Culture the other press The Tragically Hip— Live In The Flesh, Sept 19/02 Heather Barnes Culture Editor October 2, 2002 The Tragically Hip played the Queen Elizabeth Theatre September 19 and 20. This was my third time see- ing the Hip live, and, due to the Queen E. holding what seemed 1/100th of the audience of the Pacific Coliseum or General Motors Place, the event was certainly the most intimate. You could hear each person's cheers and even the “worst” seats were so close to the stage as to not require binoculars to make out the band. Sam Roberts opened virtually on time and showed he’s an artist not afraid to repeatedly coax the audience to their feet, singing and clapping along. He forged a cheerful aura out of everyone as the band played their radio hits. By the time they were done, the crowd seemed hesitant to calm down for the intermission, but, to everyone’s surprise, the Tragically Hip came on stage after no more than 20 minutes! The group opened up with Use Jt Up from Jn Violet Light, their newest album. Throughout the show they mixed melodic new songs like /¢s a Good Life if You Don't Weaken and Silver Jet with a great deal of the rockin’ old ones like Little Bones and New Orleans is Sinking. This effectively covered the band’s 18 year long career. The crowd was on its feet for the entire show excepting a few slower, new songs, proving an acquaintance of mine wrong: the Queen. E is certainly NOT a “sit-down” venue! It was wonderful to see the hockey-jer- sey speckled crowd dancing, and to hear the entire place sing along to almost every song. There’s an inti- macy at that theatre that you most definitely only get at stadiums if you are rich or lucky enough to be sit- ting in the first row. Near the end of the show, just before the three-song encore, the chant of “HIP! HIP! HIP! HIP!” roared through the building. The Tragically Hip came back onto the stage and played Wheat Kings and ended the show with possibly their most crowd-pleasing hit, Blow at High Dough. Here, the audience completely dis- regarded the classiness of the theatre and went nuts, making the cheers of the hundreds seem like those of the thousands. I do think it sufficient to say, The Tragically Hip has not lost “it”, and frankly, might not be Gord Downey of the Hip able to if they tried. Theatre Review SALMAN RUSHDIE IN CONVERSATION WITH TIMOTHY TAYLOR at the Chan Centre For the Performing farts Sarah Gignac OP Contributor The last time Salman Rushdie was in Vancouver was a quarter of a centu- ry ago. He was working for Air Canada as an ad copyist, and they sent him over to inspire his writing. The trip included a whirlwind tour of the west. Surprisingly enough, Rushdie’s claim to fame did not rise from any witty airline slogans. Twenty-five years later, Rushdie again visits Vancouver, this time as a journalist, professor, poet, and, some argue, one of the greatest novelists of our time. Although Rushdie’s impressive credits include eight novels, several works of non-fiction and one children’s book, he is best known for The Satanic Verses, and the controversy surrounding its publication. Soon after the novel was published in 1988, it was deemed blasphemous towards Islam by Ayatollah Khomeini, who issued a death warrant on Rushdie. The London-based author was forced into hiding and spent most of the fol- lowing decade underground with the protection of Scotland Yard. In 1998 the Iranian government revoked the Fatwa, but his life was still threatened by Muslim extremist groups. Only recently has Rushdie been able to re- enter society without the fear of being killed, almost 15 years after The Satanic Verses was released. His repeat appearance in BC was part of a tour promoting his most recent publication, Step Across This Line. It is a collection of essays, speech- es, and articles written over the last decade, which span a vast array of top- ics, from the pleasures of being a soccer fanatic, to reminiscences on his hippy days in London, to How The Grinch Stole Voteville, a poem on Bush's recent election (with apologies to Dr. Zeus). Rushdie read a few choice pieces from the collection, as well as from his latest novel, last year’s Fury. The novel takes us into the life of Malik Solanka, a middle-aged professor who makes it big by creating a TV doll show that explores the history of philosophy. The half-hour reading was a perfect overview into Rushdie’s talents as a writer. It gave the audience a taste of his broad range of ideas and the forms he uses to portray them. His reading also made his works accessible for those who might be a little intimidated by the writer whose politically- charged works drove him underground for a decade. His stories are funny, current, and thought-provoking. He’s not afraid to tackle issues that others shy away from. Yet he does so in a gentle manner, quietly persuading his readers/listeners to face the issues as well. Considering everything he has been through in the last 25 years, Rushdie seems a very down-to-earth kind of guy. He spent the rest of the evening chatting with Timothy Taylor, a local author. Their conversation mean- dered over a variety of subjects, from living in New York to soccer, from current reactions to terrorism to their favourite authors. He joked easily with Taylor, and even took the technical difficulties with the microphones in stride. In a little over an hour, Rushdie managed to make a real connection with the audience. He gave us listeners some things to think about, and more importantly, the desire to think about them. We walked away feeling uplifted and inspired. Feeling that we were a little better off for having heard Salman Rushdie speak. page 19 ©