Live And In The Flesh
TV on the Radio / The Tragically Hip - July 2 & 3, 2008
TV on the Radio had been climbing my list of favourite bands around this time. I was loving their first two albums from 2004, 2006 - Desperate Youth, Blood Thirsty Babes and Return to Cookie Mountain. I had already seen them once in Toronto at Kool Haus and I couldn't pass up the opportunity to catch them live again. They were even playing the same venue this tour so I knew I would be in for a fantastic show. Kool Haus had always been one of my venues of choice down in the big city, not to mention it was only a $30 show. TV on the Radio were gearing up to release some new material and decided to give some of the tracks their first run through live out on the road, how could I miss it?
That Wednesday after Canada Day finally came and we loaded up into the car and hit the road to make our way down to Toronto for the show. The day was gorgeous and we couldn't have asked for a better summer drive. We made our way there in no time as we generally only made a single stop along the way. Just down on Queens Quay off of the DVP, Kool Haus was pretty easy to find. Another bonus that came along with this venue by the docks, was the vast amount of parking which resulted in a rather small fee compared to the majority of the city's parking. We got out to stretch our legs as we made our way over to the lineup which seemed to be growing pretty quick.
As we entered the venue we realized that we weren't going to be anywhere close to the front of the crowd so we decided to head over to the bar and grab ourselves a few Creemore tallboys, yet another perk this venue seemed to have going for itself. We were still relatively close to the stage within this 7000 capacity club and we had access to the bar throughout the night if we needed it. I could begin to feel the excitement set in as I knew their time to shine was approaching quickly. It seems as though after experiencing a band live for the first time, it only enhances each and every other opportunity that follows. I knew we were going to be in for an incredible show, and it wasn't long before they blew my expectations out of the water.
TV on the Radio finally took the stage, surprising us all with a brand new track to start things off. Love Dog made its way right into Dreams and things really started to pick up. One of my favourite tracks off of their second album came next, Blues From Down Here. I was loving every single minute of it. The energy and stage presence that this band exudes is simply amazing. I remember wishing I could slow each moment down as they seemed to be making their way through every track so quickly. They reached back to their first album once again for The Wrong Way. A handful of their upcoming Dear Science tracks found their way woven in with their older songs while they played through the second half of their fourteen song setlist. We were even lucky enough to hear Young Liars, a track off of their 2003 EP of the same name. They wrapped their set up with a three song encore featuring their amazing percussion-filled A Method, the ever so popular Province, followed up with last but not least Staring at the Sun.
From their beginning notes to their closing, I was reminded of how amazing TV on the Radio truly were. Spending twice as much money on gas than the actual concert ticket itself had proven to be well worth the cost after all was said and done. We made our way back home down that four hour stretch of highway after the show, still radiating with excitement and energy.
The next day we were faced with the question of whether or not to make our way to the Thursday night Ottawa Bluesfest which was being headlined by The Tragically Hip. I was a pretty big Hip fan and had seen them the year before in Ottawa at Scotiabank Place with the Constantines. What sold us on making it down to this night, was the second opportunity to see TV on the Radio in two days! These festivals normally revealed their lineups well after some artists' tour dates were announced. Since we had already picked up our tickets to their Toronto gig before this Ottawa stop had been publicized, we were committed to that show more than anything. My brother and I would be the only ones to take on this doubleheader as we made our way to the city shortly after rush hour.
We still had to purchase our tickets as soon as we arrived and were pretty disappointed to be stuck in such a huge lineup. We had to have been at least one hundred people back waiting for our tickets when we could begin to hear TV on the Radio take to the stage. The panic started to sink in and my brother decided to try his luck out closer to the start of the line as I was left waiting holding our place. Luckily he was able to spot someone he knew and jumped in with them and bought us our tickets. He ran back to get me and we proceeded to rush into the Bluesfest grounds.
TV on the Radio had a fair-sized crowd gathered around with a good mix of young and old. You could tell this was a first time experience for many of the listeners surrounding us. Certainly one of the benefits of bands like this playing festivals is the wide range of audience members. We managed to make it in about fifty yards from the stage as we looked on in disbelief. Here we were, the night after last witnessing them yet again. It was nice to see them in a completely different atmosphere, outdoors in the fresh summer air. Their music lent itself so well to that festival setting. They played relatively the same set as the night before at Kool Haus with exception of a few of the tracks. I was glad that we were able to catch them for an entire set the night before as opposed to the shortened festival performance. Ten or so tracks just wasn't enough from these incredible musicians. They had won Ottawa over that night and left everyone wanting more. I can only hope they make their way back through soon as they have yet to since.
By the time TV on the Radio had finished up with their set The Tragically Hip were well on their way to hitting the stage themselves. We looked over to the other main stage that would be housing them for the remainder of the night and were astonished with the size of the crowd. We attempted to get a little closer to the stage but things were pretty tight two hundred yards back. We weren't up for elbowing our way through the crowd for a closer look so we stayed back towards one of the big screens that they had set up for the unfortunate folks like us.
The Hip busted out most of their classic hits throughout their eighteen song setlist starting things off with In View, My Music at Work and Grace, Too. With The Hip you know you are guaranteed a fantastic show full of amazing tunes that you can sing along to. Listening to these guys for years made it that much easier to chime along with the rest of the crowd as Gordie strummed along to Ahead by a Century. Gift Shop, Courage (for Hugh MacLennan), and Wheat Kings were some definite highlights for me that night. Fully Completely topped it all off for me though, I don't think that track will ever get old live. Family Band and New Orleans Is Sinking wrapped up their regular set when my brother and I decided to take the opportunity to beat the crowd out of there and skip the encore. We figured we would still be able to listen to them as we walked away anyhow, and it wasn't like our view was spectacular to begin with. Bob Rock who had worked alongside and produced The Hip's World Container came out to play along with their two song encore featuring Yer Not the Ocean, the first track off of this album, and Queen Bitch, a David Bowie cover.
Those two nights could not have turned out any better. Seeing TV on the Radio not only once, but twice in two days, along with a headlining show from The Tragically Hip all rolled into it, life couldn't get any better! Exhausted after two full days of driving and concert going, we made our fourty-five minute drive back home and crashed instantaneously.