Thread: The Tragically Hip, Canada's BEST rock band ever. #14; final tour! Going?!

Lead singer, guitarist, mad genius-poet Gordon Downie has terminal brain cancer forcing The Hip to confine their tour to a few cities in Canada between July 22nd in Victoria, B.C., and August 20th, their final show in the band's hometown of Kingston, ON. Broadcast live across the great nation of Canada!

I just received my Enhanced DL for WA which allows me entry into Canada once again. It's been a long, long time. I can't wait to see the Machine in action.

I've had the utter privilege of seeing TTH play in 1,000 seat or less venues in the U.S. Excepting the one show in Marymoor Park (Redmond, WA) where there were upwards of 2,000 or more thanks to WOMAD '96. (? Going from memory here)

Canadians get their Hip on 70,000 at a time or so. This will be new for me to a degree. There was the Monsters of Rock (Spokane, '84) way back when.

Man Machine Poem, album #14, released 6/20/16; all done before Gord even knew he was essentially a dead man walking.

9 of 13 albums went to #1 in Canada (not counting #14 which hasn't been tallied obviously). All 14 contain 10 songs minimum. 150+ not including live versions or bonus tracks. Gord can't write a bad song to save his life.

Are you going? I'm planning to visit the first 4 stops. All starting a week from Friday...

Bar none - my favorite Hip song. Great band! Seen em in Kingston a few times. Toronto once.

Have fun!! Watch out for the canucks!

I remember not liking the hip way back when I was in high school. It seem to grow on me over the years and I can honestly say they don't have a song I dislike.
Damn shame that Gordon is sick. https://youtu.be/aGRNEJiD3PY

It's all over the radio up here, and if you don't already have tickets to any of the shows, you better consider what some of the die hards up here would pay. I've heard the ticket prices are past ridiculous.

Colin, funny you say this. It was the same for me in high school. The older kids (my Sisters friends) all had a raging "bon air" for them. I was to into the grunge music. Pearl Jam, STP, Sound Garden, Silverchair, Nirvana..... To name a few.

Our family cottage is in Bobcageon, and I had the privilege of being at the 2011 show at Pigeon Lake.
Truly a talented band that will be missed. Funny though how when I was younger I thought Gord was copying Joe Cocker with his moves and didn't like them for that alone..
Ahh to be young and stupid again instead of just stupid.
Lol.

Originally Posted by MikeB52

Our family cottage is in Bobcageon, and I had the privilege of being at the 2011 show at Pigeon Lake.
Truly a talented band that will be missed. Funny though how when I was younger I thought Gord was copying Joe Cocker with his moves and didn't like them for that alone..
Ahh to be young and stupid again instead of just stupid.
Lol.

Bobcaygeon is my favorite song by them...saw them at the Molson Amp theatre ages and ages ago.....and of course that little town is just soul wrenching in its beauty, spent some great times there, in both summer and winter.

Originally Posted by Speedster

Are you going? I'm planning to visit the first 4 stops. All starting a week from Friday...

Four pairs of tickets, and I've even begged a few people, offered 'em up for free....
...not a single taker! Stunning.

Looks like I may set off a stampede getting some money for them up in Canada in less than 2 weeks.

Originally Posted by earcutter

Bar none - my favorite Hip song. Great band! Seen em in Kingston a few times. Toronto once.

Have fun!! Watch out for the canucks!

That's their veyr first song played up here in Spokane...or rather DOWN here in Spokane. Sorry, I do forget "The North" is all very relative, and you Canadians win!

"New Orleans is Sinking", and their playing style had me convinced they were from Louisiana or thereabouts. Boy, I was ever wrong about that. All 5 from Kingston, ON.

Sorry, random tangential thought about this band before clsoing:

What are the odds of a 3-man band forming in a single city?

How many times greater would odds be for a 5-man band all from the same town?

Sure is something to think about. Miraculous indeed if you ask me!

Originally Posted by MikeB52

Our family cottage is in Bobcageon, and I had the privilege of being at the 2011 show at Pigeon Lake.
Truly a talented band that will be missed. Funny though how when I was younger I thought Gord was copying Joe Cocker with his moves and didn't like them for that alone..
Ahh to be young and stupid again instead of just stupid.
Lol.

Go listen to "In Sarnia," another ode to a great Canadian city up until this song I had never, ever heard of before Gordon worked his typical magic.

This man is virtually on fire when he's up on stage. For the price of admission, you get to see one of the great frontmen ever to sing give it his all, one hundred percent, no more, and no less that's for sure.

Sweat flying, and dancing like he was on LSD that first time I saw him sing, "FIght."

He's dancing like nobody is watching. He could give a flying "____" about anyone's opinions. A true artist to be reckoned with.

My favorites tracks:

Hot Mic
Tired as "F-cubed!" (Stupid SRP Policy precludes the use of the actual word)
Machine
A World Possessed by the Human Mind
Ocean Next
What Blue
Great Soul

Of course, I as per usual love/adore/dig the entire album, front to back, for the 14th time, durr, go figure!

Gord's crew produces some fine aural magic. One massive biker-type friend who really is a mad-dog C++ programmer, singer, and karaoke enthusist had this most-awesome thing to say about my favorite band of all times:

<<>> "They are a WALL OF SOUND!" <<>> Bet your *!)#*$' ass!

I absolutely cannot wait for my four-city mini-tour of Western British Colombia and Alberta (a first!!) to kick-off here in a few short days.

Cheers fellas!

You are not going to have a problem AT ALL unloading the tickets when you get up there brother. I hear they are going for a pretty penny!!


FML!! When did life get so complex that I couldn't pack up and go see the Hip?