chi2.htm

7/17/02
All I can remember about this show wasÝthey opened the encore with Long Time Running.Ý I would love to know what the other two songsÝin the encore were, not sure if the setlist on the Hip's site was accurate with NOIS and Fire?
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Overall I thought the Hip sounded very tight, and was extremely pleased with most of the songs chosen.Ý I do have some observations though....
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Is it necessary to hear Courage 4 nights in a row? I was pleased to see ABAC was scaled back to 1 night, but with 4 shows at the same venue, why not have more of a variety?ÝThey opened with "Use it Up" 3 out of 4 nights?Ý They had Music at Work in the second slot 3 out of 4 nights (a song I don't care for). Maybe people feel the same about Fully Completely (a song I do care for) being played 3 out of 4 nights, who knows? Why not drop Courage once in a while and put in Pigeon Camera or the Wherewithal?Ý Why not drop M@W once in a while and drop in Sharks or the Bastard or Tiger the Lion?Ý
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As far as the new tunes...I think Silver Jet and All Tore Up sounded great live, Use it Up andÝGood Life sound good, Are You Ready was fine, but I don't care much for that one.
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I was real surprised that Darkest One and Dark Canuk were played only onceÝeachÝin four days, and Leave wasn't even touched!Ý Those three, plus SilverÝJet, are by far my favorites on IVL. I haveÝno idea why they get overlooked, yet "Ready" and "Use" are played consistently?Ý IÝcould see Leave being a difficult song to pull off live, but the other twoÝshould be played as often as Courage and M@W,Ýright?Ý
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Later -
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Jeremy

I see you don't have a review for night number two in Chicago so I thought I would pass on a few thoughts. I was there for the
first and second nights and I thought number two was much better. I was about three rows in front of Rob which was a cool place to be. Gord D was very entertaining. Jet is an awesome song to open a show with and the delivery was great.Fully sounds so high energy live as does Fireworks. Good Life is one of the highlights of the show for me.The boys have a nice harmony going which is low key on the CD. Johnny started up on Springtime when it should have been Poets but Gord D pointed out that he was the MC and could fill in on moments like these.Poets absolutely rocks and is my wife's fav.The prelude to Poets that Rob does is a nice touch. They finished up the set with Locked which is THE hip song. The encores had Thugs which was a nice surprise and a terrific ending with Fire in the Hole.

ÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝ The House of Blues is a good bar to see the band. It was packed and very hot both nights. The crowd had a lot of Canadians as usual which resulted in many singalongs. I get the feeling it throws Gord D off as he gets the smirk when the crowd starts to take over.

ÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝ I ran into Gord S outside before the show. He let me know that the setlist was different from the first night. I asked if Locked was in and he assured me it was. Nice guy and very low key.

ÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝÝ My wife and I had been planning a USA small venue trip for awhile. With my kids off at camp the timing was perfect and Chicago did not disappoint as the weather was good,the food great and the entertainment excellent. Highly recommend seeing the boys in the small venue setting.

Craig

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