what you gotta drink . . . just meet me at the lonely end of the rink!" exhorted Downie as he took the stage, singing the saga of a goalie’s life from the latest album, World Container.

One could draw parallels between playing nets and singing lead vocals — after all, Downie does both — and so much of a game or a show’s success rests on his shoulders.

For emphasis, he held his mike against his chest so the arena could hear his heart beat. A grand gesture, but also a touching one.

The Hip turned to the classics, with New Orleans Is Sinking getting the crowd on its feet, with Downie screaming the last chorus over Baker’s snarling guitar line, followed by a mix of James Brown and flamenco moves to Grace, Too.

"You wanna hear what war sounds like?" asked the singer, before obliging with a bevy of mouth noise on the mike.

Obviously the Hip are at a stage in their career when crowds are split between those who merely want to hear the hits and the diehard fans who feel they can do no wrong, and Thursday night’s set did a good job of maintaining the balance, with passionate renditions of favourites like Ahead By a Century and Courage (for Hugh MacLennan), which saw Downie lean over the front row, holding out the mike to capture the sound of the Halifax Metro Centre Memorial Choir singing along.

But the night held its fair share of new tunes with World Container tracks like Yer Not the Ocean and In View energizing the crowd with driving melodies and prominent hooks, clearly a byproduct of working with producer Bob Rock.

Downie was at his most possessed during At the Hundredth Meridian, calling out names like Clarence and Ernestine, stating, "I remember everybody, I remember all you guys . . . How do you think I dance?" earning a hearty roar of approval.

Then he proceeded to make his mike stand dance before turning it into a recliner, putting a handkerchief over his face and miming a solo passion play while the band brought the music down, before rising from the dead for an explosive final chorus.

The main set ended with a one-two punch of Family Band and Little Bones, with Downie staying on stage to thank the cheering "music lovers of Nova Scotia" before returning for an encore that included a surprise cover of David Bowie’s Queen Bitch.

Now I just wonder how many future Hip fans were conceived in the wee hours following this show?

Props also go to the Hip for having great taste in opening acts, with Toronto’s the Sadies playing dark country rock with impressive skill and a supreme veneer of cool.

Look for a new album from them next week.

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Post by Plymouthshallowgrave »

Although I have no reference point since it was my first Hip show, I'd just have to say it was amazing. Crowd and atmosphere were great, the band was tight, and Gord was nothing less than himself.

One of my roommates brought in an audio recorder, so I have an MP3 of the show which I'll be putting up somewhere soon, if anyone is interested in it I can post a web address here.
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Post by wpghipfan »

More recordings are always welcome, so when it is ready, let us all know. As for my DVD, it is in production right now and should see the tracker in a few days.

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Post by sean.bonner »

wpghipfan wrote:More recordings are always welcome, so when it is ready, let us all know. As for my DVD, it is in production right now and should see the tracker in a few days.

Rory
Any news of this show, Rory?
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sean.bonner
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Post by sean.bonner »

trevor wrote:Looks like a really cool stage setup!
Glad you enjoyed the show boys!
Can't wait to hear the "backstory" to Queen Bitch Sean!
Better late than never...
Had backstage passes in Fredericton, told Sinclair it was my favourite cover they've done thus far... then he said he would see if the band was into playing it againin Halifax. Surely enough...
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sean.bonner
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Re: 09/13/07: Halifax: Metro Centre

Post by sean.bonner »

Five year anniversary of this show today! Can't believe this is the last time The Hip have played in Halifax, and their last appearance in Nova Scotia was the night after in Sydney.

This was definetly one of the most energetic crowds I have witnessed. I distinctly remember that when 'Wheat Kings' was played, the entire Metro Centre lit up with lighters, which surprised me in the age of the cell phone glow (maybe this wouldn't happen again five years on...).

Also, this is the latest show I've witnessed 'Gus: The Polar Bear From Central Park' and 'Boots or Hearts' (semi-rarities I'd say).

This show is available through Chris's website hipfans.com/shows

Here's the link: http://hipfans.com/shows/2007/tth2007-0 ... fax,%20NS/
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