2012-07-11 - Calgary, Alberta

[sean.bonner]

'crisis of faith and crisis in the Kremlin'

[sherpahigh]

Sister in law hooked me up with tickets today. Pumped!

[direwolf74]

I'm hoping that because this is a private event, it might help curb some of the douchebaggery that happens at other festival gigs. However, this being Stampede, I'm probably hoping for way too much. People are drunk and acting like idiots all over the city this week, so why would a rock show be any different. Regardless, I'm determined to have a good time at this thing, as it'll probably be my last outdoor Hip show on Canadian soil (unless of course I end up with a free ticket to the next one, haha). I'm looking forward to hearing the new songs.

[NWOntario]

I'm hoping that because this is a private event, it might help curb some of the douchebaggery that happens at other festival gigs. However, this being Stampede, I'm probably hoping for way too much. People are drunk and acting like idiots all over the city this week, so why would a rock show be any different. Regardless, I'm determined to have a good time at this thing, as it'll probably be my last outdoor Hip show on Canadian soil (unless of course I end up with a free ticket to the next one, haha). I'm looking forward to hearing the new songs.

+1. I haven't been so blase about a Hip concert since...y'know what? I don't think I've ever been this blase about a Hip concert. I too am determined to enjoy myself, because it's the Hip and because I haven't seen them in almost three years and because the weather's supposed to be nice and because my date's absolutely gorgeous--but I'm bracing myself for at least a little bit of Stampede-induced douchebaggery. Am I a bad Calgarian for generally hating Stampede??

[daylight]

Am I a bad Calgarian for generally hating Stampede??

Bad Calgarian. Good human being.

[FallingUp]

Am I a bad Calgarian for generally hating Stampede??

Bad Calgarian. Good human being.

[NWOntario]

Am I a bad Calgarian for generally hating Stampede??

Bad Calgarian. Good human being.

Awesome.

By the way, if anyone from the band's reading this, PLEASE PLAY "THUGS" TONIGHT.

[sean.bonner]

Awesome.

By the way, if anyone from the band's reading this, PLEASE PLAY "THUGS" TONIGHT.

They haven't eve played Fully Completely this tour... but who knows

[sherpahigh]

Not a huge Stampede fan myself and most years actively avoid it. Took the girls there the other day though and had a blast with them. Plenty of smiles all day.



Looking forward to the show today and hoping that the crowd's alright... but ya, stampede + festival show..... Not holding my breath.

[Earth]

Anyone looking for a single ticket for tonight?

[sherpahigh]

aaronck is...

http://hipbase.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=13&t=16559

[Earth]

Sorry guys. Gone.

[NWOntario]

I'll be tweeting the set tonight--so if you're interested, either follow me (@snjohns) or check out...oh, I don't know, #tthyyc. The Stampede Roundup's at @stampederoundup.

Fair warning: I don't know any of the new songs, including "In Transformation." I'm a firm believer in New Album Blackout, so I'll (presumably) be hearing all the new songs tonight for the very first time. Apologies to anyone following along; I'll do my best with the titles I know.

[NWOntario]

Thanks to those who followed along on Twitter! Here's the setlist:

(Intro music: Pearl Jam, "Worldwide Suicide")

At Transformation
Grace, Too
Bobcaygeon
Love Is A First
Man Machine Poem
At the Hundredth Meridian
Ahead By A Century
In View (apologies for the tweet, btw: "BORN IN THE WATER!!!!! Just kidding: In View." I shouldn't have done that.)
The Last of the Unplucked Gems
Gift Shop
My Music At Work
Fiddler's Green!
Poets
Drip Drip
Courage
New Orleans Is Sinking
Little Bones
Wheat Kings (encore)
Attawapiskat (encore)
Blow at High Dough (encore)

A few notes:
- The Stampede Roundup is a giant corporate junket that doubles as a fundraiser for the Rotary Club of Calgary. It's also a massive booze-up. You can imagine the kind of audience that resulted.
- Having said that, the crowd where we were was--for the most part--well-behaved. Drunk, yes, but well-behaved and respectful. The sing-a-long to "New Orleans" was FANTASTIC. Most of the new songs seemed to leave people confused.
- Great versions of "ABAC" and "Gift Shop".
- I could've done without "Fiddler's Green" tonight: wrong crowd, wrong atmosphere.
- Gord seemed to be having problems with the crowd down front; either before or after "Fiddler's Green" he made a totally-serious "stop throwing things" speech...although having said that, he sang "Poets" on the rail.
- On that note, there seemed to be a fight down front during "Little Bones". Gord incorporated the fight into an epic cat rant. Speaking of rants, there was a lot of talk about how light it was out (and it was).
- The new songs have me excited for the new album. Again, I hadn't listened to any of them (including "In Transformation") prior to this evening. "Drip Drip" is the one that left me non-plussed...but the other three? Aww, yeah.
- I'm one of the people complain about setlists. I cannot, in any way, shape, or form, complain about the band's performance tonight. "Gems" felt like a bone to some of the bigger fans in the audience...but otherwise, this was an occasion that called for a setlist packed with hits. We got one--and it was goooooooooood.

[direwolf74]

Solid show! Awesome energy from the entire band. Gord was in a very chatty mood and more animated than I've seen him in a while. And I agree with NWOntario: that kind of crowd definitely calls for a greatest hits show, so I have no complaints about that tonight. One dude beside me kept poking me in the arm, saying "this is amazing! Can you believe we're actually seeing these guys?" Clearly he had either never seen them in his life, or maybe just hadn't seen them in over a decade. He definitely got his money's worth tonight, and the guy was all smiles for the entire set. It was kinda cool actually. I loved hearing "Gems", and the new songs are fantastic. Can't wait to hear the full album. Paul singing on Wheat Kings was another highlight.

As for the other bands: 54-40 doesn't seem to age at all, and I thoroughly enjoyed their set. Matt Good also put on one hell of a show. Very high-energy and really got the crowd into it. I wasn't sure how some of his newer material would translate to the stage, but those songs sounded great. "Zero Orchestra" f'n rocks.