Just getting around to listening to the Kingston show and wow. Unreal.
And the video of Gord during Grace, Too. I don't even know how to comment on that.
Some have a lot to say about it, lol, because there appears to be a debate going on about whether that was ALL 100% "real" or if it was at least part performance art. I actually think it was partly performance art myself. Of course all good art has some reality to it and feeling behind it, but that extreme overwrought thing he had going on? I think that was largely Gord being his wonderfully weird self doing a performance of extremely overwrought emotions as a way to artistically express his very real emotions. Doing that is right up Gord's alley, and I think much more likely than that just being a completely bare true expression of his feelings. And I am saying this in admiration btw. I absolutely love that Gord can and will do stuff like that. It's one of the things that makes him great.
I thought the same. He recovered too quickly after the last note for it to have not been performance art.
Yeah, plus the fact that nobody actually sincerely acts like that in real life. I mean honestly, those who think that was all 100% real and spur of the moment personal emotion must have walked away thinking Gord is on the verge of a mental breakdown.
With all its sham, drudgery, and broken dreams, it is still a beautiful world. Be careful. Strive to be happy. ~ Desiderata
Pine Knob Music Theatre - Jul 31, 1992 Crisler Arena - Mar 20, 1994
Summerfest - Jul 09, 1995*Savage Hall - Sep 22, 1996The Palace of Auburn Hills-Aug 23, 1998 Breslin Center- Aug 18, 1998,The Palace of Auburn Hills-Oct 07, 2000 DTE Energy Theatre-Jun5,2003,DTE Energy Music Theatre - Jun 26, 2003Sports Arena - Oct 02, 2004 Van Andel Arena - May 19, 2006Palace of Auburn Hills-May 22, 2006 Quicken Loans Arena-May 09, 2010
10-16-2014 Detroit
all 17 of the Hip's studio and live albums have entered the Billboard 200. (not just sales, a change some years ago now includes a certain amount of tracked album streams also counts as "sales"). Crazy.
I just created a small spreadsheet of all their songs and cross referenced with my live show setlists. Out of 168 possible songs (or close to that), I've only been there for 70 unique ones plus one cover in 6 full shows.
No songs from the EP. No songs from We Are The Same. Never heard Cordelia. Never heard So Hard Done By!!! Only two from In Violet Light. Fortunately, heard Nautical Disaster at 4 of those shows. Heard FIddler's Green once. Pigeon Camera twice.
I just created a small spreadsheet of all their songs and cross referenced with my live show setlists. Out of 168 possible songs (or close to that), I've only been there for 70 unique ones plus one cover in 6 full shows.
No songs from the EP. No songs from We Are The Same. Never heard Cordelia. Never heard So Hard Done By!!! Only two from In Violet Light. Fortunately, heard Nautical Disaster at 4 of those shows. Heard FIddler's Green once. Pigeon Camera twice.
THANK YOU!! I've been looking for the SNL "Nautical Disaster" performance to no avail. You've made my day
You're welcome!
Pine Knob Music Theatre - Jul 31, 1992 Crisler Arena - Mar 20, 1994
Summerfest - Jul 09, 1995*Savage Hall - Sep 22, 1996The Palace of Auburn Hills-Aug 23, 1998 Breslin Center- Aug 18, 1998,The Palace of Auburn Hills-Oct 07, 2000 DTE Energy Theatre-Jun5,2003,DTE Energy Music Theatre - Jun 26, 2003Sports Arena - Oct 02, 2004 Van Andel Arena - May 19, 2006Palace of Auburn Hills-May 22, 2006 Quicken Loans Arena-May 09, 2010
10-16-2014 Detroit
I just created a small spreadsheet of all their songs and cross referenced with my live show setlists. Out of 168 possible songs (or close to that), I've only been there for 70 unique ones plus one cover in 6 full shows.
No songs from the EP. No songs from We Are The Same. Never heard Cordelia. Never heard So Hard Done By!!! Only two from In Violet Light. Fortunately, heard Nautical Disaster at 4 of those shows. Heard FIddler's Green once. Pigeon Camera twice.
Man, I should have gone to see them a lot more.
Ha ha
I got to see So Hard Done By
that's for my Nautical Disaster comment, wasn't it?
I just created a small spreadsheet of all their songs and cross referenced with my live show setlists. Out of 168 possible songs (or close to that), I've only been there for 70 unique ones plus one cover in 6 full shows.
No songs from the EP. No songs from We Are The Same. Never heard Cordelia. Never heard So Hard Done By!!! Only two from In Violet Light. Fortunately, heard Nautical Disaster at 4 of those shows. Heard FIddler's Green once. Pigeon Camera twice.
Man, I should have gone to see them a lot more.
Ha ha
I got to see So Hard Done By
that's for my Nautical Disaster comment, wasn't it?
I just created a small spreadsheet of all their songs and cross referenced with my live show setlists. Out of 168 possible songs (or close to that), I've only been there for 70 unique ones plus one cover in 6 full shows.
No songs from the EP. No songs from We Are The Same. Never heard Cordelia. Never heard So Hard Done By!!! Only two from In Violet Light. Fortunately, heard Nautical Disaster at 4 of those shows. Heard FIddler's Green once. Pigeon Camera twice.
Man, I should have gone to see them a lot more.
Nice work putting your stats together Hugh! I totally have to do this.
I went to a show on the "We are the Same" tour. They were playing smaller venues and they were playing 4 shows in each city (Hint Hint PJ ) Anyway, for Calgary they played 3 shows at the Jubilee and then the 4th show was at the Eric Harvey theatre in Banff. Said to the wife "Fuck it, let's go to Banff" Lucky to get 2 tix, turns out it was about 1000 capacity and it was probably my favourite Hip show ever. During "The last Recluse" Gord walked about 10 rows deep into the audience standing on chairs and steadying himself by holding hands. Incredible moment during a breathtaking song.
i'm trying to gather all my words/thoughts for the last show and this tour but when gord said "have a nice life" after one of the encore sets in kingston ... i still can't get my head around that choice of words. seems so final to me. :(
i'm trying to gather all my words/thoughts for the last show and this tour but when gord said "have a nice life" after one of the encore sets in kingston ... i still can't get my head around that choice of words. seems so final to me. :(
yeah, I was surprised and sad to hear he said that. Cause at Toronto 3 he said "next time we play here....".
I wish I could figure out how to post pics but since I can't...check out the below website if you haven't seen it. Some great stuff for sale, proceeds to Sunnybrooke. https://www.ingordwetrust.com/ I purchased the black & white pic with the quote "I'll see you down the road somewhere". I much prefer Gord saying that to saying "have a nice life". Can't wait for it to arrive so I can get it framed and hung
Yeah, plus the fact that nobody actually sincerely acts like that in real life. I mean honestly, those who think that was all 100% real and spur of the moment personal emotion must have walked away thinking Gord is on the verge of a mental breakdown.
Yeah, I kept thinking "man, this brilliant bastard is going to be bringing all the feels to everyone across the country who doesn't know he's performing, and he's going to snap out of it like nothing happened" and he did, and laughed my ass off. What a man.
Another thanks to BIGDaddyWil for theSNL link. The "Nautical Disaster" video disappeared off YT and seemingly the rest of the internet about 6 years ago and I've been looking for it ever since.
I will preface what I'm about to write with the fact that I would never consider myself a "fan" of the Hip. I have seen them only once in concert and I did know pretty much every song played on the 20th except for the new ones. When my brother in law asked if we should try and get tickets to the last shows here in Toronto or even Kingston - my immediate response was that I felt someone like me shouldn't be there. Kind of like if PJ were doing a farewell show - I felt the true fans should be the ones there saying goodbye and celebrating their music, which in retrospect, has aged much better than most bands I've listened too.
This tour, that last show - showed me what Canada could be ... what we, as a nation, could be about. It started with Ron Maclean interviewing Trudeau and talking about how he, as a child in the Yukon, remembered the moment P. Trudeau received the nomination for the Liberal Party to run as PM. He uttered the two words that I believe to be what we should be aspiring to - a Just Society.
I've lost connection with this country for a while now. I haven't believed in Canada for a long time and the past 2 decades, especially under Mike Harris in Ontario and Harper have disassociated me completely. We have become, more and more narcissistic, self-serving, ignorant and divided. People's positions on issues are dictated not by thinking critically about the topic but by grandiose headlines and sound bytes provided by people who are paid to render us stupid. Don't get me wrong, I don't believe in Utopia - there is no such thing as perfection and I don't expect us all to agree on everything. What it boils down to is who we are as a people, as a nation? Do we believe in a Just Society anymore? We used to be a nation that produced our Charter of Rights and Freedoms. I don't think we could make that document today.
So, with the nation watching and arguably the biggest stage anyone in Canada could hope for - Gord Downie chose to challenge us to be Just in the face of our failures, in particular our First Nations. It was a glimmer of what I would hope for us ... as a country and as a people. For that one night and for a few days after - I felt better about us. I don't know how long it will last but I now know where I might start to look for hope in the future.
I will preface what I'm about to write with the fact that I would never consider myself a "fan" of the Hip. I have seen them only once in concert and I did know pretty much every song played on the 20th except for the new ones. When my brother in law asked if we should try and get tickets to the last shows here in Toronto or even Kingston - my immediate response was that I felt someone like me shouldn't be there. Kind of like if PJ were doing a farewell show - I felt the true fans should be the ones there saying goodbye and celebrating their music, which in retrospect, has aged much better than most bands I've listened too.
This tour, that last show - showed me what Canada could be ... what we, as a nation, could be about. It started with Ron Maclean interviewing Trudeau and talking about how he, as a child in the Yukon, remembered the moment P. Trudeau received the nomination for the Liberal Party to run as PM. He uttered the two words that I believe to be what we should be aspiring to - a Just Society.
I've lost connection with this country for a while now. I haven't believed in Canada for a long time and the past 2 decades, especially under Mike Harris in Ontario and Harper have disassociated me completely. We have become, more and more narcissistic, self-serving, ignorant and divided. People's positions on issues are dictated not by thinking critically about the topic but by grandiose headlines and sound bytes provided by people who are paid to render us stupid. Don't get me wrong, I don't believe in Utopia - there is no such thing as perfection and I don't expect us all to agree on everything. What it boils down to is who we are as a people, as a nation? Do we believe in a Just Society anymore? We used to be a nation that produced our Charter of Rights and Freedoms. I don't think we could make that document today.
So, with the nation watching and arguably the biggest stage anyone in Canada could hope for - Gord Downie chose to challenge us to be Just in the face of our failures, in particular our First Nations. It was a glimmer of what I would hope for us ... as a country and as a people. For that one night and for a few days after - I felt better about us. I don't know how long it will last but I now know where I might start to look for hope in the future.
it's crazy that people are criticizing Gord for doing that, for "politicizing" the last show. I think it was incredibly selfless of him to do so. And I'm so glad we had a PM we can be proud of to have been the one to give them a send off they are worthy of.
I will preface what I'm about to write with the fact that I would never consider myself a "fan" of the Hip. I have seen them only once in concert and I did know pretty much every song played on the 20th except for the new ones. When my brother in law asked if we should try and get tickets to the last shows here in Toronto or even Kingston - my immediate response was that I felt someone like me shouldn't be there. Kind of like if PJ were doing a farewell show - I felt the true fans should be the ones there saying goodbye and celebrating their music, which in retrospect, has aged much better than most bands I've listened too.
This tour, that last show - showed me what Canada could be ... what we, as a nation, could be about. It started with Ron Maclean interviewing Trudeau and talking about how he, as a child in the Yukon, remembered the moment P. Trudeau received the nomination for the Liberal Party to run as PM. He uttered the two words that I believe to be what we should be aspiring to - a Just Society.
I've lost connection with this country for a while now. I haven't believed in Canada for a long time and the past 2 decades, especially under Mike Harris in Ontario and Harper have disassociated me completely. We have become, more and more narcissistic, self-serving, ignorant and divided. People's positions on issues are dictated not by thinking critically about the topic but by grandiose headlines and sound bytes provided by people who are paid to render us stupid. Don't get me wrong, I don't believe in Utopia - there is no such thing as perfection and I don't expect us all to agree on everything. What it boils down to is who we are as a people, as a nation? Do we believe in a Just Society anymore? We used to be a nation that produced our Charter of Rights and Freedoms. I don't think we could make that document today.
So, with the nation watching and arguably the biggest stage anyone in Canada could hope for - Gord Downie chose to challenge us to be Just in the face of our failures, in particular our First Nations. It was a glimmer of what I would hope for us ... as a country and as a people. For that one night and for a few days after - I felt better about us. I don't know how long it will last but I now know where I might start to look for hope in the future.
it's crazy that people are criticizing Gord for doing that, for "politicizing" the last show. I think it was incredibly selfless of him to do so. And I'm so glad we had a PM we can be proud of to have been the one to give them a send off they are worthy of.
I will preface what I'm about to write with the fact that I would never consider myself a "fan" of the Hip. I have seen them only once in concert and I did know pretty much every song played on the 20th except for the new ones. When my brother in law asked if we should try and get tickets to the last shows here in Toronto or even Kingston - my immediate response was that I felt someone like me shouldn't be there. Kind of like if PJ were doing a farewell show - I felt the true fans should be the ones there saying goodbye and celebrating their music, which in retrospect, has aged much better than most bands I've listened too.
This tour, that last show - showed me what Canada could be ... what we, as a nation, could be about. It started with Ron Maclean interviewing Trudeau and talking about how he, as a child in the Yukon, remembered the moment P. Trudeau received the nomination for the Liberal Party to run as PM. He uttered the two words that I believe to be what we should be aspiring to - a Just Society.
I've lost connection with this country for a while now. I haven't believed in Canada for a long time and the past 2 decades, especially under Mike Harris in Ontario and Harper have disassociated me completely. We have become, more and more narcissistic, self-serving, ignorant and divided. People's positions on issues are dictated not by thinking critically about the topic but by grandiose headlines and sound bytes provided by people who are paid to render us stupid. Don't get me wrong, I don't believe in Utopia - there is no such thing as perfection and I don't expect us all to agree on everything. What it boils down to is who we are as a people, as a nation? Do we believe in a Just Society anymore? We used to be a nation that produced our Charter of Rights and Freedoms. I don't think we could make that document today.
So, with the nation watching and arguably the biggest stage anyone in Canada could hope for - Gord Downie chose to challenge us to be Just in the face of our failures, in particular our First Nations. It was a glimmer of what I would hope for us ... as a country and as a people. For that one night and for a few days after - I felt better about us. I don't know how long it will last but I now know where I might start to look for hope in the future.
nice stuff here. i agree. the tour & broadcast was such a powerful moment for us Canadians to rise up again. i also feel, like gord, we have the right guy now to do it. addressing the first nation's issues is a def step in the right direction. way way overdue. gord has always been on that issue, among others(water keepers etc). here's gord's new project link. all related. so is the song/video re the now for plan a song called Goodnight Attawapiskat http://www.secretpath.ca/
I keep forgetting about their "Live at the Bathhouse" sessions they did and broadcast it into movie theatres across the country. I still haven't seen it. I shall youtube it later.
Tragically Hip: Live at the Bathouse - Review Pin It Now!
by mrjackstraw
We battled the harsh April weather on a cold blustery Monday night to go and see The Tragically Hip's live HD presentation from their famed Bathouse studio in Bath, Ontario. Somehow it seemed appropriate. Fans from across the nation were invited into The Hip's digs for the first time to see where and how it all goes down. George Stroumboulopoulos facilitated the interaction between the band and us fans who were nestled into theatres across Canada and, speaking for myself, happily buzzed and excited at the possibilities.
The band opened the show standing facing each other in a small front room with The Depression Suite: The Rock, NewOrleansWorld, Don't You Want to See How it Ends? a track that measures 9+ minutes on the new album made up of the above listed three sections. Keyboardist Jim Bryson joined the band as he will on their upcoming tour. After a welcome from George and the band we were treated to the beautiful opening track Morning Moon.
The cameras began to move through the house and George had a few words with the on site sound engineer as the band members came one by one into this room. Gord went on to relate to those of us in the Movie-aters just what the house meant to him and the band and how they had over time build this nest in which to create.
The opening strums from Thompson Girl could be heard in the background and Gord led the cameras into the Kitchen where they had originally worked out the arrangement for the song. The instruments were stripped, especially the drum kit allowing for a more back-to-the-basics approach to working through songs. As if to demonstrate this The Hip played an acoustic version of Music@Work that I hope they keep. Or at least never let us know what version we might get.
Strombo interviewed the rhythm section of Johnny Fay and Gord Sinclair and they went into how they learned together and what an honor it was to be playing together all these years. Gord also talked about the importance of making each show a stand alone event and how diverse setlists were needed. Thank you Gord Sinclair! I could not agree more and am currently even more excited for the upcoming tour. There was also a huge chalk board on the wall with a list of chores, hotels where people were staying and Jimmy O's phone number. I wonder if anyone called him? Anyways, I think every kitchen should have one of these. Household organization baby!
George Stroumboulopoulos led the camera up the stairs and past a lot of original art pieces from various Tragically Hip albums. There was a huge wall hanging of the Fully Completely cover and the charcoal drawing from Day for Night were in the upstairs hallway. I remember thinking of the old house across from the Ford's Theater in Washington, DC where they brought Abraham Lincoln to die in peace after he was shot. I was there less than a month ago and it was preserved just as it was for all of us today to see. Will the Bathouse ever be a tourist attraction? Preserved as it is today to become one of those wacky Canadian culture landmarks? Aah weed.
Along with bedrooms upstairs for whoever needs to crash, there is also a cozy pool/snooker room. George was in there with Robby, Paul and Gord aka The Three Strings. They shot the shit about band life, working together for all these years and the difficulties of a being in a long term relationship. It was during this point that the first random audience request came in. With just two acoustic guitars and Gord in the room I was thinking the randomness had to be limited to a song like...Bobcaygeon. And so it was. What made this version unique was that Gord sand it while shooting snooker with Strombo. He sat. He stood. He shot. He made a combo shot! All while singing. The game wasn't even close. Strombo got killed. The guitarists had to duck out of the way as they played to accommodate the shooters. Good stuff.
Next we were introduced to a guy who wrote the band as a fan and asked for a job. I should have done that. He's seen everything they've done since 1992 and wears many hats. Fans rarely get to see the so-called support staff of their favorite bands. You gotta feel that along the way these people have influenced little things here and there having an impact on the evolution process. Rock and Roll: You know what I'm saying! I didn't get his name so feel free to let me know.
Above the garage is a new area to the Bathouse that the band refers to as The Loft with lots of space for the band to throw down. The band plays Coffee Girl followed by The Last Recluse and both sounded great and should have nice careers inside the Hip's cannon. Back we go to audience requests and the call come in for Escape Is At Hand For The Traveling Man. Giddy up! Feel free to play this one whenever I'm in attendance. That's 3 from Phantom Power if you're keeping score at home. Love Is A First comes next and from my point of view is poised to become a live monster.
Another random fan request is honored in the way of Courage. Strombo mentions that this is his and the crew's request as well causing me to raise an eyebrow as to the randomness of these random requests. Whatever. It's out of my hands. If it was in my hands they would have played The Luxury. Ho ho. Gordie mentions a store in Kensington Market here in Toronto called "Courage My Love" but says he couldn't say that so he changed it to "Courage, my word".
My favorite song came next. Track 5 on We Are the Same: Now the Struggle Has a Name. This one's a keeper in my books. Beautiful, beautiful song. At the end of the song Gord looks out the window and the camera pans back to the outdoor fire pit depicted on the album cover. We are done. As the credits roll the band goes into another song. I'm not sure which one.
Thanks to the band for giving us, the fans, a little glimpse of your world. It's like we finally made it into the secret clubhouse. The 2009 tour should be fantastic. There is some great new material here that the boys will be working with and the addition of a touring keyboardist will bring more textures to the music and allow for some new arrangements to some older material keeping it fresh for us and them.
Live From the Bathouse - Setlist:
The Depression Suite Morning Moon Thompson Girl Music@Work Bobcaygeon Coffee Girl Last Recluse Escape Is At Hand For the Traveling Man Love Is A First Courage Now the Struggle Has a Name
Comments
www.headstonesband.com
http://www.sonic1029.com/2016/06/02/14857/
Beautiful!
Summerfest - Jul 09, 1995*Savage Hall - Sep 22, 1996The Palace of Auburn Hills-Aug 23, 1998 Breslin Center- Aug 18, 1998,The Palace of Auburn Hills-Oct 07, 2000 DTE Energy Theatre-Jun5,2003,DTE Energy Music Theatre - Jun 26, 2003Sports Arena - Oct 02, 2004 Van Andel Arena - May 19, 2006Palace of Auburn Hills-May 22, 2006 Quicken Loans Arena-May 09, 2010
10-16-2014 Detroit
www.headstonesband.com
No songs from the EP.
No songs from We Are The Same.
Never heard Cordelia.
Never heard So Hard Done By!!!
Only two from In Violet Light.
Fortunately, heard Nautical Disaster at 4 of those shows.
Heard FIddler's Green once.
Pigeon Camera twice.
Man, I should have gone to see them a lot more.
www.headstonesband.com
I got to see So Hard Done By
Summerfest - Jul 09, 1995*Savage Hall - Sep 22, 1996The Palace of Auburn Hills-Aug 23, 1998 Breslin Center- Aug 18, 1998,The Palace of Auburn Hills-Oct 07, 2000 DTE Energy Theatre-Jun5,2003,DTE Energy Music Theatre - Jun 26, 2003Sports Arena - Oct 02, 2004 Van Andel Arena - May 19, 2006Palace of Auburn Hills-May 22, 2006 Quicken Loans Arena-May 09, 2010
10-16-2014 Detroit
www.headstonesband.com
I went to a show on the "We are the Same" tour. They were playing smaller venues and they were playing 4 shows in each city (Hint Hint PJ
www.headstonesband.com
https://www.ingordwetrust.com/
I purchased the black & white pic with the quote "I'll see you down the road somewhere". I much prefer Gord saying that to saying "have a nice life". Can't wait for it to arrive so I can get it framed and hung
www.headstonesband.com
Hmmm.
Another thanks to BIGDaddyWil for theSNL link. The "Nautical Disaster" video disappeared off YT and seemingly the rest of the internet about 6 years ago and I've been looking for it ever since.
This tour, that last show - showed me what Canada could be ... what we, as a nation, could be about. It started with Ron Maclean interviewing Trudeau and talking about how he, as a child in the Yukon, remembered the moment P. Trudeau received the nomination for the Liberal Party to run as PM. He uttered the two words that I believe to be what we should be aspiring to - a Just Society.
I've lost connection with this country for a while now. I haven't believed in Canada for a long time and the past 2 decades, especially under Mike Harris in Ontario and Harper have disassociated me completely. We have become, more and more narcissistic, self-serving, ignorant and divided. People's positions on issues are dictated not by thinking critically about the topic but by grandiose headlines and sound bytes provided by people who are paid to render us stupid. Don't get me wrong, I don't believe in Utopia - there is no such thing as perfection and I don't expect us all to agree on everything. What it boils down to is who we are as a people, as a nation? Do we believe in a Just Society anymore? We used to be a nation that produced our Charter of Rights and Freedoms. I don't think we could make that document today.
So, with the nation watching and arguably the biggest stage anyone in Canada could hope for - Gord Downie chose to challenge us to be Just in the face of our failures, in particular our First Nations. It was a glimmer of what I would hope for us ... as a country and as a people. For that one night and for a few days after - I felt better about us. I don't know how long it will last but I now know where I might start to look for hope in the future.
www.headstonesband.com
www.headstonesband.com
here's gord's new project link. all related. so is the song/video re the now for plan a song called Goodnight Attawapiskat
http://www.secretpath.ca/
Was pleasantly surprised that Ahead by a Century is played in it.
-Seattle,Wash-Key Arena-9/22/9 -Pemberton,B.C-7/17/16
-Vancouver,B.C-GM Place -9/25/9 -Seattle,Wash-Safeco Field-8/8/18
-Vancouver,B.C-Pacific Coliseum-9/25/11 -Seattle,Wash-Safeco Field-8/10/18
-Misoula,MT-Adams Field House-9/30/12 -Vancouver,BC-Rogers Arena-5/4/24
For a girl I know it's Mother's Day...
www.headstonesband.com
-Seattle,Wash-Key Arena-9/22/9 -Pemberton,B.C-7/17/16
-Vancouver,B.C-GM Place -9/25/9 -Seattle,Wash-Safeco Field-8/8/18
-Vancouver,B.C-Pacific Coliseum-9/25/11 -Seattle,Wash-Safeco Field-8/10/18
-Misoula,MT-Adams Field House-9/30/12 -Vancouver,BC-Rogers Arena-5/4/24
www.headstonesband.com
http://tragicallyhiptour.blogspot.ca/2009/04/tragically-hip-live-at-bathouse-review.html
Tragically Hip: Live at the Bathouse - Review
Pin It Now!
by mrjackstraw
We battled the harsh April weather on a cold blustery Monday night to go and see The Tragically Hip's live HD presentation from their famed Bathouse studio in Bath, Ontario. Somehow it seemed appropriate. Fans from across the nation were invited into The Hip's digs for the first time to see where and how it all goes down. George Stroumboulopoulos facilitated the interaction between the band and us fans who were nestled into theatres across Canada and, speaking for myself, happily buzzed and excited at the possibilities.
The band opened the show standing facing each other in a small front room with The Depression Suite: The Rock, NewOrleansWorld, Don't You Want to See How it Ends?
a track that measures 9+ minutes on the new album made up of the above listed three sections. Keyboardist Jim Bryson joined the band as he will on their upcoming tour. After a welcome from George and the band we were treated to the beautiful opening track Morning Moon.
The cameras began to move through the house and George had a few words with the on site sound engineer as the band members came one by one into this room. Gord went on to relate to those of us in the Movie-aters just what the house meant to him and the band and how they had over time build this nest in which to create.
The opening strums from Thompson Girl could be heard in the background and Gord led the cameras into the Kitchen where they had originally worked out the arrangement for the song. The instruments were stripped, especially the drum kit allowing for a more back-to-the-basics approach to working through songs. As if to demonstrate this The Hip played an acoustic version of Music@Work that I hope they keep. Or at least never let us know what version we might get.
Strombo interviewed the rhythm section of Johnny Fay and Gord Sinclair and they went into how they learned together and what an honor it was to be playing together all these years. Gord also talked about the importance of making each show a stand alone event and how diverse setlists were needed. Thank you Gord Sinclair! I could not agree more and am currently even more excited for the upcoming tour. There was also a huge chalk board on the wall with a list of chores, hotels where people were staying and Jimmy O's phone number. I wonder if anyone called him? Anyways, I think every kitchen should have one of these. Household organization baby!
George Stroumboulopoulos led the camera up the stairs and past a lot of original art pieces from various Tragically Hip albums. There was a huge wall hanging of the Fully Completely cover and the charcoal drawing from Day for Night were in the upstairs hallway. I remember thinking of the old house across from the Ford's Theater in Washington, DC where they brought Abraham Lincoln to die in peace after he was shot. I was there less than a month ago and it was preserved just as it was for all of us today to see. Will the Bathouse ever be a tourist attraction? Preserved as it is today to become one of those wacky Canadian culture landmarks? Aah weed.
Along with bedrooms upstairs for whoever needs to crash, there is also a cozy pool/snooker room. George was in there with Robby, Paul and Gord aka The Three Strings. They shot the shit about band life, working together for all these years and the difficulties of a being in a long term relationship. It was during this point that the first random audience request came in. With just two acoustic guitars and Gord in the room I was thinking the randomness had to be limited to a song like...Bobcaygeon. And so it was. What made this version unique was that Gord sand it while shooting snooker with Strombo. He sat. He stood. He shot. He made a combo shot! All while singing. The game wasn't even close. Strombo got killed. The guitarists had to duck out of the way as they played to accommodate the shooters. Good stuff.
Next we were introduced to a guy who wrote the band as a fan and asked for a job. I should have done that. He's seen everything they've done since 1992 and wears many hats. Fans rarely get to see the so-called support staff of their favorite bands. You gotta feel that along the way these people have influenced little things here and there having an impact on the evolution process. Rock and Roll: You know what I'm saying! I didn't get his name so feel free to let me know.
Above the garage is a new area to the Bathouse that the band refers to as The Loft with lots of space for the band to throw down. The band plays Coffee Girl followed by The Last Recluse and both sounded great and should have nice careers inside the Hip's cannon. Back we go to audience requests and the call come in for Escape Is At Hand For The Traveling Man. Giddy up! Feel free to play this one whenever I'm in attendance. That's 3 from Phantom Power if you're keeping score at home. Love Is A First comes next and from my point of view is poised to become a live monster.
Another random fan request is honored in the way of Courage. Strombo mentions that this is his and the crew's request as well causing me to raise an eyebrow as to the randomness of these random requests. Whatever. It's out of my hands. If it was in my hands they would have played The Luxury. Ho ho. Gordie mentions a store in Kensington Market here in Toronto called "Courage My Love" but says he couldn't say that so he changed it to "Courage, my word".
My favorite song came next. Track 5 on We Are the Same: Now the Struggle Has a Name. This one's a keeper in my books. Beautiful, beautiful song. At the end of the song Gord looks out the window and the camera pans back to the outdoor fire pit depicted on the album cover. We are done. As the credits roll the band goes into another song. I'm not sure which one.
Thanks to the band for giving us, the fans, a little glimpse of your world. It's like we finally made it into the secret clubhouse. The 2009 tour should be fantastic. There is some great new material here that the boys will be working with and the addition of a touring keyboardist will bring more textures to the music and allow for some new arrangements to some older material keeping it fresh for us and them.
Live From the Bathouse - Setlist:
The Depression Suite
Morning Moon
Thompson Girl
Music@Work
Bobcaygeon
Coffee Girl
Last Recluse
Escape Is At Hand For the Traveling Man
Love Is A First
Courage
Now the Struggle Has a Name
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