After I cleared the cobwebs from my brain ... it was my birthday Thursday and it took me 'til about 1p on Friday to feel like doing anything at all... I got rolling towards downtown only to discover that I had forgotten my camera. I figured I had a choice of coming back home to get it and losing my shot at a front-row spot, or getting there in time for a spot, but not having my camera. The bastard! Well, I went back for it, picked up my brother, made it through Friday afternoon Chicago traffic and Indiana construction and ended up 2nd row.

As for pictures, because of the low ceiling and funky lights, I almost put the camera away. But .. but ... but ... I just couldn't do it. :) The lighting for Chris & Kate was not conducive to photography, but the Hip's lighting was different and I decided I could do something with it. I could generally shoot
between the shoulders of the guys in front of me. However, trying to maintain my position there was a full time job and I could not wander around at all. That's tough as there were several people I was hoping to meet. I have to plan better and get there early enough to meet people before the show! There was a wooden post in front of the stage that I identified as a pretty safe spot to be ... I was right in front of that post for most of the set. The post did a fairly good job of protecting me, as only one crowd-surfer kinda sat on my head and my camera got knocked into my face but other than that, a very enjoyable show. :)

OK. So this Piere's place is the quintessential Indiana night club. It is a sprawling "complex" with many different bars under one roof. There's a country bar, a karaoke (sp?) bar, a cy-bar (whatever that was?) etc. They ran big video screens all night advertising their infamous bikini contest and the 80's revival tour that's coming through town next week.

The sound was good. It was a bigger crowd than I expected, though with the layout of the place it was difficult to assess exactly how many were actually there. The crowd up close was tres enthusiastic, with only a couple of drunk jerks, a little slam action and a couple of crowd surfers.

I have no idea of the set list ... Opened with Puttin' Down. Played Music and Poets late in the set. Played Greasy Jungle and Scared and closed with Little Bones.

Definitely worth the trip ... should have pictures up tomorrow night.

Sharon
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The three hour drive from Chicago to Ft. Wayne was well worth it.  As Sharon mentioned in a prior email, (Sharon, I have no idea how we did not locate one another) Piere's was the quintessential Indiana night club setting, though the venue was a great place to see the Hip as I'm sure the Canadians in attendance could attest to.  I believe capacity at Piere's is 2,000-2,500, but I'd say that there could not have been more than 1,200 in attendance.

Got a chance to hear Chris and Kate prior to the Hip coming on and I'm not sure of the name of the song, but whatever they closed their set with was really good.  If Kate had not gotten the audience's attention prior, she certainly had their undivided attention as she belted out that last number.

For the Hip's set, I was eighth row center (along with the rest of my party) for a great view of the entire band and quality sound.  It was a phenomenal show!  One ot the best I have seen in a number of years.  The band was definitely "on" - extremely tight, tighter than they were for just about every show I saw on the PP tour.  Gord S. put together a tremendous set list (I think he deserves a special email encouraging the more diverse material of late).  The following set list is from memory alone, but now that I've checked the Hip's website, I believe I nailed it, but they made a couple of adjustments:

Putting
Poets
Fully
Stay
Grace
Gift
Greasy
ABAC
Something
Honey
Fireworks
Completist
Scared
Nautical
Escape
Music

Planet
Fever
Bones

Additional set list comments:
• I'm 98% certain that Nautical preceded Escape (as I have listed above), however, Gord S.'s set list does not agree
• They did not play a second encore (no Freak, nor Fire) and I'm not sure why.  The band was obviously having fun and the crowd was definitely encouraging it.
• The best set list show I've been to since DFN or FC tour.

gw
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I was really fired up for this show way in advance of the date. I knew that a lot of people were heading to the show from Ohio, Illinois, Canada (of course) and myself from Michigan. In fact, back at Taste Of Chicago- I met some people from Toledo who were telling me how cool Piere's was, and that it was going to be a real treat to see The Hip play there. This was also the Hip's first Indiana appearance in over three years I believe, so I knew the show was going to be electric...
Piere's was more of a night-club (an entertainment complex actually) than a concert theatre, but the acoustics were suprisingly good. Piere's had several big screen TV's on the walls, indoor artificial plants, neon lights/signs, etc.. The place was packed with Hip fans. I don't want to mis-quote the actual attendance, but the venue was clearly at maximum capacity. The stage was very small, so there was no room for the Hip maple cloth behind the stage, and the special effects spotlights were moved behind Johnny's drum set.

I once again hooked up a front row seat, along with my friend Dave from Ohio--who has also been following The Hip throughout the midwest this tour!

The Hip played a 95 minute, 19 song set with a good mix of newer and older songs. In fact the show was so good--it's hard to specifically mention favorites, for fear that I may leave something unmentioned.

Everything that leaves you screaming for more at a Hip show-- happened tonight. Gord's (who was sporting the denim jacket/barefoot and sandles look tonight) voice was fresh and clear, and he worked the crowd beautifully. Also the background vocals, bass/lead and rhythem guitars, and drums were great. The entire band was into the show from beginning to finish! I made eye contact with Paul, Gord Downie and Robby several times tonight, and you could feel the energy was special tonight.
-Craig
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