A review of the Tragically Hip at Massey Hall (May 19, 2009)

The bottle is empty but my engine is clean.

I went to the final Hip show at Massey Hall the other night. It was a hot one up in the balcony of the old barn but the Hip did not disappoint with a wide ranging 2-set show that dug deep (really deep) into their back catalogue (setlist is at the bottom of this post). 

On another note, what's with the towel fetish? Is Gordie the new Jerry "The Shark" Tarkanian, or does he suffer from Nixon's fear of appearing on camera with a sweaty upper lip? Strange, and as one person in my group noted, kind of distracting. 

Representation by album:

The Tragically Hip (EP) - 0

Up To Here - 2

Road Apples - 1

Fully Completely - 1

Day For Night - 3

Trouble At The Henhouse - 1

Phantom Power - 4

Music@Work - 2

In Violet Light - 0

In Between Evolution - 0

World Container - 3

We Are The Same - 8

[Note:  If you are a real stats nerd, check this out from the Tragically Hip Tour blog by mrjackstraw]

Highlights:

• Ahead By A Century
  
• Love Is A First
  
• Opiated
  
• Grace, Too 
• Fully Completely
• Gord introducing Alex Lifeson
• Overall eclectic song selection

Disappointments:

• Based on the setlists of previous shows I'd hoped to catch Fiddler's Green and Emperor Penguin (a minor quibble)
  
• I didn't really need to hear a straight-ahead version of New Orleans Is Sinking, although I was digging the groove by the end of it. I'd have preferred to have seen this in the acoustic section if they felt they needed to include it

This show highlighted the depth of the Hip catalogue. To whit the following songs were NOT played and it was still an amazing show:

Blow At High Dough

Locked In The Truck Of A Car

100th Meridian

Wheat Kings

50 Mission Cap

Scared

Courage

Poets

World Container

In View

Vaccination Scar

Gift Shop

Bobcaygeon

Good Life

Springtime in Vienna

Morning Moon

Apparently the Hip played 53 different songs over the three final Massey Dates. What a show. What a band. I have to go see them again this summer outdoors. 

SETLIST

First Set

1. The Depression Suite

2. Fireworks

3. Yer Not The Ocean

4. Coffee Girl

5. Lake Fever 

6. The Lonely End Of The Rink

7. Grace, Too 

8. Queen Of The Furrows 

9. Save The Planet

10. New Orleans Is Sinking

11. Country Day

Second Set

12. The Rules (Acoustic)

13. Titanic Terrarium (Acoustic)

14. Ahead By A Century (Acoustic) 

15. Love Is A First 

16. Nautical Disaster 

17. Escape Is At Hand For The Travellin’ Man 

18. Opiated 

19. The Exact Feeling 

20. Fully Completely 

21. Now The Struggle Has A Name 

22. Family Band 

23. My Music At Work

Encore

24. The Last Recluse (with Alex Lifeson of RUSH) 

25. Little Bones (with Alex Lifeson of RUSH)