2004-07-24 - Laurentian University - Sudbury, ON

[The Darkest Canuck]

The show was awesome and the crowd was great... only at the end did the stupid people make their way to the front to cause trouble.!

first of all, nobody went up front to cause trouble, people went up front to get a better view, and to dance around, there's no seating, so it's fair game. i was one of those "stupid people", and trust me, if you'd been waiting for the hip to come back to your town FOR 4 LONG ASS YEARS you'd wanna get up to the front too. if you don't want to be pushed around or dance or jump around bring a lawn chair and park your ass at the back grandma.

show was incredible, i thought they were alot better this time than they were on the musc@work tour or the phantom power tour (not to say that they didn't kick ass on those tours) , they seemed really energized and they got a really good response to all the new material as well as the classics. I was singing along all night, and i think the majority of the crowd was with me. Lots of ranting, dancing and hilarity from Gord, the best was when he did his impression of a bear "LOOK! I'M A BEAR!" and started making a funny clawing motion during Grace Too. Only thing i found a little dissapointing was that they didn't play At The Heart Of THe Melt, that's one of my favourite IBE songs and i thought for surely that they'd play it, but that's ok cuz they did Blow At High Dough . Last time i saw the hip i had front row, but because of my friends i was late, and i ended up missing My Music @ Work, and Grace Too, two songs i'd never heard live before which really pissed me off, but i got to hear them both this time so that was grea.t, now if only i could convince them to play Greasy Jungle and Inevitability Of Death...

[Hairbird]

The show was awesome and the crowd was great... only at the end did the stupid people make their way to the front to cause trouble.!

first of all, nobody went up front to cause trouble, people went up front to get a better view, and to dance around, there's no seating, so it's fair game. i was one of those "stupid people", and trust me, if you'd been waiting for the hip to come back to your town FOR 4 LONG ASS YEARS you'd wanna get up to the front too. if you don't want to be pushed around or dance or jump around bring a lawn chair and park your ass at the back grandma.

If you want a better view, get there early and pick a spot like everyone else. Don’t try to make room where there is none. Why should I be displaced from my spot, because you (or someone like you) haven’t seen The Hip in 4 years? I’ve lived here 10 years, and yet have managed to see the Hip 13 times since they came to Sudbury for the M@W tour. Make an effort if it’s that important to you. Although if you missed the first two songs last time they were here, maybe it’s not that important, is it?

And in fact, there was seating. I know because I sat there in my seat from 12:00 until the stupid people took over, more than 8 hours later. They ended up destroying my chair in the process. There was about 20 yards reserved for standing, in-front of the rows of seats that people had set up on the field all day. I’m not sure what gives anybody the right to start pushing me, just because they’re too damn lazy to get there early enough to find a spot in the standing section. Don’t get me wrong, I never had any intention of sitting during the show, but I did expect that I would be able to stand in MY spot, and have the room to jump and dance, and still take my chair home with me at the end of the night.

I saw a girl there from just about the time that I arrived at noon, standing/sitting/lying-down, right at the railing, so that she’d be front row when the big moment came. Good for her! I hope she loved the show! I hope she wasn’t crushed by the mob that showed up at the last minute, and felt they had some God-given right to be as close as her.

[The Darkest Canuck]

it's a fucking rock concert not a night at the opera, i have no means of transportation to go see the hip play in other towns, nor the funds, not all of us are that lucky y'know? i missed the first two songs last time because my buddy's stupid brother wanted to finish curling, which was shitty, because i'd camped out to get front row tickets for the show. if you want your spot that badly hold it, stand your ground or get into the action, if you don't want to be part of the mosh pit GET OUT OF IT....it's pretty simple. nothing could've stopped me from getting up front for that show, as previously stated, it was a night that was 4 years in the making.

[Hairbird]

it's a fucking rock concert not a night at the opera, i have no means of transportation to go see the hip play in other towns, nor the funds, not all of us are that lucky y'know? i missed the first two songs last time because my buddy's stupid brother wanted to finish curling, which was shitty, because i'd camped out to get front row tickets for the show. if you want your spot that badly hold it, stand your ground or get into the action, if you don't want to be part of the mosh pit GET OUT OF IT....it's pretty simple. nothing could've stopped me from getting up front for that show, as previously stated, it was a night that was 4 years in the making.

Don't wait for your buddy's stupid brother then. Why would you go to the trouble of camping out, only to wait around the rink for someone that you don't even seem to like? It doesn't sound like you really have the same kind of desire as the girl who spent the whole day against the rail this weekend, so why do you deserve to be at the front.

For most of the 10 years I've been here, I had no transportation or funds, but I made it happen anyway. I've been working full time for 3-years, and just got my credit card balance down to zero. Forget about student loans and credit lines. I'll let you know in 7-years if they actually all got paid off. I came here as a student, and saw my family just once a year at Christmas, if I was lucky. I lived in a basement dive in Little Italy, and worked my ass of in the summer to do something enjoyable once in a while, usually months later (like take a bus to Toronto the following winter for a Hip show). I doubt I've had it much better than you, but I made things happen from time to time, so as a result I've been lucky enought to see them more than you. That doesn't make me better, maybe just more dedicated.

I guess that's why I didn't feel the need to be part of the mosh pit, as you put it (why are you still moshing at a Hip concert?). That's precicely why I picked a spot about 25 or 30 yards back, and stayed there all day. I had no desire to keep anyone away from the front, but once there is no room, there is no room.

If you missed the boat because your sister's roomate's uncle had to pick up a liter of milk for his mistress before he dropped you off at the gate, that's too bad for you. Get there early, and then you won't have to push my wife to weasel your way to the front.

I did hold my ground, and almost got into a fight over it. I know that's just part of everyday life for so many of the Sudbury locals, but I can think of more intellegent ways to behave. I don't like what the "stupid fans" almost turned me into on Saturday night, so next time I'll stay away. I wish I could turn the world into a civilized place, but I can't, so I'll wait for a venue where the seats are bolted to the floor. It's too bad, the Hip at a summer festival should be the Canadian dream. I've finally realized that it's probably more of a nightmare though.

[The Darkest Canuck]

I WAS LATE BECAUSE HIS BROTHER WAS MY RIDE TO THE SHOW...MY ONLY MEANS OF EVEN GETTING THERE...IS THAT A REALLY HARD CONCEPT FOR YOU TO GRASP?


and as far as it being a nightmare..WTF? it was a great show, so the crowd got a little bit wild? big deal, it's a concert, concert's tend to get wild, at least the good ones usually do. maybe you're getting to old for that sorta stuff, but i'm not so sucks to your asmar, when i'm old i'll go stand at the back too i guess, but til then i'll be up front and centre my man.

[kari]

Ouch...this is all getting a tad out of hand, don'cha think?? I can sympathize with Hairbird, however...I've also been to my fair share of General Admission shows for das hip. It's crazy, it's chaotic, it's just stupid sometimes at the audacity of some people who decide to ram their way to the front and trample over little people like me (I'm a petite 5'4" and 110 pounds soaking wet)...and I get booted in the head by crowd surfers, and smashed around by the moshers. Please, it's THE HIP - who the hell moshes (or would even WANT to??) to The Hip?? I'd wait up front when the gates would open at some festivals...and would diligently sit there for 5 or 6 or 7 or 8 hours just so I could be up front later that night to see Gord & the boys. Fine, if you're stuck at the back and decide part way through the concert that you want to move forward, so be it...just PLEASE, do it in an orderly fashion that doesn't involve hurting other people or being an asshole about it to the people who have been standing there all that time. Problem is, it's usually the drunk idiots towards the end of the show who feel they deserve to be there more than anyone else, so they bully their way up front and elbow people and yell at people to get out of their way, etc. It's quite annoying, and sometimes dangerous. I haven't suffered serious injury, but I've left Hip shows with nasty headaches from these jokers who crowd surf or jump up and down flailing their hands and arms around knocking me upside the head. Please, just show a bit of respect at these shows, that's all we ask. We CAN learn to cohabitate together while there...

My $0.02,
Kari

[The Darkest Canuck]

well, that's the thing about outdoor shows, it's anything goes... fights, pushing, shoving, moshing, jumping, crowd surfing, dancing, people on shoulders, w/e it's pretty much all fair game.

[kari]

well, that's the thing about outdoor shows, it's anything goes... fights, pushing, shoving, moshing, jumping, crowd surfing, dancing, people on shoulders, w/e it's pretty much all fair game.

See, that's where I disagree. "Anything goes" is so generalized. Does that mean it gives you (not saying 'you' is you) the right to shove and push and smack and belt people? I disagree. Being civil certainly makes the concert experience that much more enjoyable. So I guess outdoor fairs and venues (not just music) and food festivals...the same thing applies??

I'll have to remember that next summer at the Taste of Buffalo food festival, and butt in front of those LOOOOOOOONG food lines, and just tell the guy that it was fair game and that I deserve to be at the front of the line just as much as he does.

Kari

[The Darkest Canuck]

go for it, slap his ass while your at it too, i really don't care.

[kari]

go for it, slap his ass while your at it too, i really don't care.

Yikes, did someone pee in your Wheaties this morning?!?!

[jen]

well, that's the thing about outdoor shows, it's anything goes... fights, pushing, shoving, moshing, jumping, crowd surfing, dancing, people on shoulders, w/e it's pretty much all fair game.

Yeah, ok...just so you know..you're making yourself sound more and more like a dick. Good job.

[sfissel]

It is true that people often act like dickheads at concerts. This fact, however, does not give you the right to do whatever you want.

There are a lot of assholes at concerts. If you want to be one of them, I suppose that's your business, but the fact that you're at a concert doesn't mean you're not being a dick.

Steve

[The Darkest Canuck]

well, for some of us, seeing the hip is still something truly special, an oppertunity that doesn't present it self very often. if i wanted to sit/stand around all boring like and chill out, i would've stayed at home and watched the mod club show. i really don't care about what anyone has to say about how people should be conducting themselves at a concert. everybody should just do their own thing and have fun. if your idea of having fun is getting in a mosh pit, do that, if you like to crowd surf, do that, if you like stand still in one spot, do that, but don't do it in the middle of the area where people will be moving around. i don't see how anyone could be shocked that people would be moshing/dancing moving up or w/e, that's what happens at concerts, doesn't make it right or wrong, but "it's like that, and that's the way it is".

[briansmccabe]

I don't think I am exaggerating when I say that this "Darkest Canuck" is the EXACT type of fan that the band themselves DESPISE.

Go listen to Gord's anger spilling out over the course of the encore in 8.22.98, Darkest Canuck. He was talking to YOU, and others of your ilk.

[Hairbird]

I WAS LATE BECAUSE HIS BROTHER WAS MY RIDE TO THE SHOW...MY ONLY MEANS OF EVEN GETTING THERE...IS THAT A REALLY HARD CONCEPT FOR YOU TO GRASP?

Come on, you're not fooling me. I live in Sudbury. We're talking about getting to the Sudbury Arena. There's not a bus in town that doesn't pass through the depot, not more than a 3 minute walk from there. Four years ago it probably cost $1.25. If you can afford tickets, you can afford the bus. But that's besides the point...

It's crazy, it's chaotic, it's just stupid sometimes at the audacity of some people who decide to ram their way to the front and trample over little people like me (I'm a petite 5'4" and 110 pounds soaking wet)...and I get booted in the head by crowd surfers, and smashed around by the moshers. Please, it's THE HIP - who the hell moshes (or would even WANT to??) to The Hip?? I'd wait up front when the gates would open at some festivals...and would diligently sit there for 5 or 6 or 7 or 8 hours just so I could be up front later that night to see Gord & the boys. Fine, if you're stuck at the back and decide part way through the concert that you want to move forward, so be it...just PLEASE, do it in an orderly fashion that doesn't involve hurting other people or being an asshole about it to the people who have been standing there all that time. Problem is, it's usually the drunk idiots towards the end of the show who feel they deserve to be there more than anyone else, so they bully their way up front and elbow people and yell at people to get out of their way, etc. It's quite annoying, and sometimes dangerous. I haven't suffered serious injury, but I've left Hip shows with nasty headaches from these jokers who crowd surf or jump up and down flailing their hands and arms around knocking me upside the head. Please, just show a bit of respect at these shows, that's all we ask.

See, that's where I disagree. "Anything goes" is so generalized. Does that mean it gives you (not saying 'you' is you) the right to shove and push and smack and belt people? I disagree. Being civil certainly makes the concert experience that much more enjoyable.

Thanks for the great points kari and sfissel. I wish that I could have put it as well.

Anyway, I've already accepted that I can't hope to change the "fans", The Darkest Canuck included, so I'll change my own habits instead. I'll stay away from Hip g/a shows. I've been to many other festival concerts without any trouble, but on several occasions now, Hip "fans" have let me down. I always thought the stereotype of the drunken, flag-waving, frat-boy Hip fan was blown way out of proportion, or at least way out of date, but maybe that stereotype is truly based on fact. It's too bad. We all know the way that Gord and the boys hate the moshing, crowd-surfing, pushing, etc.

"Take care of each other out there".

I know there has been some rumors, and we are all (or at least were) hoping that a big ARA might roll across the country next summer, but it's no wonder that they've avoided that kind of festival for all of these years. They can't even trust their own "fan" base to behave at a show.