Hartford: First off, they cleaned up the area around the venue, at least a little bit. We only saw one hooker, and she was 5-6 blocks away from the venue. Guess they were cracking down there at some point (they even took down the "cars soliciting prostitutes" sign... So much for the photo op).
The Webster Theatre was packed, much more so than the Dec. 98 show I
saw there. Some of the usual Canadiana was on display, but it was kept
in check for the most part. The crowd ended up being incredibly well-behaved
(and were treated well because of it). Like I think I mentioned in my original
sleep-deprived post, this is the best Hip show I've seen since, probably,
the Irving Plaza
show in Dec. 95. Some great setlist surprises, some tight playing,
decent acoustics, good company. I mean, they played 5 songs off of FC (Courage,
100, Fully, Wherewithal, Wheat). The last song was Wherewithal. He introed
it by dedicating it to George W. Bush, and immediately I thought "Wherewithal!
But, no, it can't be, they haven't played that in years! Gotta be something
else."
Very intense version. 3 songs off DFN (Grace, Nautical, Thugs). Opiated...
Took 30 shows before I heard it live (31 until I heard it the second time
:)).
Couldn't make out any Gord rants, the only words I heard were "playboy
bunnies" and "$1500 bucks?".
-Rob B.
================================================================
August 4th Webster Theatre Hartford Conn.
Puttin Down
Something On
Grace, Too
Sharks
Fully Completely
Opiated
Escape Is At Hand For The Travellin' Man
Tiger The Lion
Courage
Stay
Poets
Lake Fever
Gift Shop
Wheat Kings!
Nautical Disaster
My Music At Work
--------------------
Freak Turbulence
Thugs
At The 100th Meridian
--------------------
Dedicated to George W Bush
THE WHEREWITHAL!!!!!!!!!
============================================================
Hey henhousers! Just a review of the hip concert on Friday night
(4th) at the Webster theater in Hartford - read one review of it and had
to laugh at the comment on the theater being in the ghetto!! We drove up
from Oxford, CT - got the tix online for $20 U.S. - a great deal by Canuck
standards! Hit the parking lot by 7:30 and started seeing all the
maple leafs!! Met a young guy from Belleville who had just seen the
hip at Long Island the night before and was ecstatic about being here the
next nite... there were several Ontario licence plates in the parking lot
and it did feel a bit like a small homecoming! the last opportunity
that I had to see the hip was at Thunder Bay in 93 on their Another Roadside
Attraction - didn't make it tho and was really disappointed - but finally
got to see them, in of all places - Hartford!! One person said in
the crowd "bring a Canadian band to the U.S. and all the Canadians come
running out of the bushes!!" I believe that one! Anyway, the concert
was great - the opening act (Kate Fenner & Chris Brown) was so- so
but entertaining - their highlight was when Gord Sinclair joined
them for a tune which did a dual bass section - that sounded great!
Both kate and Chris joined the hip for their concert - their low-key background
did embellish the sound and was appropriate...
Highlights of the concert were Grace, Poets, Fully, Music, Courage,
and Hundreth. Gord wore a jean jacket (which was
discarded in short order!) and a short-sleeved white shirt that was
absolutely soaked by the 5th song!! A big Hello! to Paul and Sylvia
if they read this - they joined us at our table - they flew up from N.C.
just to see this concert - they had seen them at Raleigh in the past -
they are from Hamilton and were very nice people!! Thanks for the
drinks!! Hope you had a safe trip home! Anyway, they were in front
row at another hip concert and got soaked from Gord's sweat - be prepared
for that!! The hip returned for 2 encores - playing 3 songs and then
a final one... sounded great! The guy from Belleville told me after
the show that I am welcome home anytime in Ontario!!! that's great!!
LOL!! Okay - look forward to seeing the hip again when they return
to this area as I will be here for a long time... all in all, a great concert
- the small venue was perfect - better than watching them from the rafters
at the Air Canada Centre - and just a note... the last concert here was
in April 99 which got bad reviews due to the crowd surfing, poor security,
and a fight! so, it was a nice change to see everyone enjoying the music
this time... even the green Alien!!!
take care... allan & patti....
=========================================================================
Hartford.
Great show, crappy city. Actually, it wasn't that bad but what's the fun of not complaining?
The band was definitely on, and initially I had doubts they would be as they appeared to be a bit "influenced". The old "blindfold me with dental floss" syndrome.
Wasn't a problem. Blazing show and a great crowd. Only one mouth-breathing, flag waving person. It was a good thing they were there because maybe the guys might have forgotten where they're from.
Rob and Eric travelled from Canuckia for the show and were quite disappointed
we didn't have time to stop at Hooters for dinner. Saw Fiona and
Harvard Bill. The show was videotaped by the same person that did
a fantastic job at the last Boston show so hopefully he'll manage to send
a copy my way. : ) Turns out a friend was also taping with his hard
core Schopps/DAT
rig. Hope to manage a copy of that too. (Yes, I'm in a
begging mood.)
And for the record, all the ladies found Eric "Slacker" to be quite dReAmy! Rob remains a mediocre kneeboarder. Eric was a natural.
So that's my story and I'm sticking to it.
PEP