The Tragically Hip at The Vic Theatre, Chicago - May 27, 2009

I haven't been able to obtain a setlist yet, but I hope that I'll track one down soon. The previous night's set was posted by 5pm the next day.

Very entertaining show. I had never seen The Hip live before, although I had listened to several bootlegs after downloading and burning them for Matt and Thom, so my familiarity level was higher than it otherwise might have been. Gord Downie is definitely a dynamic performer and great to watch. The songs I didn't know were strong, and those I did were great. As I note in one of the posts below, I did a little listening before the show to some tracks on the band's website and came across a new favorite - Yawning or Snarling, which I hoped to hear at that night's show. Fortunately, I heard that one as well as some other favorites, like Hundredth Meridian, New Orleans is Sinking, Blow at High Dough, and Little Bones. A high concentration of those favorites appear on Up to Here and Road Apples - burned copies of which Matt furnished me with at JCC back in 2001. At some point, I need to actually buy some Hip, but I'm so behind on listening to music I already own that it's hard to justify too many new purchases.

Downie seemed to have a great rapport with the crowd, which I was kind of wondering about ahead of time, since my impression is that the band's following in the US is not as intense as in Canada, except perhaps in cities close to the Canadian border, like Buffalo. A quick glance at their tour itinerary confirms that most dates are scheduled in the Northern United States, Canada, with a few shows on the West Coast. The Vic is a small place - a capacity of about 1,300 or so, and although I don't believe the shows sold out, there was a closely-packed and energetic crowd on hand. There were several good-natured hockey references made because the Blackhawks were facing elimination that night against the Red Wings (the Hawks lost in overtime), with Gord remarking once, "hey, zero-zero, Hawks lead!" and someone in the crowd replying "we'll take it!" (see the video of It's a Good Life... below).

The pictures and few videos I took have already been uploaded below, and they will probably be more interesting than anything else I have to say, so proceed...

TTH

There's a pretty clear shot of the bass drum below in the picture of Baker on the slide, and you'll notice there's something extra there.
Apparently it's a Yamaha SubKick, used to capture a better representation of what the drum actually sound like live.
I had never seen one before.

Acoustic Hip

Bassist Gord Sinclair and rhythm guitarist Paul Langlois switched instruments for the first portion of the brief acoustic set.

Mini-Acoustic Set Continues

One Night in El Paso...

Sequential Gordon

I had never seen The Tragically Hip live before Wednesday night, so I don't know if it is a common practice, but Downie was going through white handkerchiefs or towels at a rapid clip; alternately gingerly handing them to specific ladies in the audience (like Elvis Presley in later years with his scarves) or just firing them into the crowd. He seemed to be sweating heavily (understandably, given his movement onstage) and wondered, "When did Chicago become Memphis?" in reference to the heat (it was quite warm at The Vic). As you might notice in the videos, he also used them as props throughout the evening.

Rob Baker on mandolin and Telecaster

The Hip at The Vic - May 27, 2009

The final shot of the night, as Gord was saying goodbye and thanking the crowd, was ruined by the same idiot who was waving his arms (usually one at a time, the same way many annoying girls do when dancing). You'll be able to see him in the videos below. Throughout the evening, he managed to worm his way through the crowd from the extreme right until he was almost centered, perhaps three rows from the front. I caught several people behind him mocking his constant overbearing gestures.
This image does remind me a bit of the head-crusher person on Kids in the Hall if anyone is familiar with that... It wouldn't have bothered me as much if it wasn't the last picture of the night.

A Twist of the Arm Might Weaken You...

You'll notice quickly that while the video quality is pretty decent here, the audio kinda sucks. The bass at the show was obviously too much for the little microphone of the camera. These were taken with Laura's Canon camera, which is newer and smaller than my Nikon. The audio on my Nikon seems to be better for this type of recording, but the video is normally awful in the dark. I guess it might be time for an upgrade, but that's unlikely anytime soon. In any event, I would recommend enjoying these videos with the volume turned a bit lower.

Twist My Arm


First song of the night I really knew well, courtesy of a burned copy of Road Apples that MK provided me in 2001 at JCC. Thank you, Matthew.

It's a Good Life if You Don't Weaken


I don't know much about this song. I listened to it on The Hip's website a couple hours before the concert along with a few others that I had seen on recent setlists. That's how I 'discovered' Yawning or Snarling, the ominous introduction of which I became an instant fan. I would have captured that song on video, but I knew I didn't have enough space on the memory card. Anyway, '...Good Life...' seems to have its roots in a graphic novel; see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/It%27s_a_Good_Life,_If_You_Don%27t_Weaken

Hundredth Meridian & Blow at High Dough

At The Hundredth Meridian


Great song that I've grown to enjoy quite a bit. I think I first heard this either on a jukebox, played by Matt or Thom... or alternatively in the car while riding with Matt and Thom. This track made the list of possibilities at my wedding reception, so if you guys want it played, just ask the DJ and he should accommodate your request.


Blow at High Dough


The memory card in Laura's camera was full at the point of cut-off, about four minutes and forty-five seconds into Blow at High Dough, which was the second song of the encore and final song of the evening. Around the 4:35 mark, you can see Downie get down into the area between the stage and the crowd (where he stayed for a couple minutes, interacting with the audience and holding the mic for fans to yell lyrics) and at 4:40, you see the security guy scamper across the stage and down into the divided area to follow Gord.

NYT: Gail Collins on Bristol Palin's New Gig as Abstinence Spokesperson

Excerpt:

Now a single mom on the outs with the father of her baby, Bristol wants a new kind of happy ending.

“I just want to go out there and promote abstinence and say this is the safest choice,” she said on “Good Morning America.”

“It’s not going to work,” said her ex-boyfriend, Levi Johnston, in a dueling early-morning interview.

If you have ever watched Levi Johnston on TV for two minutes you will appreciate how terrifying it is when he has the most reasonable analysis of a social issue.

Because Bristol’s own philosophy seems, at minimum, tentative, it’s hard to tell whether she believes that cheerleading for abstinence should be coupled with education about birth control methods. She and Levi used condoms, except when they didn’t.

Her mom has said in the past that she opposes “explicit” sex education, which kind of sounds like ... sex education. And while encouraging kids to wait is obviously fine, the evidence is pretty clear that abstinence education is worse than useless. Texas, where virtually all the schools teach abstinence and abstinence alone, is a teen pregnancy disaster zone. “It’s had one of the highest rates for as long as I can remember,” said David Wiley, a professor of health education at Texas State University.