What a completely different set tonight. The Hip only played five songs both nights, the remaining 16 songs were different. We'll Go Too and Liounised were listed on the stage setlist, but were not played. Songs that remained on tonights set were Tiger The Lion, Lake Fever, My Music at Work, Poets and Gift Shop. Check out the setlist comparisons and the albums represented from both shows. During last nights show, there were chants for Wheat Kings and Sharks, and tonight they were delivered. Some of the memorable moments from tonight's show included--sharks! What a chilling live song, Escape Is At Hand (although I thought it was strange to be second on the set) and Opiated! Other highlightes were Kate's background vocals on Flamenco and So Hard Done By. When At The Hundredth Meridian was played, during the end Gord moved the mic towards the audience, and the crowd chanted "garbage-bag trees, whispers of disease and the acts of enormity and lower me slowly, sadly and properly, Get Ry Cooder to sing my eulogy."
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What more can you say besides.....OPIATED..WHEAT KINGS...FLEMENCO...SHARKS ...STAY...SO HARD...TRAIN....PLANET...VAPOUR... all on the same set list for show #2...AMAZING...the 2nd was very very powerful...I would rate in my top 10...from start to finish very very tight sound mixed great and the band just rocked...highlights...OPIATED...JF on SHARKS...BB all the way through...after the show I asked everyone about when THE BEAR is do to get some live treatment......surprize is GORDIE will be doing bass ...and Gord S guitar...for this song...look for it soon....so much more to say..I'm just letting these last 2 shows sink in a bit especially #2.... I can't say enough...it was just...goosebump city for me...( Oh yea! if your curious
..that is top 10 out of 40+ ).....seeing you soon Alan...nice to see you again Sharon....after the show I asked JF what he listens to in his headphones ...he said he has ringing in his ears from the years of playing and listens to a low mix of bass, both guitars and a little vocal....after he answered he turned and said its no different than working at .... DuPont...classic ....well after all it is his job..
talk to you  Todd
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I took advantage of an opportunity of a life time last night - the chance to see The Hip in an intimate setting, with a bar serving Canadian Beer right next to me, and the band at their best.  This is pretty long, but necessary to do justice to a truly awesome experience.
We arrived in Grand Rapids after a 2 hour drive from Windsor and we were running late to check out the opening act, so we found the closest hotel and checked in immediately.  The venue for the evening was the Orbit Room which is in a very odd location, in a strip mall, behind a JC Penny.  This caught me off guard as we walked from our hotel room across the street.  As we hurried across the parking lot, I knew I was at a Hip show when I saw multiple Canadian flags, and people playing frisbee, Labatt Blue in hand (remember this is a shopping mall parking lot).  As I entered the venue I was amazed at the size, and was ecstatic about the setting.  After 9 stadium shows this what I had been waiting for.
Apparently The Orbit Room is a former movie theater, however, unlike other converted theaters this was one was fully renovated to be a concert hall.  It didn't look like it had the best acoustics, but in a
place that small I am not picky.   Chris Brown, Kate Fenner and Band where already on stage so we hurried to the bar to grab a beer, so we could go down front to check out their show.   Hats off have to go to the Orbit Room, they stocked up on both Labatt Blue, which is not that big of a surprise in Michigan, but also Blue Light which was a welcome alternative to drinking Bud Light all night.  We grabbed a beer each, $3.50 amer. each but well worth it.   After a 2 hour drive and no dinner it was nice to get take that first sip.  We got our bearings and headed towards the stage where Chris and Band were mid set.  I have never heard there music before, but I was very impressed, a very funky sound.  I will be sure not to miss them at the Pine Knob and Columbus shows later this week.  Kate is a very striking women with a voice to match.  She often impressed the crowd with her beautiful choruses.  Chris Brown is an impressive keyboardist and looked as cool as anybody could do standing in front of a keyboard.  Like I said the music was very funky, and along with Kate's voice a  welcome change.  They finished their set and dedicated there last song to the Hip.   The crowd enjoyed this very
much and it was nice to see an opening act for the Hip that didn't have to play over a bunch of idiots chanting "Hip, Hip, Hip" during their set.
    Once again, (it seems this is happening too much lately) a few people in the crowd broke onto O' Canada while the crew was changing over the equipment.  We took advantage of this break to talk to a couple fellow fans, and to grab a couple more Blue Lights.   We waited patiently for the roadies to finish their work and the lights to dim. Minutes later the lights dimmed and the Hip took the stage.
    As Gord D approached the mic he said to the crowd "lets go to work" and the crowd went into a frenzy as we awaited the first chords of the latest single.  Music@Work was a great show starter and definitely got the crowd going, not that we needed it.  This was followed by Escape is at Hand and third the song, which I had been waiting to hear, Tiger the Lion.   This song sounded even more erie live, and the lights and stage backdrop added to this feeling, it was a very haunting rendition and the crowd showed its appreciation.   The next song was the crowd starter Fully Completely followed by the a show stopper, Opiated.  Once again I was ecstatic as I saw the looks of awe on peoples faces as they played this classic from their second album.  This truly was a show stopper and I was literally shocked to hear my favorite song from Up to Here, Gord Sinclair really knows how to mix up the setlists.  Opiated was followed by another of my favorites Chagrin Falls, which is even better live.
Gord was really on last night, and was up to his usual stage antics for the first half of the show.  Nautical Disaster was next and once again the crowd was driven into a frenzy, everybody including me always seems to enjoy this song live, especially last night as the band really fed off the crowd energy.  Lake Fever and Vapour Trails were up next and this was followed by another bit of a surprise, So Hard Done By.  Kate Fenner really complimented Gords voice on this track and also sung a verse on her own, like I said earlier she has a beautiful voice that really wraps around the Hip's music, she definetly did the song justice.    Ahead by a Century was up next and as always, a crowd pleaser.  The band was really on, as usual, with this track.   For some reason some girl was so pleased that she decided to crowd surf during this song.  After the song was over Gord D. proceeded to tell us that
"crowd surfing went out with 'Don't Go There'", as he was saying this Rob B could be seen at the side of the stage with his hand on his hip leaning to one side with his other hand in the air facing the crowd, in Ricky Lake/Valley Girl Style - Very funny, those of us in the crowd who caught it all laughed.    Next up, Train Overnight, and I have to say I was thoroughly impressed with this song.  Johnny Fay really shines, and despite past criticism about his drumming he has really developed into a good musician, and it came through on this track.  After Train Overnight the Band played Don't Wake Daddy followed by another bit of a surprise, Wheat Kings, it was my first time seeing this song live and I was not disappointed, Gord D. actually played guitar on this track, which was also a surprise.  A haunting version of Sharks followed by 100th Meridian closed out the first set, during 100th the crowd was going nuts and we were rewarded with the microphone to sing the "If I die of vanity....." bit, everybody with a voice left and even the ones without screamed this line to the delight of the band.  It was a great set closer, next up, the encore.
    After a quick rest the band was back out, unfortunately the planned song Lionized was not played, but we were all equally content with Poets, Flamenco and Save the Planet.   Gords antics on stage were less so in the second half of the show but it was very hot in the Hall, and understandable.    Flamenco was probably the highlight of the night, Kate and Gord did a truly beautiful duet, exchanging verses throughout and singing the final verse together, their voices really do sound great together, and was a treat I did not expect.   Each time Kate sang a verse the crowd showed their appreciation with screams and applause, she was really a crowd favourite and thanked us shyly each time.  After another short break the band came out again to finish off the show with Stay and then Giftshop.   As the end of Giftshop drew near the crowd cheered wildly in anticipation of the big closer.   As the song came to an end, screams of Fireworks and Fire in the Hole could be heard but unfortunately we were all disappointed to see Gord D. walk off the stage, the rest of the band looked like they were ready to play another but seconds later they followed the singer back stage.   A little disappointing considering the setlist called for We'll Go Too, but we didn't feel ripped off.   We were treated to a great night of music from the band, in an awesome venue.
    After another couple of Beers after the show, one of the crew told us that the band may be coming to the bar in the back after the show so we stuck around for a while talking  to a couple other die hards who were hoping to get a chance to meet the band, unfortunately about an hour later and no sign of the band, we were told that they were staying in their trailers, understandable seeing that they had to drive to Cleveland for the next show.  So not dejected in the least bit we proceeded to a Micro Brewery we had noticed on the way in to the show, no luck, Closed, oh well.   Walking a little further we found a
TGIFriday's, we had never been to one before so we thought we should try it out.   The food was awesome and they had Labatt Blue on tap, perfect end to a perfect night, if you ever go try the Fire Poppers, they are great.    Walking back to the hotel we were all hit with the unfortunate realization that compared to tonight's show Pine Knob on Saturday will be a let down compared to what was a once a tour experience. Oh well there is still the Columbus show at the Newport Music Hall next week. "Newport", that means it has to be good, right?
Craig Newport