jamescuarterodotcom

$20 is pretty much my cutoff amount for going to shows. i’ll make an exception if it’s a band i really like, it’s at an interesting venue or an artist that i’ll never see again. but other than that i try to save my $$$ (this also offsets monica’s ticket-spending habits; she once paid an obscene $150 to see sting at the borgata, face value!).

most of the time this isn’t a problem. the vast majority of bands that i go to see play shows that are $8 to $14 to get in and rarely, if ever, use ticketmaster (i stick to ticketweb, ducat king or direct from the venue). i was initially considering plunking down $22 to see the constantines/the tragically hip at the fillmore philadelphia TLA last saturday. however, the SEVEN DOLLAR ticketmaster convenience/building surcharge totally turned me off. that’s just unconscionable.

so last friday i was stewing about this at my desk when i got a message from arun saying that the hip were playing a free “live at noon” show for XPN at world cafe live. he didn’t have to say another word before i was already speedwalking the five blocks to the venue from my car parked on chestnut (i’d completely forgotten about the penn relays until i crossed the bridge).

the hip were in the midst of a typically frenzied “new orleans is sinking” just as i walked into the packed WCL. mark eitzel (or maybe it was john lydon?) once said that his favorite shows are the ones that made him feel the most human and that’s why i’ve loved this band for nearly half my life. despite the fact that it was basically a radio promo for a casual lunchtime crowd at the smallest venue they’ll see this tour, gord downie was completely crazy and into the performance; rambling, screaming, dancing, fooling with the crowd and making it seem like a once in a lifetime experience for them. this is kind of the opposite of tuesday’s spoon show, which i found interesting.

predictably, the setlist was mostly songs from the newly-released world container. i’ve only heard the album while riding in my friend ray’s car (granted, he did play it on repeat on a three hour trip). the production was unusually glossy but the songs definitely harken back to some of the hip’s bare-boned rock albums and there are less weird moments on it. during the interview portion of the set, i found out that bob rock had produced the album. wow, that explains the glossiness i guess. out of the older songs, they were hits but not their massive hits, except for “ahead by a century”. they played “bobcaygeon”, which made my day.

yer not the ocean
new orleans is sinking
world container
family band
in view
ahead by a century
bobcaygeon
the lonely end of the rink

when i got back, i checked online and tickets for saturday’s show had gone up to $25 and an $8 surcharge. ha ha, see you in hell ticketmaster!

NPR has an article and streaming audio of the show here.