Rink
Music
Grace
Good Life
In View
ABAC
Ocean
Courage
World
Springtime
Meridian
Bobcaygeon
Kids
Fully
New O.
Escape
Family Band
Blow
"I try my best to chug, stomp, weep, whisper, moan, wheeze, scat, blurt, rage, whine, and seduce. With my voice I can sound like a girl, the boogieman, a Theremin, a cherry bomb, a clown, a doctor, a murderer. I can be tribal. Ironic. Or disturbed. My voice is really my instrument."
Last night, while the billion+ BBC audience (compare that to CNN's 18 million+) heard and saw the headline news of the 10th day of protests in Burma, I decided to check out of real life and and go to a rock concert.
So it was off to a performance in Amsterdam by The Tragically Hip, a Canadian rock group that packs tens of thousands into that country's stadiums and tonight put an impressive 1000+ in Amsterdam's Paradiso, one of the great and original international venues of The Rolling Stones, Dylan, and the other big '70s and '80s artists.
Paradiso was packed as Gord Downie, The Hip's lead singer, dripping sweat onto the front row, mesmerized the largely international audience with a bunch of songs about places which those caught in rapt attention by his performance would never even begin to undrestand. Like his song, “Bobcaygeon”, referring to the lakes-laden, cottage country spot east of Toronto. My guess is that not 1 out of 80 in the audience even recognized Bobcaygeon as a geographical location.
Nonetheless the audience went wild. Why? Because of the energy.
Now, believe me, I’m not a frequenter of rock performances. My American/Canadian partner Janice and her best friend MK dragged me to see “The Hip”, as they’re known by their thousands and thousands of Canadian fans. And, of course, I could go on and on about the quaintness of Canada; the fact that it has a population smaller than the Netherlands, etc., etc., not to mention their essential decency and charming naivete.
But the fact that not only did The Tragically Hip electrify the 85 or so flag-waving Canadians in the audience, it extended its brand beyond the Maple Leaf banner to capture the interest of the 700+ other Dutch, English, French and German folks in Amsterdam audience tonight.
Why? Energy. Pure and simple.
The songs were relevant. The performance superb and especially energetic. Contact with the audience was direct and moving.
It was a charged evening, and got me to thinking how important energy, and being in front of and relevant to your audience is. Not only for rock groups, but also for nonprofits.
that made me really happy!!! god i love these guys....second to pj always, so thats pretty much first. ending the show with music at work like the did on the other page, wow.that mustve been wicked. music is my favourite song to see live, and fire in the hole, but music is amazing. the way he extends the live part, repeating my music at work, my music at work, over and over again, until hes yelling it is great! like on the dvd!
Van '98, Sea I+II '00, Sea '01, Sea II '02, Van '03, Gorge, Van, Cal, Edm '05, Bos I+II, Phi I+II, DC, SF II+III, Port, Gorge I+II '06, DC, NY I+II '08, Sea I+II, Van, Ridge , LA III+IV' 09, Indy '10, Cal, Van '11, Lond, Van, Sea '13, Memphis '14, RRHOF '17, Sea I+II '18, Van I+II, Vegas I+II '24
"I try my best to chug, stomp, weep, whisper, moan, wheeze, scat, blurt, rage, whine, and seduce. With my voice I can sound like a girl, the boogieman, a Theremin, a cherry bomb, a clown, a doctor, a murderer. I can be tribal. Ironic. Or disturbed. My voice is really my instrument."
so cool to see those rehearsal vids!!! i love that.
p.s love your sig, thats great. hey you couldnt by chance hook me up with the whale tank improv could you? or the police frogman thing...i would love to have those...wait i just thought i might already have it. i downloaded a BUNCH of the hip boots...hold on.
NOPE the boots are from 96 and on. the one im looking for is from may 1991. you must have heard of it. he gets his arm ripped off. ive heard it once on the radio, but its pretty famous. i loved when gord would rant.....
Van '98, Sea I+II '00, Sea '01, Sea II '02, Van '03, Gorge, Van, Cal, Edm '05, Bos I+II, Phi I+II, DC, SF II+III, Port, Gorge I+II '06, DC, NY I+II '08, Sea I+II, Van, Ridge , LA III+IV' 09, Indy '10, Cal, Van '11, Lond, Van, Sea '13, Memphis '14, RRHOF '17, Sea I+II '18, Van I+II, Vegas I+II '24
Damn, you guys might wanna check out the song of the day as well. An amazing version of the unreleased gem "Blonde Solid".
"I try my best to chug, stomp, weep, whisper, moan, wheeze, scat, blurt, rage, whine, and seduce. With my voice I can sound like a girl, the boogieman, a Theremin, a cherry bomb, a clown, a doctor, a murderer. I can be tribal. Ironic. Or disturbed. My voice is really my instrument."
so cool to see those rehearsal vids!!! i love that.
p.s love your sig, thats great. hey you couldnt by chance hook me up with the whale tank improv could you? or the police frogman thing
I would if I could, but I'm still stuck in the stone age with my crappy laptop computer. I don't even have a CD burner, which in this day and age is somewhat embarrasing, lol.
"I try my best to chug, stomp, weep, whisper, moan, wheeze, scat, blurt, rage, whine, and seduce. With my voice I can sound like a girl, the boogieman, a Theremin, a cherry bomb, a clown, a doctor, a murderer. I can be tribal. Ironic. Or disturbed. My voice is really my instrument."
I love the hIp!!!
whOoT its been 9 times now..
will never forget Redmond! What a beautiful venue and time...
whOoT whOot!
I was there too, and it was incredible! The band was absolutely brilliant that night. Hearing Membership and The Dire Wolf in the same show...ya can't ask for much more than that. Beautiful venue and surroundings as well.
"I try my best to chug, stomp, weep, whisper, moan, wheeze, scat, blurt, rage, whine, and seduce. With my voice I can sound like a girl, the boogieman, a Theremin, a cherry bomb, a clown, a doctor, a murderer. I can be tribal. Ironic. Or disturbed. My voice is really my instrument."
I was there too, and it was incredible! The band was absolutely brilliant that night. Hearing Membership and The Dire Wolf in the same show...ya can't ask for much more than that. Beautiful venue and surroundings as well.
gord tasted Born.Mine.Die's hands, then nibbled my fingers at that show!
remember, front row!
best hip show ive seen.
MEMBERSHIP, DIRE WOLF and CLOSING WITH FIRE IN THE HOLE!
Van '98, Sea I+II '00, Sea '01, Sea II '02, Van '03, Gorge, Van, Cal, Edm '05, Bos I+II, Phi I+II, DC, SF II+III, Port, Gorge I+II '06, DC, NY I+II '08, Sea I+II, Van, Ridge , LA III+IV' 09, Indy '10, Cal, Van '11, Lond, Van, Sea '13, Memphis '14, RRHOF '17, Sea I+II '18, Van I+II, Vegas I+II '24
Ocean
New O.
Escape
Gus
In View
Bob C.
Nautical
Courage
Pretend
Family Band
Meridian
ABAC
Luv(sic)
Music
Bones
Rink
Fireworks
Looks like a shorter set than normal. A couple of folks from the Hipbase were at the show, and they mentioned that the Prime Club is similar to the Horeshoe Tavern in Toronto, only smaller. It must have been incredible seeing them in a place that small.
"I try my best to chug, stomp, weep, whisper, moan, wheeze, scat, blurt, rage, whine, and seduce. With my voice I can sound like a girl, the boogieman, a Theremin, a cherry bomb, a clown, a doctor, a murderer. I can be tribal. Ironic. Or disturbed. My voice is really my instrument."
Setlist- Effenaar, Eindhoven, Netherlands 10/01/07 (last show of the European mini-tour. What a setlist!)
Rink
New O.
Daddy
ABAC
In View
Gift
Family Band
Courage
Thugs
Fiddler's
Ocean
Locked
Wheat
Blow
Fire
Luv(sic)
Something On
Fully
"I try my best to chug, stomp, weep, whisper, moan, wheeze, scat, blurt, rage, whine, and seduce. With my voice I can sound like a girl, the boogieman, a Theremin, a cherry bomb, a clown, a doctor, a murderer. I can be tribal. Ironic. Or disturbed. My voice is really my instrument."
"I try my best to chug, stomp, weep, whisper, moan, wheeze, scat, blurt, rage, whine, and seduce. With my voice I can sound like a girl, the boogieman, a Theremin, a cherry bomb, a clown, a doctor, a murderer. I can be tribal. Ironic. Or disturbed. My voice is really my instrument."
"I try my best to chug, stomp, weep, whisper, moan, wheeze, scat, blurt, rage, whine, and seduce. With my voice I can sound like a girl, the boogieman, a Theremin, a cherry bomb, a clown, a doctor, a murderer. I can be tribal. Ironic. Or disturbed. My voice is really my instrument."
"I try my best to chug, stomp, weep, whisper, moan, wheeze, scat, blurt, rage, whine, and seduce. With my voice I can sound like a girl, the boogieman, a Theremin, a cherry bomb, a clown, a doctor, a murderer. I can be tribal. Ironic. Or disturbed. My voice is really my instrument."
"What could be more Canadian than a rainy night in London, England? Well, many other things, like the Summit Series perhaps, falling in love during a hockey game, summer cottages near Muskoka, or sitting at the lonely end of rink, you might say. But for one group of expatriate Canadians, the epitome of everything red and white was encompassed within none other than five men, a hockey jersey, and their instruments: The Tragically Hip.
Say what you will about their music, but one thing is undeniably true: these boys from Kingston bring a piece of home with them wherever they go. Over the years, the Hip have released over ten albums, their most recent being World Container at the end of 2006. Musically speaking, their signature sound ranges from nostalgic twangy ballads like "Fiddler's Green" or "Bobcaygeon," to high-energy folk-infused college hard rock like "Fireworks" or "Fifty Mission Cap". Every one of their songs has the ability to strike a chord within the heart of any true Canadian, regardless of their musical inclinations.
Living in London, I never thought I would have the opportunity to see one of my favorite Canadian bands so up close and personal, so when the chance came along to see the Hip for a one-night only gig, I painfully handed over the pounds to see them perform. And, in all honesty, it was one of the best shows I have ever been to. I must also admit that I haven't always been such a diehard fan of the Hip, but over the years, I've embraced their music and all that comes with it.
It seems to me that the Hip suffer from a unique ailment in their home country: they are either loved for the content and 'Canadian-ness' of their music, or they are loathed for the same reason, mixed with a distaste for their generic sound -which in my opinion, is appropriate for the content. However, everyone in attendance that night at the Astoria undeniably had blood as thick as maple syrup. I frankly do not think that I met one Londoner there; the numerous Leaf jerseys, the myriad of Roots sweatpants, and the proud waving of the Canadian flag all made it very clear that this gig was an exclusive invitation to every Canadian who happened to find themselves in London that night.
The opening band Forever Like Red, perhaps the worst opening band in the history of opening bands ,struck so painfully at our eardrums that the crowd drowned them out with a drunken chorus of 'Oh Canada'. I kid you not. The only thing that would have done the maple leaf more proud would have been if Don Cherry had ridden out on a moose carrying a beaver that was drinking a double double.
After the opening band effectively committed suicide on stage, the Hip made their grand entrance with "Yer Not the Ocean" to the delight of the crowd on their feet. The usually reserved Gord Downie physically encapsulated the texture of every song, as if telling an epic story rather than singing a three minute effigy. During a twenty-minute rendition of "At the Hundredth Meridian" halfway through the show, Downie jumped off the stage into the crowd where my friend saw it fit, upon his request, to give him a purple nurple -she cites this as the defining moment of her life. As the band started to play "Bobcaygeon", the mood moved from manic to mellow and Downie dropped all pretenses, sat on an amp, and serenaded the audience with an acoustic accoutrement.
After an unusually long set, the band was of course encouraged into an encore, where they closed with a spectacular show of "Fireworks" that brought the crowd together under a sea of lights and sounds, to an idea of a land that only we could understand. Although we were all in England, for whatever gap of time, it was this -a brief collision of culture, common causality, and musical joy- that was able to bring us all back to that goal in '72, back to where the great plains begin, back to those nights in Toronto and all those checkerboard floors."
"the usually reserved Gord Downie." --hmm..not sure which Gord Downie she's used to seeing, but that dude is far from reserved. Perhaps she means when he's not on stage?
I like this article, but I disagree with her assessment that the band's sound is "generic". I see this word thrown around often in regards to the Hip, mostly from elitist holier than though music snobs. I've never quite understood where that opinion comes from exactly. Is it because they're on a major label? Is it because they play a unique brand of kick-you-in-the-nuts hard rock in an age where lo-fi indie bands are the flavour of the year? Anybody who actually takes the time to absorb and listen to the music will notice that these guys can play anything: rock, pop, blues, folk, country, metal, punk, piano ballads...hell, they even wandered into reggae-rock territory on World Container (The Kids Don't Get it, Lonely End of the Rink). Any band who can slip in and out of genres this comfortably is far from generic. The Hip may not be as innovative or genre bending as someone like Radiohead or Wilco, but that certainly doesn't mean they're not pushing the envelope with their own sound. Pearl Jam is another band who gets flak from critics for the same reasons, and it annoys me to no end.
**end of rant**
"I try my best to chug, stomp, weep, whisper, moan, wheeze, scat, blurt, rage, whine, and seduce. With my voice I can sound like a girl, the boogieman, a Theremin, a cherry bomb, a clown, a doctor, a murderer. I can be tribal. Ironic. Or disturbed. My voice is really my instrument."
Rink
Grace
Music
Gift
Gus
Family
ABAC
In View
Poets
Pretend
Fireworks
Meridian
Escape
Fiddler's
Ocean
Locked
Fire
Put it Off (holy shit!!!)
Mr. Soul (Neil Young)
New O.
"I try my best to chug, stomp, weep, whisper, moan, wheeze, scat, blurt, rage, whine, and seduce. With my voice I can sound like a girl, the boogieman, a Theremin, a cherry bomb, a clown, a doctor, a murderer. I can be tribal. Ironic. Or disturbed. My voice is really my instrument."
is this the most participated appreciation thread on TenClub?
I think so.
i definitely need to check out this band it seems.
Athens, Greece: 2006/09/30
"Call me Ishmael. Some years ago- never mind how long precisely- having little or no money in my purse, and nothing particular to interest me on shore, I thought I would sail about a little and see the watery part of the world." Herman Melville : Moby Dick
my pics are part of the fan-made dvd slideshow=) great show setlist was amazing!
Blow At High Dough
Oceans
Music at Work
It Can't Be Nashville Every Night
Lake Fever
Daredevil
Lionized
Sherpa
Springtime in Vienna
Gift Shop
The Dire Wolf
At the Hundredth Meridian
Something On
The Last of the Unplucked Gems
Ahead by a Century
Grace, Too
Fire in the Hole
Encore:
The Lonely End of the Rink
Bobcaygeon
Poets
Nov. 3, 2007
Hogansburg, NY
All Inn Lounge
On-Sale: Oct 12 @ 10am
Tickets: $50, 21+
Tickets available: http://www.ticketweb.com
"I try my best to chug, stomp, weep, whisper, moan, wheeze, scat, blurt, rage, whine, and seduce. With my voice I can sound like a girl, the boogieman, a Theremin, a cherry bomb, a clown, a doctor, a murderer. I can be tribal. Ironic. Or disturbed. My voice is really my instrument."
i dont want it to end even if im not there.,....this has been an amazing journey in Hip history...one of the best tours of their career. hands down.
I couldn't agree more. They've always been incredible live, but on this particular tour they seem totally re-energized. I was lucky enough to see them 3 times this year and you can tell the band is having a blast on stage, and Gord Downie is still crazy as a freakin' loon...even moreso than the early days. It's awesome. In a recent interview, Robby mentioned that after the World Container tour ends in November, they're going to start writing for the next album, and he thinks it'll be released sometime in 2008. The Hip are on a roll!
"I try my best to chug, stomp, weep, whisper, moan, wheeze, scat, blurt, rage, whine, and seduce. With my voice I can sound like a girl, the boogieman, a Theremin, a cherry bomb, a clown, a doctor, a murderer. I can be tribal. Ironic. Or disturbed. My voice is really my instrument."
Setlist- House of Blues, Los Angeles, CA, 10/11/07:
Rink
Grace
Music
Gift
Family
Bob C.
Nautical
In View
Courage
Pretend
Fireworks
Meridian
Springtime
Fiddler's
Ocean
Locked
Bones
Chagrin
Diamond Dogs (David Bowie)
New O.
"I try my best to chug, stomp, weep, whisper, moan, wheeze, scat, blurt, rage, whine, and seduce. With my voice I can sound like a girl, the boogieman, a Theremin, a cherry bomb, a clown, a doctor, a murderer. I can be tribal. Ironic. Or disturbed. My voice is really my instrument."
To many Canadians there are only two indigenous bands of note: From the mid-'70s to the late-'80s it was Rush and from the later-'80s to the present it has been The Tragically Hip. Of course there have always been pugnacious fans of Canadian artists like Bryan Adams, Celine Dion, The Barenaked Ladies and Anne Murray, but Rush and The Hip are national treasures akin to Elvis Presley here in the States or the Beatles in England (or to a lesser extent, Bjork in Iceland).
For those of us who can remember the birth pangs of the alternative music movement, The Tragically Hip was like a collective firstborn; the fraternal sibling of The Pixies, Husker Du and The Replacements. Their sound was then and has always been fresh, adventurous, bold and haunting like a dream, both strange and erotic.
Those early days of alternative radio as pioneered by the still influential KROQ in Los Angeles will forever stay with me. They represent, for millions, the heady days of summer and slumber and of thinking you were at the forefront of a cultural revolution. This fair was not for the weak of heart; it was music that groomed a generation of forward thinkers and idealists as well as cynics, clackers and slobbering, ne'er-do-well alt-geeks like myself and my good friend, Jimmy the Pitbull. The Hip was part of that experience.
The Tragically Hip will be playing Aspen's Belly Up on Monday, Oct. 15.
The band was formed in Kingston, Ontario in 1983 and by 1987 they had released their eponymous E.P., The Tragically Hip." There was an immediate visceral response to their sound and steadily increasing buzz about their weird and wild live performances. It was a word of mouth and shared cassette campaign that led The Hip to release their much-anticipated full-length album "Up To Here."
"Up to Here" is awash in gritty thick guitars and the passionate nuanced vocals of Gordon Downie. And while there is not a song on the album one might skip, the third track, "New Orleans is Sinking," is a standout. Recorded 15 years before the Hurricane Katrina disaster, "New Orleans" is an eerie forecast of that city's catastrophic flood. On the track Gordon Downies' voice is reminiscent of dark balladeer Nick Cave and when he sings "My memory is muddy what's this river that I'm in? New Orleans is sinking man and I don't want to swim," it is hard not to get a lump in your throat. From the beginning of the song, the guitar sounds like a parade of bubbles dancing up from an Atlantic on the rise. The steady rhythm of bass and drums could be the terrible crumble and crack of a levee breaking. Just as powerful as the recording is the re-shot video that captured the brutal, sad aftermath of government incompetence and Mother Nature's cruel wrath.
The attraction of the sea in all its horror and glory is a recurring theme in The Tragically Hip's lyrics. Like the now defunct dancehall punk band, The Murder City Devils, The Hip have a penchant for maritime lore and nautical chanty's that invoke the tragedies and romance of sea faring angels and devilish rapscallions.
Vocalist Gordon Downie is indeed a gifted lyricist. He truly knows how to spin a yarn. Turns of phrase and poetic license make for enjoyable reading, as well as intense listening pleasure. But it is in The Hip's live shows where Downie truly lets his imagination roam.
Incorporating stream-of-thought rants, antidotes and accents, it sometimes sounds (and looks) as if he is suffering from Tourette Syndrome. The stories he tells in his digressions read like a compendium of modern literature. Oftentimes they are autobiographical mini-stories, which are of course completely fictional. One story involves him getting his arm ripped off while working as a diver in an amusement parks killer whale tank. Another story tells how he tied his friend to the railroad tracks but was unable to rescue him from the oncoming train. Yet another has him rescuing a family trapped in their car at the bottom of a frozen lake. These tales go on and on and he never repeats them. Every Tragically Hip show is a completely unique experience; a trick that has kept them relevant for more than 20 years.
I believe wholeheartedly that catching The Hip in such a small venue will be one of my great concert experiences. I hope you all will come and share the spectacle with me.
"I try my best to chug, stomp, weep, whisper, moan, wheeze, scat, blurt, rage, whine, and seduce. With my voice I can sound like a girl, the boogieman, a Theremin, a cherry bomb, a clown, a doctor, a murderer. I can be tribal. Ironic. Or disturbed. My voice is really my instrument."
The setlists from the canadian dates are by far the best I've seen since following this band in 1994...
The US setlists have frankly been a huge disapointment...
I don't know about that. Last week I was drinking my morning coffee while surfing the Interweb, and I stumbled upon their setlist from the San Francisco show and noticed they played "Put it Off" during the encore. I was so surprised I almost spit coffee all over the keyboard. I'd stab my own mother with a sewing needle to see that song performed live. If you run into Gord S. before the Boston show, make sure to tell him they need to play that song more.
"I try my best to chug, stomp, weep, whisper, moan, wheeze, scat, blurt, rage, whine, and seduce. With my voice I can sound like a girl, the boogieman, a Theremin, a cherry bomb, a clown, a doctor, a murderer. I can be tribal. Ironic. Or disturbed. My voice is really my instrument."
Comments
Rink
Music
Grace
Good Life
In View
ABAC
Ocean
Courage
World
Springtime
Meridian
Bobcaygeon
Kids
Fully
New O.
Escape
Family Band
Blow
-Tom Waits
that made me really happy!!! god i love these guys....second to pj always, so thats pretty much first. ending the show with music at work like the did on the other page, wow.that mustve been wicked. music is my favourite song to see live, and fire in the hole, but music is amazing. the way he extends the live part, repeating my music at work, my music at work, over and over again, until hes yelling it is great! like on the dvd!
did you guys see the vid of the week????
greasy jungle rehearsal?
AWESOME TO SEE!
Cool! I'm gonna check that out right now.
-Tom Waits
so cool to see those rehearsal vids!!! i love that.
p.s love your sig, thats great. hey you couldnt by chance hook me up with the whale tank improv could you? or the police frogman thing...i would love to have those...wait i just thought i might already have it. i downloaded a BUNCH of the hip boots...hold on.
NOPE the boots are from 96 and on. the one im looking for is from may 1991. you must have heard of it. he gets his arm ripped off. ive heard it once on the radio, but its pretty famous. i loved when gord would rant.....
-Tom Waits
I would if I could, but I'm still stuck in the stone age with my crappy laptop computer. I don't even have a CD burner, which in this day and age is somewhat embarrasing, lol.
-Tom Waits
whOoT its been 9 times now..
will never forget Redmond! What a beautiful venue and time...
whOoT whOot!
EV 04/02/08, 04/03/08, 07/16/11
I was there too, and it was incredible! The band was absolutely brilliant that night. Hearing Membership and The Dire Wolf in the same show...ya can't ask for much more than that. Beautiful venue and surroundings as well.
-Tom Waits
always loved this tune... haven't heard it in a long time
08/02/07 - LOLLA!!!
gord tasted Born.Mine.Die's hands, then nibbled my fingers at that show!
remember, front row!
best hip show ive seen.
MEMBERSHIP, DIRE WOLF and CLOSING WITH FIRE IN THE HOLE!
Ocean
New O.
Escape
Gus
In View
Bob C.
Nautical
Courage
Pretend
Family Band
Meridian
ABAC
Luv(sic)
Music
Bones
Rink
Fireworks
Looks like a shorter set than normal. A couple of folks from the Hipbase were at the show, and they mentioned that the Prime Club is similar to the Horeshoe Tavern in Toronto, only smaller. It must have been incredible seeing them in a place that small.
-Tom Waits
Rink
New O.
Daddy
ABAC
In View
Gift
Family Band
Courage
Thugs
Fiddler's
Ocean
Locked
Wheat
Blow
Fire
Luv(sic)
Something On
Fully
-Tom Waits
http://youtube.com/watch?v=j2B2Ng7dWmo
-Tom Waits
http://youtube.com/watch?v=2vxIZTzaqHg
-Tom Waits
My second favorite song from World Container!
-Tom Waits
By Natasia Kalajdziovski
The Strand
The student newspaper of Victoria University in the University of Toronto •
http://media.www.thestrand.ca/media/storage/paper404/news/2007/10/04/FilmMusic/That-Night.In.London.The.Tragically.Hip-3013134.shtml
"What could be more Canadian than a rainy night in London, England? Well, many other things, like the Summit Series perhaps, falling in love during a hockey game, summer cottages near Muskoka, or sitting at the lonely end of rink, you might say. But for one group of expatriate Canadians, the epitome of everything red and white was encompassed within none other than five men, a hockey jersey, and their instruments: The Tragically Hip.
Say what you will about their music, but one thing is undeniably true: these boys from Kingston bring a piece of home with them wherever they go. Over the years, the Hip have released over ten albums, their most recent being World Container at the end of 2006. Musically speaking, their signature sound ranges from nostalgic twangy ballads like "Fiddler's Green" or "Bobcaygeon," to high-energy folk-infused college hard rock like "Fireworks" or "Fifty Mission Cap". Every one of their songs has the ability to strike a chord within the heart of any true Canadian, regardless of their musical inclinations.
Living in London, I never thought I would have the opportunity to see one of my favorite Canadian bands so up close and personal, so when the chance came along to see the Hip for a one-night only gig, I painfully handed over the pounds to see them perform. And, in all honesty, it was one of the best shows I have ever been to. I must also admit that I haven't always been such a diehard fan of the Hip, but over the years, I've embraced their music and all that comes with it.
It seems to me that the Hip suffer from a unique ailment in their home country: they are either loved for the content and 'Canadian-ness' of their music, or they are loathed for the same reason, mixed with a distaste for their generic sound -which in my opinion, is appropriate for the content. However, everyone in attendance that night at the Astoria undeniably had blood as thick as maple syrup. I frankly do not think that I met one Londoner there; the numerous Leaf jerseys, the myriad of Roots sweatpants, and the proud waving of the Canadian flag all made it very clear that this gig was an exclusive invitation to every Canadian who happened to find themselves in London that night.
The opening band Forever Like Red, perhaps the worst opening band in the history of opening bands ,struck so painfully at our eardrums that the crowd drowned them out with a drunken chorus of 'Oh Canada'. I kid you not. The only thing that would have done the maple leaf more proud would have been if Don Cherry had ridden out on a moose carrying a beaver that was drinking a double double.
After the opening band effectively committed suicide on stage, the Hip made their grand entrance with "Yer Not the Ocean" to the delight of the crowd on their feet. The usually reserved Gord Downie physically encapsulated the texture of every song, as if telling an epic story rather than singing a three minute effigy. During a twenty-minute rendition of "At the Hundredth Meridian" halfway through the show, Downie jumped off the stage into the crowd where my friend saw it fit, upon his request, to give him a purple nurple -she cites this as the defining moment of her life. As the band started to play "Bobcaygeon", the mood moved from manic to mellow and Downie dropped all pretenses, sat on an amp, and serenaded the audience with an acoustic accoutrement.
After an unusually long set, the band was of course encouraged into an encore, where they closed with a spectacular show of "Fireworks" that brought the crowd together under a sea of lights and sounds, to an idea of a land that only we could understand. Although we were all in England, for whatever gap of time, it was this -a brief collision of culture, common causality, and musical joy- that was able to bring us all back to that goal in '72, back to where the great plains begin, back to those nights in Toronto and all those checkerboard floors."
"the usually reserved Gord Downie." --hmm..not sure which Gord Downie she's used to seeing, but that dude is far from reserved. Perhaps she means when he's not on stage?
I like this article, but I disagree with her assessment that the band's sound is "generic". I see this word thrown around often in regards to the Hip, mostly from elitist holier than though music snobs. I've never quite understood where that opinion comes from exactly. Is it because they're on a major label? Is it because they play a unique brand of kick-you-in-the-nuts hard rock in an age where lo-fi indie bands are the flavour of the year? Anybody who actually takes the time to absorb and listen to the music will notice that these guys can play anything: rock, pop, blues, folk, country, metal, punk, piano ballads...hell, they even wandered into reggae-rock territory on World Container (The Kids Don't Get it, Lonely End of the Rink). Any band who can slip in and out of genres this comfortably is far from generic. The Hip may not be as innovative or genre bending as someone like Radiohead or Wilco, but that certainly doesn't mean they're not pushing the envelope with their own sound. Pearl Jam is another band who gets flak from critics for the same reasons, and it annoys me to no end.
**end of rant**
-Tom Waits
Setlist- The Warfield, San Francisco, 10/10/07:
Rink
Grace
Music
Gift
Gus
Family
ABAC
In View
Poets
Pretend
Fireworks
Meridian
Escape
Fiddler's
Ocean
Locked
Fire
Put it Off (holy shit!!!)
Mr. Soul (Neil Young)
New O.
-Tom Waits
I think so.
i definitely need to check out this band it seems.
"Call me Ishmael. Some years ago- never mind how long precisely- having little or no money in my purse, and nothing particular to interest me on shore, I thought I would sail about a little and see the watery part of the world." Herman Melville : Moby Dick
yes you do.. ok where do i start...
actually hang on.. ill let direwolf take this one...
08/02/07 - LOLLA!!!
good advice!
EV intro to Chloe Dancer / Crown of Thorns
10/25/13 Hartford
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-NqVwHceCJQ
my pics are part of the fan-made dvd slideshow=) great show setlist was amazing!
Blow At High Dough
Oceans
Music at Work
It Can't Be Nashville Every Night
Lake Fever
Daredevil
Lionized
Sherpa
Springtime in Vienna
Gift Shop
The Dire Wolf
At the Hundredth Meridian
Something On
The Last of the Unplucked Gems
Ahead by a Century
Grace, Too
Fire in the Hole
Encore:
The Lonely End of the Rink
Bobcaygeon
Poets
06/29/03 09/22/05 09/24/05 09/25/05 05/09/06 05/10/06
Nov. 3, 2007
Hogansburg, NY
All Inn Lounge
On-Sale: Oct 12 @ 10am
Tickets: $50, 21+
Tickets available: http://www.ticketweb.com
-Tom Waits
THE TOUR LIVES ON! (for one more day)
i dont want it to end even if im not there.,....this has been an amazing journey in Hip history...one of the best tours of their career. hands down.
I couldn't agree more. They've always been incredible live, but on this particular tour they seem totally re-energized. I was lucky enough to see them 3 times this year and you can tell the band is having a blast on stage, and Gord Downie is still crazy as a freakin' loon...even moreso than the early days. It's awesome. In a recent interview, Robby mentioned that after the World Container tour ends in November, they're going to start writing for the next album, and he thinks it'll be released sometime in 2008. The Hip are on a roll!
-Tom Waits
Rink
Grace
Music
Gift
Family
Bob C.
Nautical
In View
Courage
Pretend
Fireworks
Meridian
Springtime
Fiddler's
Ocean
Locked
Bones
Chagrin
Diamond Dogs (David Bowie)
New O.
-Tom Waits
Canadian Beatles and the Maritime Elvis
http://www.aspendailynews.com/article_22203
Jason Hood - Time Out Music Columnist
Fri 10/12/2007 06:01AM MST
To many Canadians there are only two indigenous bands of note: From the mid-'70s to the late-'80s it was Rush and from the later-'80s to the present it has been The Tragically Hip. Of course there have always been pugnacious fans of Canadian artists like Bryan Adams, Celine Dion, The Barenaked Ladies and Anne Murray, but Rush and The Hip are national treasures akin to Elvis Presley here in the States or the Beatles in England (or to a lesser extent, Bjork in Iceland).
For those of us who can remember the birth pangs of the alternative music movement, The Tragically Hip was like a collective firstborn; the fraternal sibling of The Pixies, Husker Du and The Replacements. Their sound was then and has always been fresh, adventurous, bold and haunting like a dream, both strange and erotic.
Those early days of alternative radio as pioneered by the still influential KROQ in Los Angeles will forever stay with me. They represent, for millions, the heady days of summer and slumber and of thinking you were at the forefront of a cultural revolution. This fair was not for the weak of heart; it was music that groomed a generation of forward thinkers and idealists as well as cynics, clackers and slobbering, ne'er-do-well alt-geeks like myself and my good friend, Jimmy the Pitbull. The Hip was part of that experience.
The Tragically Hip will be playing Aspen's Belly Up on Monday, Oct. 15.
The band was formed in Kingston, Ontario in 1983 and by 1987 they had released their eponymous E.P., The Tragically Hip." There was an immediate visceral response to their sound and steadily increasing buzz about their weird and wild live performances. It was a word of mouth and shared cassette campaign that led The Hip to release their much-anticipated full-length album "Up To Here."
"Up to Here" is awash in gritty thick guitars and the passionate nuanced vocals of Gordon Downie. And while there is not a song on the album one might skip, the third track, "New Orleans is Sinking," is a standout. Recorded 15 years before the Hurricane Katrina disaster, "New Orleans" is an eerie forecast of that city's catastrophic flood. On the track Gordon Downies' voice is reminiscent of dark balladeer Nick Cave and when he sings "My memory is muddy what's this river that I'm in? New Orleans is sinking man and I don't want to swim," it is hard not to get a lump in your throat. From the beginning of the song, the guitar sounds like a parade of bubbles dancing up from an Atlantic on the rise. The steady rhythm of bass and drums could be the terrible crumble and crack of a levee breaking. Just as powerful as the recording is the re-shot video that captured the brutal, sad aftermath of government incompetence and Mother Nature's cruel wrath.
The attraction of the sea in all its horror and glory is a recurring theme in The Tragically Hip's lyrics. Like the now defunct dancehall punk band, The Murder City Devils, The Hip have a penchant for maritime lore and nautical chanty's that invoke the tragedies and romance of sea faring angels and devilish rapscallions.
Vocalist Gordon Downie is indeed a gifted lyricist. He truly knows how to spin a yarn. Turns of phrase and poetic license make for enjoyable reading, as well as intense listening pleasure. But it is in The Hip's live shows where Downie truly lets his imagination roam.
Incorporating stream-of-thought rants, antidotes and accents, it sometimes sounds (and looks) as if he is suffering from Tourette Syndrome. The stories he tells in his digressions read like a compendium of modern literature. Oftentimes they are autobiographical mini-stories, which are of course completely fictional. One story involves him getting his arm ripped off while working as a diver in an amusement parks killer whale tank. Another story tells how he tied his friend to the railroad tracks but was unable to rescue him from the oncoming train. Yet another has him rescuing a family trapped in their car at the bottom of a frozen lake. These tales go on and on and he never repeats them. Every Tragically Hip show is a completely unique experience; a trick that has kept them relevant for more than 20 years.
I believe wholeheartedly that catching The Hip in such a small venue will be one of my great concert experiences. I hope you all will come and share the spectacle with me.
hood@aspendailynews.com
-Tom Waits
IF you live in Canada!
The setlists from the canadian dates are by far the best I've seen since following this band in 1994...
The US setlists have frankly been a huge disapointment...
I MUST have a talk with G. Sinclair when they come back to Boston next week..!
(writes note to self)
EV intro to Chloe Dancer / Crown of Thorns
10/25/13 Hartford
I don't know about that. Last week I was drinking my morning coffee while surfing the Interweb, and I stumbled upon their setlist from the San Francisco show and noticed they played "Put it Off" during the encore. I was so surprised I almost spit coffee all over the keyboard. I'd stab my own mother with a sewing needle to see that song performed live. If you run into Gord S. before the Boston show, make sure to tell him they need to play that song more.
-Tom Waits