But...I've been to over 30 shows and have *never* seen anything even close to the hostility and sheer nastiness of some audience members tonight.Ý Some poor girl got a fist to the face by a loud drunk guy who was screaming "Have to get to Gordie, have to get to Gordie!" and pushing past people...then security came in and took a few of the arseholes out...much to the relief of most of the rest of the audience.Ý I think it really ruined the show for a lot of people.Ý There's usually a little bit of tension in the beginning when people are jockeying for position, but the thing I've always loved about Hip shows is how friendly everyone generally is...I may have just had the misfortune to be stuck near a huge group of moronic drunks, but it *sucked* big time.

I guess I just have a problem understanding how anyone who likes and "gets" the Hip can come to a show and be hostile and violent.

Here's hoping tomorrow night's show is a little more peaceful....

oded

Well, where to start - we get to the show at around 7:20 and there are about 50 or so people standing outside the gates/entrance. The show is supposed to start at 8:00, but that is about when they form us into a single line and all of the sudden my buddy Andy comes up and gets in line with us - he moved to NYC about 4 years ago and it was great to see him - he was making small talk
and then asked me if The Hip have mellowed with their age on the new album - and everyone around us just laughed. ( He just bought it that day.)
Finally they let us in.
Two levels to the place: first floor where we get wristbands for the beer and second floor where the concert is.
We go up stairs and drink for about 40 minutes until an unimpressive Mark Copley opens up.
After his set, my wife and buddy go to the bathroom and I am back by the soundboard and this girl walks by and says hi to the guy next to me and he says "Hi Kate".
I look and it is Kate Fenner looking good wearing a jean jacket. So I go up to her and introduce myself and we chat a little while. Then Andy comes back and I introduce him.
Now the show starts and Kate stays right behind me the whole show (me short - her tall) They open with Are You Ready and from the first time I heard it, I cannot get into it. But this night it is sounding really good - a little longer than usual.
Well here is the setlist in order:
1. Are You Ready (I really am starting to really like this song)
2. Courage (Gord Ranting his ass off) gordisms whatever you want to call them today.
3. M@W (extended outtro)
4. Use It Up
5. Grace, Too
6. Bobcaygeon
7. Silver Jet
8. Inevitability Of Death (surprised - damn this song still rocks live)
9. It's A Good Life...
10. Locked
11. Putting Down
12. ABAC
13. The Dire Wolf (Seemed to be played slower than the album)
14. Giftshop
15. Poets
16. Scared
17. Little Bones
Encore:
18. NOIS
19. Dark Canuck
20. Fire In The Hole
On the setlist for the encore it lists in this order: Leave, NOIS, Fire.

After the show I finally introduced Kate to my wife (my wife did not care for Kate singing with the guys last tour so with here having a couple of beers I was worried, but she was perfectly nice) We talked to Kate for about five minutes and took some pics with her.
And after a drink at a bar and a cab ride home, our night finished.
-Dana

From MTV.com

ÝNEW YORK ó Mounties, beer, hockey and the Tragically Hip?
Though the Tragically Hip have been a staple of Canadian rock for nearly 20 years, their name seldom comes to mind when Americans think of all things Canada. If the recent Canadian invasion, spearheaded by Sum41, Nickelback and Avril Lavigne, is any indication, however, the time may be ripe for the Tragically Hip to launch another assault on the U.S. music scene.
The first line of this recent attack began Thursday at Irving Plaza. The Hip played to a sold-out audience for the third show of their tour that began June 22 in Quebec.
The Canadian pride was thick as fans showed up in Leafs and Canadiennes jerseys and Molson T-shirts, anxious to see the quintessential Canadian rock band live. As the Hip hung out in their tour bus parked in front of the venue, opening act Mark Copely set the stage for his short set, and the audience prepared itself for the main attraction. Moments after he left the stage to minor applause, the anxious crowd broke into a fist-thrusting chant of "Hip, Hip, Hip," and could be heard throughout the show, in typical Canadian fashion, breaking into spontaneous "go Leafs go" cheers.
When the Hip took the stage, they were met with an overwhelmingly genuine welcome from an audience full of eager fans with an intense admiration for a band that represents the Canadian identity. Kicking the show off with "Are You Ready," from their new release, In Violet Light, the Hip played a 17-song set full of old classics and new gems, intertwining material from In Violet Light flawlessly with tracks from their most famous crossover albums, Fully Completely (1993) and Day for Night (1995).
The Hip spent the evening exhibiting the unique blues-infused rock sound that has allowed them to join the ranks of Canadian greats the Hawks (who later became the Band), the Guess Who and Neil Young. The Hip flaunt this talent with a stage presence that befits the classic Canadian rock band; a no-frills-just-rock performance that proved their intense staying power.
Beers in hand, the crowd danced and sang throughout the set with an unself-conscious demeanor foreign to the New York City concert circuit. The Hip echoed this lack of pretension, taking the stage in T-shirts-and-jeans combinations that clearly indicated the band's inner circle has no room for stylists. Even the stage lighting befitted the group's attitude, as the spotlight swept the crowd more often than it did the stage. And though the room was packed to capacity, there was little sense of annoyance at the lack of breathing room.
For Canadians in the audience, a show like this one was an anomaly among previous Hip shows. Known for selling out major Canadian venues, this tour is a conscious effort to go back to a grassroots feel, playing to smaller audiences. It is also an attempt to break down the barricades of the U.S. market.
After a set full of fan favorites including "Grace, Too," "Courage" and "Inevitability of Death," the Hip left the stage with a humble "thank you," returning to launch into a three-song encore that began with "New Orleans Is Sinking," off their 1989 release, Up to Here. Walking off the stage for the end of the show, the Hip left fans with gaping smiles, and the gates open for an easy entry into the American music scene. That is, assuming we're ready for them.
óAlyssa Rashbaum
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