So I get into line around 3pm, there's maybe 30 people or so in front of me. There's a group of 5 or 6 teens directly in line in front and the one starts talking to me; I find out that "they don't really like the Hip" but they're there for "somethin' to do".  Riiiight... so why don't you go home and watch the Britney Spears I&I for the 90th time kids??  Sheesh...  Luckily the two guys
behind me who made the drive in from Peterborough were pretty cool.  There's not much to do sitting in line... and the sky darkens... and the heavens open up. Perfect, just what I wanted - rain to thin out the ranks and deter people from coming out!!  It seemed to work for a while as the line didn't grow that much. But anyway, 'nuff of that.

So we pile into the "outdoor" area in front of where they're removed the Much windows, and I find myself second row behind the barrier.  Tres cool!  During the pre-show I got to chat with Rick The Temp and Sook-Yin... and you know what?  I feel bad for all the jokes I've made at their (esp. Rick's) expense. Some assholes in the crowd gave them such a hard time... and I was reminded why I so dislike seeing das Hip in Toronto.  Rick was pretty cool; right up until he gave wristbands to two chicks *behind* me... sorry Rick, but just for that I'll keep up all the jokes.  One of the Peterborough guys got invited in too... sigh... always a bridesmaid, never a bride....

And yes, that was a CD that somebody gave Gord.  They were trying to get Rick to take it earlier but he wouldn't, so instead they thrust it at Gord, who looked oh so less than impressed.  It wasn't anything Hip related - from what I could tell it was a homemade CD of some indie band.  C'mon people, quit trying to be creative - just play it for Speaker's Corner like everyone else does!

Okay, here's the setlist, as written out on my arm...

1.    Putting Down
2.    Freak Turbulence
3.    My Music At Work
4.    Escape Is At Hand For The Travellin' Man       :)
5.    Tiger The Lion
6.    Something On
7.    Stay
8.    Fireworks
9.    Cordelia
10.    Bobcaygeon
11.    The Completists
12.    Lake Fever
13.    Poets

and played after the show ended:

14.    Grace, Too
15.    Ahead By A Century
16.    Gift Shop
17.    Vapour Trails
18.    Little Bones

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Now for the review...

First off, did everyone see me?  Watch the reruns for a guy in a bright red Hip jersey (that would be the away one that I won Rohit) who hasn't shaved in a few days and smiled a lot - that's me.  I haven't seen the actual MM show yet, but I have to watch closely as I had a message written on my one hand for a fellow amth'er and I'm hoping it showed up...  my way of saying thanks for thinking of me at the Montreal I&I...   :)

Alright... let's talk about Chris and Kate.  I'm withholding all the criticism as I know it's still early in the tour and I think they're still trying to adjust within the group dynamic.  Chris, when I could hear him, was really nice on the keyboards.  And Kate... oh Kate.... I love that little outfit you were wearing... sigh.... you're right up there in my books with the Hip Hitchiker and Julie as the epitome of Hip sex symbols...  oh... yeah, forgot about the music - sorry folks!  Hehe...  well Kate was... umm... unbalanced.  It seemed to me I could hear her when I shouldn't, and couldn't when I should.  There were times where her voice would just come in quite high, and when her lines came I could barely make her out.  But like I said, it's early - we'll see how it's going in three weeks.

First two songs - oh wow, what a punch!  My head was spinning from Puttin' Down and the whole concept of being at the show then Freak comes on and that finished me off.  I was hooked then and there, and the sound was amazing!  My congrats to the MM sound team for an awesome job, especially with the outside speakers.  I can't recall much of the interview portions so until I see the replay I'll stick to comments on the songs.

Next set started off with My Music At Work.  Wow, wow, wow!!!  I remember looking up in the sky just as "the rain came down beserk" and it just seemed so classic... so Gord.  It seems to me that they throw in a few extra bars in the live version as I think it was longer than the short album version.  I hadn't had time to catch my breath, and the reverb in the speakers didn't pause for a second before I heard the oh so familiar early bass rumblings of Escape.  I smiled, I sang, I loved every beat.  Need I say more?

Third set started off with Gord saying, "this is called Tiger The Lion".  That's all I really remember... my heart skipped a beat as this is the ONE song that I have been DYING to hear live since April.  I knew right from the very start that it would kick ass when done on the stage, and boy oh boy, I wasn't wrong!!  I'm not the first to say this and I won't be the last - to all the critics of Tiger who haven't heard it live yet... just you wait!!  :)   And after that, it was time for Something On, which was just as solid as I remember it on the PP tour. Very nice.

And then.... oh, could it be?  Could that be security plowing a path through bodies inside?  Could that really be Sook Yin coming straight for us?  Could it REALLY be Gord hot on her heels??  You bet!!!   I got to shake his hand...sigh... I'm never washing it again!  I'd like to take this opportunity to apologize to Mr. Downie for the repeated flashes from my camera... I'm sorry Gord; surely you're used to it??   :)   I took some amazing shots of him, covered in sweat and smiling like I rarely see him.... I mean he was completely in his element!!   And was it just me, or was that indeed wearing the same shirt as the photo from the cover of LBU??  I'm 99% sure it was, and if that's the case then K, do I have a present for you!!!

Back inside after the break they start up with Stay.  A nice simple song, and the chords are still ringing in my ears.... I can't wait for the M@W tab book to come out so I can start strumming that in my spare time... so catchy!  Hmm... after that... Fireworks - a definite crowd pleaser.  Again, another solid PP song.

And by now you're all heard about this Cory guy who got to sing along with Cordelia.... that lucky fucker!  (pardon my french)    He's lucky... had he requested a song and NOT known the words to it I think he wouldn't have lived more than 10 minutes after the show... hehehe.... he was certainly the talk of the crowd for a while.  I almost felt sorry for Gord and the boys, having us completists and archivists yell out songs they can barely remember, but then again they should have expected that.  I just wonder what they did go back and relearn in anticipation for the show.  They were probably ready to play Boots Or
Hearts or something...   :)    At least nobody with a microphone asked for New Orleans!!

I think this was around the time where those god damn questions came up... something about how do they like being Canadian icons???   I'd felt that it was bad enough having the assholes on the street yelling out "play New Orleans" every five minutes, but hearing nationalism dredged up was icing on the cake.  I mean if there's ever been two turn offs for me when it comes to the Hip it's a) people screaming songs that it's obvious the band won't/don't wanna play, and b) bordered thinking.  Seriously folks, any major fan has listened to the interviews and read enough to know that Gord can't stand talk of Canadianism versus Americanism.... grrr.... they shouldn't be Canadian icons, they should be musical icons.  They're not Canada's band, they just happen to be from Canada. I think it's the casual radio fans (dare I also use the word ignorant?) who've turned them into Canadian icons, seemingly against their will.  I thought to myself, "leave the flag waving at home; we're here for the music".

And that's around the time *somebody* started up with Oh Canada.  Sigh... I cringed.  The impromptu recital at Massey was okay in my books - it didn't cut into the show and it was sudden enough to be genuine.  Tonight's rendition was completely calculated and forced and just seemed wrong to me.  Now don't get me wrong - I can be as patriotic as the next guy, at times even more so... but a venue such as thing didn't seem the right time.  I'll have everyone know that I did NOT sing along, and I think I was the only one around me that wasn't.  It was my form of protest and it went unnoticed by all but one drunk shithead
behind me who said, "what's the matter?  you not Canadian?".  I replied, "I am... but I'm also a considerate Hip fan.  If I wanted to hear Oh Canada I would've stayed at home 'til Canada Day."  This guy must've taken offense to something because he gave me a nice hearty shove to the head.... thanks buddy.... I bet you're from Toronto.  The whole night smacked of being a
flag-wavin' farce that I normally associate with other countries and seemed to take away more Hip karma than it created.

That bit o' nastiness aside, the last four songs of the regular show went off well.  Notable for me was The Completists - my fave track of M@W and a kickass tune.... and I was the only one singing along with it?  What's up with that?  I don't know.  The crowd went beserk for the cameras and that ended the I&I part of the show, but for those at home it wasn't the end of the music - they went on to play five more songs for the benefit of us rain-soaked sweaty lovers.  I'm glad they ventured into non M@W & PP territory for the final few (Vapour Trails excluded)... it was nice to hear some "older" stuff.  Little Bones for a
closer... wow... nice touch of class, somehow appropriate given Cordelia's earlier arrival.

So all in all... here's the breakdown for the television part of the show:  7 from M@W, 5 from PP and Cordelia, the obvious stand out.  I guess that shouldn't be surprising, after all I think they're only doing these I&I gigs to push M@W and to a lesser extent PP... must be trying to reach out to the occasional or non-Hip fan and jog their memory with a few catchy tunes with the hope that they go out and pick up an album.  In this pessimists' eyes it's as cold and calculated a setlist as any of the pop tunes MM airs, but I can't blame them. We can't have it our way all the time - they have to do what's needed to sell albums, after all that's the nature of the business.

After the show the two Peterborough guys and I hung around outside the MM building.  From what I saw we were the *only* fans to wait it out in the rain! Sort of surprising in a way... you'd think more fans would have hoped to catch a glimpse of the band... but then again it *is* Toronto... y'know.  Bobby and Gord Sinclair were the first to leave, whisked away in a rental van with only a casual wave from Bobby.  Sigh... oh well.  We had our eyes peeled on the doors and the other rental van, so much so that we almost missed Johnny pulling up in his car.  It was pissing rain but he looked over as he was about to turn onto Queen St. and waved... and stopped!!  Yay!!!  He signed my liner notes and I complimented him on his work on M@W and said "it's too bad most people see you as just the drummer - there's a lot more to you than that."  He seemed happy to hear this and shook my hand and said thanks... then I said, "hey, thank you for doing what you do and putting up with us fans".  He smiled and sorta chuckled as he drove off.  A really cool guy.... I promise I'll cut back on all my Johnny Fay jokes guys!   :)

Last to leave were Gord and Paul, departing in a now-dreaded white rental van. Of course they didn't stop at the gates, but at least we got a wave from one of them.  And that was that; the end of a sweet show.  The drive home was insane... it poured rain, my car kept hydroplaning and my wipers couldn't keep up to the rain for most of the trip... but I survived.  All in all it's right up there in the top five shows I've seen.  Good, solid rock.  It's what we love.    :)

bound for bed with a beer to chase down the painkillers,
J.
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