Here's what I have to say about the show in Vancouver, Canada, on February 16th, 1998.
It ruled!! I stood at the front of the stage and basked in the warm
fuzzy glow of Matt's FULL ORANGE STACK. The band lived up to the hype
and played with emotion and intensity.
They were briefly interrupted by
an overzealous mosher, but even so Matt talked the bouncer into not
kicking the guy out, and he pretty much behaved after that.
Can't
really blame the kid for being excited, and he did know songs off the
first album, so I'll cut him some slack.
They played their first song
behind a giant projection screen showing the dying miuntes of Canada
defeating the US in Olympic Hockey.
Not even HUM stops hockey up
here!(but seriously, it seemed like the song was just used for
sounchecking purposes, as there were a lot of sound-guy adjustments
being made behind the screen - and I didn't recognize the tune).
With the game over, the screen raised, the smoke machines smoked, and
HUM launched into 'The Pod', and it was all glorious from then on.
They drew a big crowd for Vancouver on a Sunday night - I'm not sure how
well promoted HUM is in Canada, and I was worried I'd be one of the few
there, but it was actually pretty packed with an appreciative crowd.
The band played on a fairly dark stage, bathed in pale-blue lighting.
Different songs featured different visual effects such as strobes and
fog, etc. It was minimalistic, but totally worked!
I'd long hoped to see HUM, and was very glad and thankful to have had
the opportunity. Thanks, HUM for coming up here.
I think the new
album's great, and next time, I'd like to hear "The Inuit Promise" - one
of the best tunes on "Downward...".
To HUM fans, I'd like to suggest a European band called "The Gathering".
Check out their "Nighttime Birds" album on Century Media records in the
US. They evoke a lot of the majestic ethereal vibe that HUM do, with an
angelic-voiced female singer.
Being European, they have little to do
with "alternative" bands most HUM fans may be familiar with, but if you
like HUM songs like "Isle of the Cheetah" and "Afternoon with the
Axolotls", you may very well get a good buzz
from The Gathering.
HUM, never quit - there are plenty of good bands, but so few great ones, and even less that listeners carry in the heart as they do with HUM.
Here's to drop-d tunings through Orange stacks.
