I made it up to Barrie this past weekend to catch the second of a two night stand by The Tragically Hip at the Barrie Molson Centre. The drive up wasnt that bad considering the snow was beginning to fall and rush hour on the 400 was taking shape. I arrived in Barrie and met up with some friends, fellow tapers and hipbaser’s, at the Casey’s restaurant at the venue. After a few beers and some food we headed into the arena around 7:15pm. I had just barely finished setting up my recording gear when Kathleen Edwards and crew took the stage. I think i missed her opening remarks and hello’s. The crowd was thin at the start but gradually people started to take theirs seats. Unfortunately, i got the impression that not too many people knew her songs or who she was for that matter. And for those who didnt bother to see her 45 minute set missed out on some very good music.

The chants for The Hip started almost immediately after Kathleen Edwards and band had left the stage. The Hip came out around 9pm and played just under two hours of great music. Ive seen them alot in the past few months, but this was the first at a large venue since last June and the first at a large indoor venue in quite a few years. The stage setup for this tour is amazing. I really like the large screens behind the band and the one above. Throughout the show there are various video clips that match up with the song being played but for the most part, the screens are showing the live action on stage. Downie was his typical animated self dancing around the stage and playing with the mic stand. This was the first show, that i can remember, where Gord actually tried to break the mic stand. Which he eventually did and gave the top half to an audience member. I thought tonights show had great performances of “At The Hundredth Meridian” and “New Orleans Is Sinking”. The highlight though was the after the encore when they played “The Weight” by fellow Canadian greats The Band. Kathleen Edwards and Colin Cripps helped out on vocals and guitar respectively. Two more songs followed and then it was time to drive back to Toronto.

I recorded both Kathleen Edwards and The Hip’s sets but the recordings did not turn out as i had hoped. There is alot of bass distorion from the mics being overloaded and i think it is one or more of the batteries i was using since the levels were perfect all night. Hopefully ill have better luck in Oshawa on Wednesday. A few songs are listenable though, and ive posted them below.

“Hockey Skates” by Kathleen Edwards: kathleenedwards2007-01-26_t03_sample.mp3
“Scared” by The Hip: tth2007-01-26_t16_sample.mp3
“The Weight” by The Hip: click here (courtesy of dreyfuss and hipfans.com)

It has been over a month since i have seen any shows. The last one being Holiday Jam. I was really looking forward to seeing Earl Greyhound. Im not too sure how i stumbled upon this band out of New York, but im sure glad i did. After listening to the songs on their myspace page i was instantly hooked. Their album “Soft Targets” is out now on Some Records and is worth checking out. Arriving at the Silver Dollar Room around 8.30pm, i walked straight in and caught Earl Greyhound doing their soundcheck. I think they did about three songs, maybe four. I had previously spoken with Matt Whyte (vocals, guitar) via email about recording the show but just to make sure, i went over and chatted briefly about recording tonights show. Matt seemed pleased about it and was interested in getting a copy afterwards. Having never recorded at this club before it was hard to pick out a spot to setup. The Silver Dollar Room is rectangular in shape with the bar and stage opposite of eachother on the long walls. The entrance and washrooms are on the ends. The soundboard is stage left. Between the bar and stage there was probably about six to eight feet of walk space. If i had of setup against the bar, DFC, my stand would have probably been knocked over or tripped on. So i setup at one end of the bar, against the wall, and inbetween a mounted television and a lighted beer sign. Not ideal, but i had good thoughts that the recording may still turn out.

Anyways, 10pm rolls around and the first band is ready to take the stage. They’re a local four piece band called Speed Control. They seem to border along the poppy, emoey, punkish style of band. This was their first show, according to Grahaem the singer and their roughly 35 minute set was quite good. Next up was a band called No Dynamics. I believe they are from Toronto aswell. I wasnt sure what to expect as i couldnt find any songs to checkout on the web. Nonetheless, they took the stage just after 11pm and played for about a half an hour. Im not too sure how to describe their music. Maybe a bit psychadelic with some grunge, mixed with some keyboards and screaming. I enjoyed it though.

And finally, what i was waiting for. Earl Greyhound took the stage around 11.45pm and played just under 50 minutes of music. Big Ric Sheridan’s kick drum was about four feet in diameter, the biggest kick drum ive seen. It took up as much space on the 12′x12′ stage as their amps did. The space on stage was seemed tight, it looked as though Matt or Kamara were going to hit the symbols or high hats (whatever they’re called) with their guitar and bass as they moved around. The songs played were all from the “Soft Targets” album. This was my first time seeing them, so i have nothing to compare against, but the band seemed very tight and played exceptionally well together tonight.

The sound in the club was surprisingly good, to my ears anyways, the place seemed to be pretty full, maybe 75 to 100 people.
I was hoping to have some nice recordings to post, but unfortunately, they didnt turn out. A combination of me having the levels too hot and being in an unideal spot to record from. I was really looking forward to having some live Earl Greyhound to listen to, i guess ill have to wait until the next time they are in town. Hopefully sooner than later.

Earl Greyhound are: Matt Whyte - vocals, guitar; Kamara Thomas - bass, vocals; Big Ricc Sheridan - drums, vocals.