The Tragically Hip were at the Minnesota Zoo Amphitheater again tonight.  Wow-what a show!

After Friday nights show, the weather got even worse than I reported in my post-concert review.  Around Midnight, the south side of the Twin Cities (right near the venue) had 10 inches of rain, power outages, and fallen trees.  So the abbreviated concert call was the right call to make.

Today, there continued to be a warm breeze bringing up continued moisture into the region. It was a hot, muggy mid-western day.  It got up to about 97 in the Twin Cities which is hot for here.  Fortunately, that moist air did not cook up into thunderstorms for the Twin Cities area.  I see now on the radar that all the storms are on the way up to Duluth.

It was a beautiful evening at the Zoo-but warm and muggy!  Chris and Kate had a nice set but it could have been a couple of songs longer. I think they sound funkier "live" than on the CD's.  Nice band.

Music @ Work
Grace, Too
Escape is at Hand
Freak Turbulence
El Dorado
Courage
Lake Fever
Daredevil
Ahead by a Century
Wild Mountain Honey
Save the Planet
Sharks
Bobcaygeon
Nautical Disaster
Tiger the Lion
100th Meridian

First Encore:
Poets
Toronto #4
Fire in the Hole

Second Encore:
Putting Down
Stay
Little Bones

The Hip came on and it took right off.  The crowd got into it right away.  I think the song selections helped get the crowd on board.  I couldn't be more pleased with the songs.  There were some nice
surprises for me and they played many that I hoped that they'd play. All of the new songs are growing on me.  Seeing the new songs live really helped reveal some of their beauty for me.  Face it, Tiger the Lion is ponderous.  But now I know the beauty that is in there.  Lake Fever is my favorite new one and the live versions reinforce that.

I was thrilled to hear El Dorado, Daredevil, and Lake Fever.  Wow!

I thought Chris's keyboards really added to Save the Planet and Bobcaygeon.  Kate took a verse on Ahead by a Century.  Many of the songs had longer "rantless" jams that were awesome.  You could really hear the instruments for many measures.  For instance, Grace, Lake Fever, Daredevil, ABAC, Save the Planet, and Tiger the Lion.  Also, I could hear Gord's guitar on a few more songs in addition to Putting Down.

Throughout the concert, I heard a few Loon calls.  It is a zoo, but I think they may have come from the Sound System or Chris's keyboards. Heard it a couple of times in Lake Fever--which was cool.

Sound:  Awesome!  What a difference a day makes.  I thought it was very clear sound and the bass was just right.  I could hear what Gord S. was playing but it wasn't muddy or distorted at all.  In fact, it was particularly rich "bass" on Wild Mountain Honey.

The boys really worked hard tonight.  It was hot and they were drenched with sweat.  They smiled and waved the three times they left the stage.  Total pro's.  They've been playing Little Bones for what, ten years now, but it was a fine version and the crowd loved it.  The band really gave me a wonderful gift of art and entertainment tonight.

The rant in Nautical Disaster was about Curious George ("you'd be curious, too.").  Bobcaygeon was played at a "stately" tempo.  During 100th Meridian, Gord ended up curled on the floor.  His rant from there contained Van Morrison's "Cypress Avenue", Stones "Heartbreaker", and references to the closing credits of "Quadrophenia".  Fire in the Hole was played at a normal tempo-unlike the fast dashes I've heard.  In the second Encore, his lead-in to Putting Down:  "This is to Everything in Moderation-even moderation."

I'm so happy that things are the way they are.  The Hip create wonderful art for me to enjoy.  While I wish others saw the beauty in their music that I do, the downside to that is that the Hip would be
much more popular and the venues would be huge meaning I wouldn't get the incredible seats that I had tonight.  I danced non-stop and had a great time.  What a great, energetic show!

Bruce
in Mendota Hts, MN
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