Well the first song of 03 was Music @work,
Great show, listening to it now the band seemed really into it tonight.
Alot of good rants, Gord seemed to keep going back to fighting with his mic.
Not alot to say today because I am super tired and need to go back to bed.
Setlist in order
Use it up
Grace, Too
NOIS
Escape is at hand
Bobcaygeon
Nautical
putting down
courage
silver jet
IOD
weaken
100th meridian
gems/direwolf
gift shop
poets
abac
little bones
long time running (midnight arrives, confetti and balloons, crowd goes
nuts)
encore 1
music at work
fire in the hole (went on about the burning church)
encore 2
scared
blow
I took a bunch of pics and audio from the front row, sounds great so
far, except for the goof yelling "little bones" all night. Met some great
people in the huge beer lines, had a great time. I know this isn't much
of a review but.... Oh well, Happy New Year
Sean
Hello and Happy New Year
I just wanted to wish all the Hip fans a Happy New Year and thank the
Tragically Hip for performing in my hometown last night on New Year's Eve.
This being my 13th show there was nothing unlucky about this show. There
was no better way in celebrating New Year's without the Hip and all the
Hip fans. It was an amazing time in the Hammer, the setlist and the fans
were great. Sitting 12th row on the floor gave a great view of the stage
and the Hip. Meeting fellow Hip fans and sharing stories were great. Some
highlights of the night was seeing "Unplucked Gems" live for the first time
and the Hip playing Long Time Running just before midnight. At midnight
balloons and confetti began falling to the floor which made the night a
memorable one. Also it was great to see Sam Roberts and Sarah Harmer again
who both put on a great performance.
Thanks again to the Hip for performing in the Hammer and I look forward
to seeing the Hip in 2003.
All the best in the New Year
Bryon and Tracy Frost
A few thoughts from last night -
We were a little late out of the bar and tragically missed Sarah's
set - I would be interested to know if she brought Gordie in again
or any other noteworthy details about her performance. Enjoyed
Sam Roberts, solid Montreal based socialist rocker. I really don't know
their music so all but two of the songs they played were new. I thought
they had a hard Neil Youngish\Clash feel but definitely at times
a signature sound - especially through a couple of the outro jams.
Looking forward to seeing Sam and his band again at smaller venues.
Hip - magical. 60+ shows and I'm ranking last night in my top 3. Witnessed
the show from row 6 - excellent sound, all instruments, including voice,
loud and clear.
Use it up
Grace, Too (I thought the next three songs set the tone for the rest of
the show - marvelously delivered, a major lyrical screw up at the beginning
of NOIS notwithstanding, these three tunes were mesmerizing!)
NOIS
Escape is at hand (brilliant live song)
Bobcaygeon
Nautical (again!, thanks to the henhousers behind us for the Willie Nelson)
putting down
courage (Gordie at his best - kept looking at his invisible wrist watch
waiting for courage - serious audience participation during this number, and
a great response from the crowd after the outro)
silver jet (Bobby - his technical skill in using harmonics throughout the
song is quite impressive - not an easy task in a venue like Copps)
IOD (Brilliant)
weaken
100th meridian (fantabulous new song or cover in the middle)
gems/direwolf (this was so sweet, a full verse of Gems seamlessly flowing
into Direwolf)
gift shop (beer run)
poets (beer run)
abac (11:46, pink moon outro)
little bones (11:52 "kitty, kitty, kitty...")
long time running (11:56 pm I thought Gordie dedicated this
to someone but couldn't make it out - chilling, is the only way I can describe
how the band pulled this one off, song dies to a lull, house lights come
on and a countdown culminates with fireworks and confetti dropping on all
18000 very happy people. Gordie even looked a little taken back by
the whole thing - they pick up on the outro with a "drop a caribou" rant)
encore 1
music at work ("Let's get back to work!")
fire in the hole (the band left the stage and Johnny gave his sticks away,
looked like the end of a fine night - crowd left at fever pitch - must have
more)
encore 2
scared
blow
Awesome, awesome, awesome!!! I shot almost 4 rolls of film, mostly
on Bobby and Gord S; shooting Bobby with a high zoom amplification lens
is a real treat. He's a fantastic musician!
-JC
What a difference for night # 2. All the kiddies
were babysitting their brothers and sisters while their parents went out to
see a concert. This show has to rank in my top 3 that I've ever seen. I was
very surprised that "Use" opened the shows both nights. I had seen the setlist
at the lightboard before show #1(I only glanced at the opening song), and
it was listed as "Silver Jet". Conversely, I glanced at the last song before
show #2, and the last song was "50" with a ? beside it. Anyways, the
setlist was awesome. How "Long Time Running" fell in so perfect at the countdown
is beyond me. Perhaps this was planned, perhaps not. But as the countdown
went, 3-2-1, Gord finished with "It's well worth the wait". Perfect.
-Andre C.
Hey all.
Night number 2 ramblings. Sorry for being so long winded, but I like to
go on and on about the good things.
Here goes...
Eleven rhymes with heaven. And I think that’s fitting.
12:50 as I type this out, traveling west on the 403 eventually getting to
London probably within the next hour at the speed we’re going. Looking at
the skyline over the bridge just past the Main St West exit, and Hamilton
has never looked so good.
And I have never seen a better concert. Not by the Hip. Not by Dave Matthews.
Not by Tool. No ONE.
8:00 – Sarah Harmer gets on. Canada and Finland are tied 1-1. Sarah was
much better tonight. A really enjoyable way to start off the night.
9:00 – Sam Roberts and the “Sam Roberts” or Secret Weapon, whatever they’re
calling themselves. Phenomenal. This may be the last concert he ever is the
opener for in this country. His set:
Don’t Walk Away Eileen
This is How I Live
Where Have All The Good People Gone?
Brother Down
“Friends” (this is the song that was dedicated to The Hip throughout the
Theatre tour… not sure of the title)
When Everything Was Alright (Sam asks for the Habs fans… a chorus of boos
come out… Sam goes “that’s how you sink your set in 3 seconds”)
Canadian Dream
Hot Metal on the 401
Wasted on You Baby
9:50 – Canada Wins 5-3
10:30 – show time. And what a show it was. Gord was so elaborate and eccentric.
Robby again was on fire with his playing, even more so it seemed (we were
sitting in 107 tonight right on his side). All and all 23 songs with 2 encores
and the first time I think it is safe to say Long Time Running has ever closed
a set.
Use
Grace – Gord berates his mike stand for being a mike stand when he is a
“grown man”… rants about doomsday and how he isn’t afraid to die at the end
New O – Swim outro… never mind that Dorsal fin behind you just swim… this
also featured the greatest Gord fuck up I’ve ever witnessed, as he didn’t
remember the second verse until the outro
Escape
Bob C – “swear you’d swear” lines
Nautical
Putting
Courage – Gord bad mouths “Courage” during the intro, but in the middle,
“Courage” shows up… ‘were you here at the beginning, when did you get here?’
Jet
IOD – “Go State!”
Good Life
Meridian – highlight number 1 and 2: Them’s “I Can Only Give You
Everything” and “Life Is Forgetting”... incredible
Gems --> Dire Wolf – HIGHLIGHT of the night for me… finally seeing Gems…
a flawless transition between songs
Gift
Poets – Swim outro again…
ABAC – Pink Moon outro
Bones – “Here kitty kitty”
LTR – band stops playing when the clock strikes 12… Gord sings the “Dead
to rights” verse accupella (sorry about spelling, both tonight and last)…
highlight #3
Music
Fire – with a Burning Church intro
Scared
Blow
And then it’s all over. Happy New Year, pick up your shit, and don’t hurt
anybody.
And this is where we are. 1:20 and on the way to London. 70 km left.
Hope this finds you well, when it’s posted later on today or tomorrow. It’s
been a hell of a night. And the Double Suicide rant just came on the random
play list of Winamp.
It doesn’t get much better than this. A toast to you all
Live from Woodstock… Ontario that is…
PB
Hello all and Happy New
Year!
Just got back to Buffalo from Hamilton and, like Eags, I am super tired.
It was a pleasure meeting Sean last night, he was right in front of me.
Kudo's to your microphone setup!
I wonder who the goof was screaming Little Bones all night? I did not hear
'em. I probably got a few loud shouts and screams in the recording though,
if I did, I apologize. 
First of all, I have no voice, thankfully my fingers can do the talking.
I was too busy singin' along!
Sarah Harmer opened and was very good, although I am not a big fan, I was
impressed. My wife, who never heard of her, was hooked.
Sam Roberts was a first for me. I loved it, they have a new fan. Not to
sound cliche, but they rocked so hard!
The boys came out around 10:30 and put on a show that was nothing short of
amazing. I haven't been that close to the stage since Another Roadside Attraction
came to Darien Lake. Pretty typical setlist though, but no complaints (except
for the idiot who puked a few seats down from us and stunk up the place).
IOD and Bones were, hands down, the best I have ever heard.
They boys were so into it and seemed exceptionally happy to be there. Gord
was his usual sweaty self, ranting away. Paul even smiled a few times (never
seen him smile). Gord S. looked as though he was really, really loving his
bass. Bobby disappeared behind his hair, bangin' away. And Johnny seemed very,
very into it. He sounded great.
Come the New Year...as Eags said...Long Time Running...balloons, confetti,
sounds and we all went nuts! Happy New Year! The show ended about 12:30 or
so. I left the show in a music induced euphoria. Looking forward to see what's
next.
Thats all I got, I goin' to bed.
Chad
Was a Great night of music with sarah harmer performing
a great set and a great way to get things going. It seemed to make more sense
for her to open then sam roberts. The closing song "lodestar" was the highlight
of her set... Sam Roberts who i missed when he opened for oasis and for one
of the hummingbird shows put on a great show and i was impressed considering
i had not heard almost of the songs he played . It was my first time at copps
and liked the venue better then say the air canada center, Other then my posters
getting stolen from the guy behind me and a really bad smell down on the
floors ( the reviews from the 30th show mentioned of alot of puking.) I think
it was a great show for the songs they performed , they performed amazingly
i was really happy to hear escape .. the first time in 6 shows this year
that they have played it... The setlist was pretty predictable but even
so what a great concert . I wish they would play a more broader range of
songs i thought maybe they would come back for these two shows pulling out
some diff tunes .. I.O.D , fire, and long time running which is such a great
song... A great night all in all . I wonder if they will tour much this year?
I would be surprised if they did.. Some things i have noticed at the hip
shows i whent to this past year were
1. People more concerned about their video and audio recordings of the show
then the actual concert. Cant figure how you could have a good time worrying
about the recordings, maybe you can. But i cant see how people can complain
about people yelling or singing along, its pretty loud at these shows
2. The crowds seem pretty laid back, lacking energy. maybe i have it wrong
but singing along and dancing around should be part of enjoying the concert.
i was within the first 15 rows for copps and alot of people just seemed like
they stood there slowly swaying. I mean if you cant get excited being that
close then what the fuck. you dont have to be stupid or violent to go crazy
and i m sure the band would love to see more enthusiam from the crowd . i
noticed this at the molson amp shows floors both nights and hummer # 2 .
#3 was that a greatest hits tour? thats what it seemed like to me . A band
with so many good songs especially off recent
cds its dissapointing there was not a better mix. I understand its not like
everyone goes to 5 or 6 concerts in a year but the setlist is pretty much
the same as the tour started out. The best example of a band mixing it up
is weezer who play the songs they want to play.. in toronto in the summer
there was no "say it ain't so" keep fishin" newest single at the time and
countless others .. but believe it or not no one complained and the show
was great. The hip make some of their lesser known songs into memorable ones
when they play it live... ie. springtime...highwaygirl...countless others
I just wish they would play the songs they really want to play not ones
they feel they have to play..
p.s thats too bad about your sheraton mix up thats really shitty but at
least you got half off the cost.. and the seinfeld quote is good remeber trains,plains
and automobiles .. steve martin, car rental
-Ryan2
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