Well, unfortunately the concert had to end, but at least I have
it captured in my head.
So here goes with this review. The opening act Clarissa wasn't really
anything all that special. They're from Chapel Hill, NC. They took
the stage at 8:15pm, and played a 30 minute set, and it all sounded very
similar. The only bright spot of this act was
the drummer, who is really good, and fun to watch. The Hip took the
stage at 9:30pm, and they were incredible. They played an
hour and a half set, and then two sets of encores. They played a lot
of songs from "Trouble at the Henhouse", and they also played numerous
songs from "Day for Night" and "Fully Completely". "New Orleans Is Sinking"
was part of the set, and they're encore included "Little Bones".
The Newport is somewhat like AJ's Hangar, for those of you who've been
to Kingston, or somewhat like Metropolis(in it's concert configuration),
for those familiar with Montreal. The Newport was 3/4 full, with the balcony
closed. There had to be somewhere in the 300 people range. Imagine seeing
them in that situation(and not an Arena), it was great. There were several
Canadian Flags being waved by concertgoers(and for a Canadian living down
here it was nice to see). I met a couple of guys from Kitchener/Waterloo,
who drove 6 and 1/2 hours to see The Hip. I delayed my trip home to see
them, and it was definitely worth it. I last saw them at Richardson
Stadium in Kingston along with 10,000 others in the pouring rain, and that
was an experience. Well this was great because being in such an intimate
setting, they didn't seem like little people up on a stage far away, but
rather you could see them clearly. The set was full of energy, and
the lighting was definitely worth paying attention to. It wasn't a complicated
rig, mainly Par Cans, with a followspot and 6 Vari*Lite VL-6s. It
was how they were all used, a limited light colour palette, used in numerous
different combinations that was very artistic and supported the music,
and not a lot of flashy eye candy.
The VL-6's, an automated light source, were a nice addition to the
basic rig, and added alot of dynamic to the lighting design. The
spot was used unobtrusively to help define areas of focus, and to isolate
Bobby Baker on his Guitar interludes. In any event if you see them before
they hit the big concert venues in Canada, I would advise it. You'll
see them it a totally new light. Also you'll probably have an easier
time getting tickets, and you'll get to see them up close and personal(so
to speak). Well that's all from one totally happy Hip fan.
Zip
p.s. I'm a Lighting Designer, so hence that's why I payed so much attention
to the lights, and the reason for the description above.