07/23/09: Harris Park: London, ON

[HipFan67]

I enjoyed the show. I took the entire family and my daughters haven't seen them since 07 so they were more than overdue! Set list was good (NOIS opener FTW!) all in all the band was great and we had a good time. I have to agree with the others on some of the dicks in the crowd. I saw more fights between security and douchbags than I ever remember at any metal show I've been to. I spent a lot of time making sure someone didn't knock my daughter down. (she walks with a walker) One jackass even grabbed her walker to push his way through the crowd! The setup did suck, especially after the show when 11000 people bottlenecked out a 20 foot exit!

[metronome]

Great show. Standard setlist, but my goodness the acoustic songs were fantastic. Coffee Girl and Scared in particular were absolutely fantastic. There were definitely a lot of D-bags in the crowd unfortunately (see CrazyKid's post, can't believe that older gentleman got punched in the face resulting in a bloody nose, just awful). Also, I have to agree with AlmostHip, the set up was terrible. The VIP section and the tables ruin what an outdoor setup should be (should just be a large open field, tents in the back). Unfortunately, Rock the Park has always been setup in this awful layout.

Just wanted to add that the openers were fantastic. The Spades rocked hard as always and the Arkells were great. I felt bad for Kathleen Edwards, she is pretty talent, but just not suited to open for the Hip. Lots of jackasses jeering her, but I thought she handled it well. All in all I had another great experience (my 11th Hip show).

[cbeach401]

The show itself was great. I don't know what it was this time, but I really thought the band were just clicking perfectly tonight. I can't put my finger on it exactly, but I know I left there feeling really impressed with the full band's efforts this evening.

Other than that, I didn't have a problem with the crowd, but I still hate outdoor venues like this. But in the end I don't really mind it.

[Tthip]

[Tthip]

http://lfpress.ca/newsstand/Today/Music ... 1-sun.html

No quit in the Hip
Fri, July 24, 2009
Playing old and new material, the Tragically Hip were a huge hit on opening night
By JAMES REANEY


Gord Downie performs with the Tragically Hip at Rock the Park in Harris Park last night. (Morris Lamont, Sun Media)

Now we know why they call it Rock the Park.

With the Tragically Hip right on target for two hours last night, a Rock the Park record crowd of 12,500 fans cheered frontman Gord Downie and their heroes. The Hip concert, with songs played hard and well from all over their career, was an instant contender for concert of the year.

The outdoor music fest's sixth edition continues at Harris Park tonight. It will tough to match the night shared by the Hip and their fans as the fest opened.

"We are going to do some old songs, we are going to do some new songs," Downie promised early on between trademark twitches and struts around the stage. "We're even going to do some songs we know."

He was a man of his word. When a band follows The Depression Suite, from its new album, We are the Same, with a classic like Poets early in the set, that's new and old.




Downie and bandmates Gord Sinclair, Paul Langlois, Rob Baker and Johnny Fay were back in the London region having playing indoors at the John Labatt Centre and outdoors at Stratford in recent years.

"On behalf of the boys, thank you, summer on, summer on London," Downie said before the Hip began its encore with a terrific Love is the First, another song from the new album.

Downie strapped on a guitar, to huge cheers, at the start.

By Poets, Downie had ditched the acoustic guitar for a handkerchief that he kept swirling and twitching almost as he much as jumped around himself.

In a strange, who but Downie would think of it touch, Downie kept the big fluttering hankie around him most of the night. One he pitched toward the fans. Others he brushed against that famously bald head. Whatever, that fluttering white piece of cloth meant it was never a sign of surrender.

There was no quit in the Hip last night.

Older songs like Wheat Kings and Scared were fresh under the night sky. Downie went back to an old line about a fictional travelling salesman plying his trade to introduce Scared. "The commodity is fear, the song is Scared," finally reaching this critic who always thought of the Hip man selling beer door to door.

How Hip.

Speaking of Hip, Ottawa alt-rocker Kathleen Edwards, who was on before the Hip and is excellent, had a tough job. She handled it with the in your face hipness of somebody who has great songs and loves the dentist who gifted her with cool new braces.

"He's the only man in my life that ever said I had a small mouth," Edwards joked at one point in a set split between her own fine songs fired up by her terrific band and her running feud with a few too Hip fans.

Some fans chanted "Hip, Hip, Hip" before she hit the stage and during breaks between her songs.

To this reviewer, the icing on the cake of the Edwards' set was her obvious glee in firing "Hip, Hip, Hip" right back at fans who had that one thing on their minds.

"You're not going to get them out here with that," Edwards said after her rivals in the crowd failed miserably to match her Hipfan intensity or volume. "The good news is that one of the secret weapons for the Tragically Hip was poached so terribly from my band. I'll never get over it," she said before welcoming the man who was poached, Jim Bryson back for some of her set. Bryson returned to help the Hip.

Canadian rock bands the Arkells and the Spades were also on the opening night bill.

[mojo_mattv]

Didn't go but two comments to make:
1)Don't think I've ever seen Grace, Too as a closer and very rarely is NOIS an opener. Almost a role reversal for the two.
2)Why oh why would anybody think it'd be a good idea to put Kathleen Edwards on just before The Hip!? I love her music, she's a funny preformer, but in an outdoor venue especially, I'd never put her on just before The Hip. Just setting her up for some hard times, I wouldn't have wanted to be in the situation if I were her. Who'm I kidding, yes I would

[Hugh23]

It was raining as my wife and I entered the park for the show. We were anticipating being soaked by the end of the night, but fortune was with us as clear skies appeared when Kathleen Edwards took the stage. A clear patch of sky stayed above us for the rest of the night. What a great surprise!

The Hip looked fresh and rejuvenated after returning from a break to start the second leg of their tour. The band played lots of hits and favorites, sprinkled with a few songs from We Are The Same. Always keeping things fresh for themselves, the band made small arrangement changes in how they played many songs. Nothing major and everything sounded great. My favorites for the night were the acoustic version of Wheat Kings and the 100th Meridian. For Wheat Kings Robbie played his acoustic guitar using his slide while the guitar was lying flat on his lap. We were all treated to an extended version of 100th Meridian during which Gord jumped down from the stage and interacted with the fans.

Overall a great performance from The Hip. The only down side to the show were the many jerks in both the GA and VIP sections. The pushing, shoving and fighting was uncalled for. The GA section forced thousands of people to be tightly packed shoulder to shoulder for hours. Its no wonder why there were so many altercations.

My wife and I were fortunate to recieve some after show passes from The Hip and their management staff. All the band members were there for a meet and greet. Not only do I love The Hip for their music, but they are all friendly and gracious guys. Each of them took the time to sign autographs, take pictures and speak with those who were there. Definitely a great bunch of guys.


Carolyn, Robbie, Gord S, Hugh and Ben at after show meet & greet

[BakersBrew]

This show went on sale in February correct? I'm sure the band was tight, and the acoustic numbers were great, but, couldnt they at least pull out one gem? I agree with the mainstream comment. I'd be really disappointed with shelling out decent money for only twenty songs, and songs that have been played to death.

[Gibie]

The band sounded awesome, weather turned out great.

Crowd was just stupid. It also didn't help that I was with a group that wasn't interested in pushing through the crowd to get up close. We were about 50 feet back from the last screen in the center, near the Coke Zero tent. Too many assholes... seriously... are they that hammered they need to fight.

It's hard to come from the last show I saw of them at the Danforth Music Hall when I was steps from the stage to coming to a massive outdoor event with thousands of wackos.

Anyway, great to see them again, can't wait for the next show.

[Tthip]

[NauticalBuffalo]

Wasn't able to enjoy the first half of the concert pretty much because of all the assholes. Everyone trying to push through, pushing people over and generally being assholes. I considered leaving halfway through because I was sick of dealing with it. Me and my giant friend were attempting to control the crowd around us and it worked pretty well. It was pretty funny when my friend would grab an asshole and yank him back and tell him off. The asshole would get pissed and then see the size of my friend and run away scared. The people around us who weren't assholes were grateful.

After the accoustic set the crowd seemed to calm down. A few minor altercations after that but nothing too bad. Love Is a First was great and so was Grace Too.

[clutchcdn]

I have never been around so many people whom I wanted to kick in the face.

Band sounded great.

However.....said people whom needed the kick in the face have pushed me into large park show retirement.

[Lizard King]

I have never been around so many people whom I wanted to kick in the face.

London will have that affect on you, im so glad i moved away.

[clutchcdn]

I have never been around so many people whom I wanted to kick in the face.

London will have that affect on you, im so glad i moved away.

Agreed.
I lived there...and moved away due to some face kicking.

[HipFan67]

I live in London, and I just kicked myself in the face.