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...