Game Humor
And then, I think it was 1994, there was one of many legendary Gord Downie rants. It was the year of the World Cup for soccer. Earlier in the day, legendary Brazilian soccer star Romario had been interviewed on TV. At the beginning of the show, Downie quoted the interview verbatim, with a Latin vocal flair, taking about 5 minutes to do so. Of course, he added in his own elements to accentuate it. And then, he ended with “I am – Romario”. And then the band exploded into their opening song. His rants have always made the shows even more entertaining.
I think I have missed one Hip show in Austin in the 20 years that I have lived here. Suffice it to say, I keep going back because they are one hell of a live band.
Which brings me to the show last week at La Zona Rosa. I think it weighed in at over 3 hours, two sets, an encore, and a crowd that would hang on every word, every chord.
The night was a broad paint stroke of their 26 years of music. I’m not as familiar with their latest album, but they played a lot of gems from all their previous stuff. Gord Downie was on his game again – as always. His humor is sublime, sarcastic, patriotic, and deep. You’ve got to be quick to catch his wit. The band – also on their game – as always. They did some songs that I don’t think I’ve heard them play live before - “Long Time Running” being a perfect example. They did a short “acoustic” mini-set, all seated playing some classics like “Flamenco”. In all the times I’ve seen them over the years, I’ve not seen their “unplugged” side.
But when they rock – wow, they do it so very well. And they have for years. From the moments of seeing them on campus at Queen’s in 1984 or 1985 to now – this is a tight band with all the original band members remaining.
Highlights for me were, without question, pretty easy to pick out. These are my favorites, in part because of the lyrics:
“At The 100th Meridian” …
“… get Ry Cooder to sign my eulogy”
“Bobcaygeon” …
“it was at Bobcaygeon, where I saw the constellations, reveal themselves one star at a time”
“Gift Shop” …
“Screaming from the rooftops, we live to survive our paradoxes”
Admittedly, there is a lot of Canadian history woven into the Hip songs. And when you see the people attending a Hip show, the first 4 or 5 standing-room-only rows of people at stage level are almost always Canadians. When a group raised the Canadian flag in front of the stage, he remarked “don’t let your nationalism get in the way of everyone seeing the stage”. So typically Downie.
As a side note – I’ve seen the Hip at a number of different venues, but this got me thinking about the loss of certain aspects of the Austin music scene. Perhaps the best show the Hip played in Austin (in my humble opinion) was at the late, great Liberty Lunch, yet another long-lost club in the Austin music scene. For a moment last night, I thought back to the Lunch, and smiled. Ah, those were the days. And the Hip – another stellar performance. Stellar after all these years.
Photo credits: Shayne Kaye via Flickr
- Intriguing storyline involving suspects, secrets & sabotage!
- Adventure game formula combines story-telling and humor immersed in rich, realistic environments
- Go undercover as a housekeeper to snoop through guest rooms
- Interrogate suspects through interactive conversations
- Befriend the Wolf and uncover its mysterious past
Nancy goes undercover at the Icicle Creek lodge in the Canadian Rockies, to investigate strange accidents and a mysterious wolf which appears before each incident. When Nancy arrives, there is an explosion and a bunkhouse is destroyed. Nancy soon discovers a dangerous plot afoot that could have international repercussions. Will she discover the source of the sabotage before someone becomes seriously injured? And will the lone howling wolf turn out to be friend or foe? Follow a trail to hidden secrets and sabotage!Nancy Drew travels to the Canadian Rockies to investigate the Icicle Creek Lodge. Chantal, the owner of the lodge has asked her to uncover the culprit behind a recent string of suspicious accidents. To make matters worse, an eerie howling wolf keeps everyone up at night and terrorizes the guests. The wolf also appears at the site of accidents and then mysteriously disappears when the police arrive. As Nancy makes her way to the cozy lodge, an explosi… More >>
Nancy Drew: The White Wolf of Icicle Creek
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