Recorded live in Fredericton, NB on September 11, 2007 at The Aitken University Centre, this is “Blow At High Dough” from the fan-produced DVD released through The Hip Tracker and hipfans.com.
A Hip Invasion From Up North – Torch Online Exclusives
A Hip Invasion From Up North – Torch Online Exclusives
Anyone who was not on the seventh floor of The Manhattan Center on the night of Oct. 23 was in the wrong place. Around 800 people were lucky enough to experience a Canadian rock invasion upon the United States led by The Tragically Hip and Joel Plaskett Emergency. These two bands put on an unforgettable show.
Joel Plaskett warmed up the thin crowd of mostly Canadian expatriates (although there were fans from as far away as Florida and South Carolina) with some solid tunes from their new CD, Ashtray Rock, such as “Snowed In” and “Face of the Earth.” Although most of the crowd hadn’t heard of the opening act before that night, the band really got the crowd going as more and more Hip fans filtered in. That’s one of the great things about the Hip; they always pick great opening acts.
The anticipation could be felt and heard in between sets as the fans chanted, “HIP! HIP! HIP!” When the band finally walked on stage, the (now quite large) crowd erupted. Gord Downie, the frontman, gave the crowd a wave and wasted no time getting into the music. They opened with a single from their 10th full-length album, World Container, released in October 2006 entitled “The Lonely End of the Rink.”
Although the rest of the band provides most of the music, Gord Downie is the face of the Hip. Some call him crazy. Some call him a god. Some both, but one thing is for sure: He puts on an amazing show with his singing, goofy dance moves, and interaction with the crowd. Gord’s got the dance moves of Mick Jagger and the spontaneity of Ozzy Ozbourne. He frequently leans over to interact with the front row of the audience. At one point he pretended the microphone was stuck in the middle of his chest, had an audience member pull it out, and then gave the microphone to him.
The setlist was balanced very well with songs from the new cd and classic hits from their older cds. “Nautical Disaster,” “At The Hundredth Meridian,” and “New Orleans is Sinking,” and several other songs from their first three albums were played. Before Gord Played “New Orleans is Sinking,” he shouted, “This one’s for Bush! New Orleans is sinking and I don’t want to help!”
This show was on the last leg of a tour that started all the way back in October 2006. The band toured in Canada, both coasts of the US, and Europe. In an informal interview after the show, lead guitarist Rob Baker had this to say, “We feel that we have a really strong album and that we should really put it out there. We’re excited to go back home and start recording again, too.”
Welcome fans from 105.3 The Fox
Fans looking for the DVD of The Tragically Hip’s performance at The Aitken Centre, the show is available for free download via Bit Torrent. Bit Torrent is a free means of mass distributing files over the internet. Google has all kinds of options.
PICTURES: 2007-10-10 – San Francisco, CA
Hipfan Nick (nohochin) posted his terrific pics from the recent Hip show in San Francisco. Click here to check them out, and post your thoughts in the comments.
Hugh’s Review: 2007-11-03 – Hogansburg, NY
The All Inn Lounge is basically a large cinder block warehouse. There was a six foot stage set up at one end of the huge room. In front of the stage were 15 rows of folding chairs. This was the VIP area. A few barricades separated this area from the majority of fans in general admission. VIP tickets were only available through the bar and therefore this section was dominated by locals from the surrounding towns and people from the Akwesasne Mohawk reservation. The Hip concert was an exciting event for this area and the venue was jammed to capacity with fans. Doors to the show opened at 6:00pm. There was literally 2000 people standing at the door at that time.
The show began with Robbie Baker taking the stage minus the beard and moustache he had the night before in Rochester, NY. Gord D was his energetic self. Paul, Johnny and Gord S showed great energy too, as The Hip closed out their World Container tour.
Some of the highlights for me included Paul playing a new guitar during ABAC. I don’t know what kind it was, but it was a bright pumpkin orange color. As the band played the intro for Springtime in Vienna, Gord D was counting off steps to choreographed “rock star” moves. He did these moves a number of times before saying, “You too can learn to be a front man”. During 100th Meridian Gord danced about crazily and finished by humping Johnny’s drum kit. Then he tried to lean back and spin on his mikestand. It snapped in half and left him lying flat on the floor. He picked up the pieces and gave them to lucky fans. Unfazed, Gord grabbed another mikestand, leaned back on it and spun about the stage pretending to be a race car driver.
Robbie played a Rolling Stones riff before dropping into the familiar chords of Poets. During this song Gord’s mike was stuck in his chest like an arrow to his heart. He was trying to pull it out, but he couldn’t. Gord enlisted the help of a confused bouncer in front of him. The bouncer pulled and pulled until he dislodged the arrow, slightly embarassed that he was the center of attention. At the end of the main set Gord said good night and he was giving a special thank you to the road crew. Some ignorant fans began throwing items at Gord. He became quite upset and yelled it was not very civilized to throw things at performers because it showed no respect. With that, Gord threw his mike to the floor and stormed off the stage. I was positive Gord wouldn’t be back for an encore. Thankfully the band returned for three more songs.
After the show, we hung out by the tour bus waiting to meet the guys. About 20 people waited with us while the band was still inside the venue for an after show meet and greet. When the meet and greet was over The Hip told security to let us all back inside to meet them also. It was very fun to chat with the guys and get pictures and autographs. I’ve had some wonderful experiences following the band throughout North America. I love watching The Hip play their music.
Hip Tracker Upload: 2007-11-02 – Rochester, NY
The Tragically Hip
November 2nd, 2007
Rochester Auditorium Theater
Rochester, NY
Source: Beyer Dynamic MC 930 -> R4 (24/48)
Transfer: R4 -> Audition (fades/M bit + dither/resample) -> CDwav -> flac **16 bit**
Taped by: DGodwin (daniel@upstatetapers.org)
Transferred by: DGodwin (daniel@upstatetapers.org)
Size: 654 MB (flac)
Setlist:
01: Yer Not The Ocean
02: New Orleans Is Sinking
03: My Music At Work
04: ItÃs A Good Life If You DonÃt Weaken
05: Family Band
06: Ahead By A Century
07: The Lonely End Of The Rink
08: Courage
09: World Container
10: Scared
11: In View
12: Springtime In Vienna
13: At The Hundredth Meridian
14: Bobcaygeon
15: The Kids DonÃt Get It
16: Fully Completely
17: Little Bones
Encore
18: The Drop Off
19: Grace, Too
20: Fireworks
Notes: The pops you hear are the result of Gord not being nice to his microphone. He’s not allowed near mine.
Questions, email the taper: daniel@upstatetapers.org
SETLIST: 2007-11-02 – Rochester, NY
Rochester Auditorium Theatre
01: Yer Not The Ocean
02: New Orleans Is Sinking
03: My Music At Work
04: It’s A Good Life If You Don’t Weaken
05: Family Band
06: Ahead By A Century
07: The Lonely End Of The Rink
08: Courage
09: World Container
10: Scared
11: In View
12: Springtime In Vienna
13: At The Hundredth Meridian
14: Bobcaygeon
15: The Kids Don’t Get It
16: Fully Completely
17: Little Bones
Encore
18: The Drop Off
19: Grace, Too
20: Fireworks
Hugh’s Review: 2007-11-02 – Rochester, NY
The sold out concert at the Rochester auditorium began with Canadian and U.S. fans trying to chant louder than each other. A large group of Canadians sitting in the balcony began chanting “Let’s Go Leafs”. The New York fans responded with “Let’s Go Buffalo”. The crowd’s energy was high as everyone shouted back and forth. In the midst of all this, The Hip came on stage.
The set list was a good mix of old and new songs. Gord D began ABAC stating, “Girl, I know the person you are. I know the future I got.” Robbie played his acoustic guitar as he usually does during this song. At the end, Robbie switched to his electric and played a great new solo. It was a refreshing change to a great song. During Rink, Gord was a hockey player stickhandling and dekeing back and forth across the stage.
The 100th Meridian was definitely a highlight of the show. During the musical break Gord D was uncanny. Everthing began with a woman throwing her bra at Gord. He caught it and gave it a sniff. Then Gord had a mikestand battle. He battered the stand, giving it a number of hip checks. Gord used the mikestand like a metal detector on the beach. Then Gord did something amazing. He flipped the mikestand into the air, rolling it over his back. The mikestand did one full rotation and landed perfectly upright on the stage. Now the stand was a rifle and Gord was a soldier marching back and forth. Gord then took the upper half of the stand and twirled it like a baton. He walked back and forth, raising it high and low while continuing to twirl it perfectly. This drew a large round of applause from the Auditorium. Gord then threw the stand like a spear. It landed right next to Paul. Lastly, Gord used the microphone as a golf ball. He did a great imitation of hitting it back and forth across the “fairway”. Gord would take a fake backswing and come down at the “ball”. When his imaginary club should strike the “ball”, he would kick the mike and it would fly across the stage. The sight of Gord swinging and the sound effect of Gord kicking the mike made the golfing look and sound realistic. Gord’s whole “act” for this song was very entertaining.
Little Bones ended the main set. Gord mangled his mikestand and bent it into an “L” shape. His microphone became a paint brush. He used it to “paint” the fans. After the encore break The Hip came out for 3 more high energy songs. The Auditorium was in a frenzy. As Fireworks finished Gord said, “Rochester, this is what you sound like…” and he held his mike out to the crowd. A huge roar welled up. Gord then snuffed his mike out on the stage like a used up cigarette and causually left the stage.
SETLIST: 2007-11-01 – Syracuse, NY
Landmark Theatre
01: Yer Not The Ocean
02: New Orleans Is Sinking
03: My Music At Work
04: Daredevil
05: Family Band
06: Ahead By A Century
07: The Lonely End Of The Rink
08: Courage
09: World Container
10: Wheat Kings
11: In View
12: Springtime In Vienna
13: At The 100th Meridian
14: Bobcaygeon
15: The Kids Don’t Get It
16: Fully Completely
17: Blow At High Dough
Encore
18: The Drop Off
19: Grace, Too
20: Fireworks
‘The Hip’ Still Has It – Syracuse.com
‘The Hip’ Still Has It – Syracuse.com
Canadian band brings audience to feet in song, dance
Friday, November 02, 2007
By Tiffany Bentley
Contributing writer
“I don’t know the names of the songs,” said Jim Ouderkirk, 34, of Syracuse, “I just know all the words.”
Canadian rock band The Tragically Hip performed Thursday night in Syracuse to a packed Landmark Theatre, including Ouderkirk.
The group is famed with our northern neighbors, where they earned a spot in the Canadian Music Hall of Fame in 2005, but has a strong following in the United States, too. The Syracuse show, a late stop at the end of their album tour for “World Container,” proved to be a worthwhile road trip to the many Canadian fans who showed up to experience “the Hip,” as the audience chanted for pre-show motivation.
It seemed that everyone in the audience had been listening to the band since its inception 24 years ago. The band’s sound, characteristic of R.E.M. vocals and Tom Petty instrumentation, held a common thread through each song. But what sets the style apart from being one unified push is lead singer Gordon Downie’s performance of every crafted lyric as if on stage for a theater production, rather than a rock concert.
“I had a dream,” sang Downie to a white handkerchief he tossed in the air repeatedly, “you were there staring at me.”
The white handkerchief, a common element in many sweaty, energetic rock performances, took on an entirely new function. It served as a prop throughout the band’s emotion-filled ballads.
During Downie’s rapid singing, it was sometimes necessary to follow his eyes on the handkerchief to determine where the music was going. But the audience never skipped a beat when singing along.
The whole concert was one giant singalong and, later on, a dance-along. Songs like “Music at Work,” and “Yer Not the Ocean,” motivated audience members to shuffle so much, rows were eliminated and a sea of swaying heads emerged.
There were captivating moments as well. Lead guitarist Rob Baker often mesmerized the audience with his bluesy and sometimes metal-sounding guitar solos. Drummer Johnny Fay kept the same beat going and varied the tempo with loud cymbal crashes.
For a band that has been around as long as The Tragically Hip, the sound is still crisp and the lyrics relevant. The Syracuse audience sang like they were experiencing the songs as they were created.
The music in general is good enough to keep fans entertained during a three-hour concert, but also to keep fans around for a quarter century, while bringing in young fans to their crowd-pleasing antics. Not only did The Tragically Hip join two neighboring countries for one night in song, the band reminded many people that all people can find common ground if they just sing.