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    The Tragically Hip

    I got an email from The Tragically Hip today that says their lead singer, Gord Downie, has terminal brain cancer.

    I am gutted by this. They are one of my favourite bands.

    I've seen the Hip live four times. In 2009 I saw them in Manchester and Glasgow on consecutive nights. In Glasgow Gord came out into the audience and invited people to sing into the mic. I was one of the people. The crowd was full of Canadian ex-pats. The girl next to me was immediately phoning her family to say she had touched Gord. I've never seen someone look so much like they would pass out with excitement. At both shows they were their own warm up act, playing a full set, taking a break, then playing another. I think I heard about 60 of their songs over the two nights.

    In 2013 I went to London to see them play in Trafalgar Square on Canada Day. I stayed over in London and saw them in Camden the following night.

    They are apparently going to try and do one last tour. I'm not sure they will travel internationally. I've just got back from a trip to the USA and Canada. I might go back if I can get a ticket to one of the shows.

    #2
    The Tragically Hip

    Ah, we've been talking about it on the Canada thread and are all gutted.

    A great piece by Bob McKenzie on The Hip and hockey.

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      #3
      The Tragically Hip

      From the BBC

      Tragically Hip: The most Canadian band in the world

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        #4
        The Tragically Hip

        Very nice article. I was working in the yard all day today, and couldn't get Hip songs out of my head. His (eventual) passing has real affected people here.

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          #5
          The Tragically Hip

          Missed Monday's pre-sale. Mrs Thistle spent 2 hours trying to get some joy out of Ticketmaster in today's pre-sale.

          Might try again in the general sale. Tickets are available on Stubhub, minimum the same in $US as they were sold in $CDN. Some a lot more.

          Fans aren't happy on Facebook.

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            #6
            The Tragically Hip

            Yeah, it looks like the usual insider sham. Fucking Ticketmaster is the worst.

            New dates added, though. And a petition is circulating to get the CBC to air the final show. Sounds like a good idea.

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              #7
              The Tragically Hip

              Did you find any love, PT? I tried for all 3 Toronto gigs plus Hamilton and couldn't find a thing. And, I mean, I'm 17 for 17 on Springsteen gigs, so it's not like I'm not trained.

              What a fucking utter sham.

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                #8
                The Tragically Hip

                No luck sadly.

                Tempted by StubHub, but realistically not sure a second trip to Canada this year is particularly feasible.

                I hope they record the last show and release it as a DVD.

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                  #9
                  The Tragically Hip

                  WOM wrote: Did you find any love, PT? I tried for all 3 Toronto gigs plus Hamilton and couldn't find a thing. And, I mean, I'm 17 for 17 on Springsteen gigs, so it's not like I'm not trained.
                  Hamilton is a really tricky ticket to get. Lin-Manuel Miranda is about as hot as it gets.

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                    #10
                    The Tragically Hip

                    Nicely done.

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                      #11
                      The Tragically Hip

                      Can I just admit that Hamilton doesn't appeal to me at all?

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                        #12
                        The Tragically Hip

                        I've always thought it was odd that a band could be huge in Canada and not heard of at all in the States. It's not like the radio signals - or the internet - respect the border.

                        Matthew Good is the same way. I have everything he ever recorded, but he hardly ever plays in the US. I learned about him because one day a long time ago I happened to be watching Much Music, during a brief period when that showed up on our cable. IMP and I saw him do a very small acoustic show at a small bar called Iota in Arlington, VA a few years back. A number of other fans there said they were from Buffalo. By contrast, He plays venues like Massey Hall in Canada - maybe bigger places when he still was with the MGB.

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                          #13
                          The Tragically Hip

                          That's funny; on the way to the cottage the other day, a MG song came on the radio and we knew the voice but we're totally stumped as to who it was. It was like 'Oh yeah...where's he been hiding?'

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                            #14
                            The Tragically Hip

                            Reed John wrote: Can I just admit that Hamilton doesn't appeal to me at all?
                            That's actually the town's slogan.

                            And no...I know you weren't talking about that Hamilton...

                            The idea appeals to me, but I couldn't tell you a thing about the man.

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                              #15
                              The Tragically Hip

                              WOM wrote: That's funny; on the way to the cottage the other day, a MG song came on the radio and we knew the voice but we're totally stumped as to who it was. It was like 'Oh yeah...where's he been hiding?'
                              He's put out a bunch of solo albums. Dark and edgy.

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                                #16
                                The Tragically Hip

                                WOM wrote:
                                Originally posted by Reed John
                                Can I just admit that Hamilton doesn't appeal to me at all?
                                That's actually the town's slogan.

                                And no...I know you weren't talking about that Hamilton...

                                The idea appeals to me, but I couldn't tell you a thing about the man.
                                I know a fair bit about the man and don't see the merit of turning his life into a hip-hop musical.

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                                  #17
                                  The Tragically Hip

                                  Have got the new album (Man Machine Poem). Haven't listened to it yet.

                                  Still feel sad about all this.

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                                    #18
                                    The Tragically Hip

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                                      #19
                                      The Tragically Hip

                                      That is bodacious dude.

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                                        #20
                                        The Tragically Hip

                                        I'm afraid to ask, but I feel compelled.

                                        Why are TTH so attached to Canadian national identity?

                                        I've heard a fair bit of their stuff. It's alright. Maybe if I listen to more, I'll like it more. I'm sure they do a great live show. But I don't see what makes them more quintessentially Canadian than other Canadian acts. And "not making it big in the States" doesn't seem to be the answer.

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                                          #21
                                          The Tragically Hip

                                          I'm almost afraid to answer. I've been pondering this for a couple hours now and can't come up with anything I could defend if poked too hard.

                                          I guess it comes down to timing, hard work, sincerity and talent.

                                          Talent first; they're a great band who've done some seriously above-average albums. For me, Fully Completely and Day For Night are their high points, but I think I wrote up a homemade Best Of on the other page.

                                          Timing; they started doing good work in the eighties and tapped into a vein of (primarily) male Canadianess that hit its peak in the early '90s when dudes were still buying albums and going to gigs.

                                          Hard work; they put in the road miles and bar shows to build their audience the old fashioned way. They connected with people and wrote, recorded and toured relentlessly. They had their own festival called Another Roadside Attraction that toured during the summer and galvanized people around their music, togetherness, Canadianess and summer nights.

                                          And sincerity; they're just pretty fucking average Canadian guys. There's two Gords, for god's sake. They've never been in trouble. No arrests. No model girlfriends. No assholery. No infighting. Just very honest in who they are.

                                          The connection with Canada as a cultural point is hard to put into words. Between 50 Mission Cap and Bobcaygeon, they tell Canadians stories about themselves in a way that simply works, both lyrically and spiritually.

                                          And then, of course, Gord is dying. Of course he is. So what does he do? He goes on tour to say goodbye.

                                          Below is a link to the staff at Sunnybrook Hospital singing Courage (for Hugh MacLennan) [a Canadian author]. Gord is being treated there. My dad was treated there. The band is donating proceeds from the tour to their cancer ward in Gord's name.

                                          It's a beautiful, powerful song and was really tough to watch.

                                          Anyway, I could write pages, but that's the gist. I'd actually be very interested to read PT's take on this.

                                          http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/sunnybrook-tragically-hip-1.3715026

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                                            #22
                                            The Tragically Hip

                                            Here's that Best Of...

                                            1 Courage (For Hugh MacLennan)
                                            2 Fifty Mission Cap
                                            3 Grace, Too
                                            4 Nautical Disaster
                                            5 My Music At Work
                                            6 Fireworks
                                            7 Bobcaygeon
                                            8 Ahead by A Century
                                            9 Gift Shop
                                            10 Wheat Kings
                                            11 Poets
                                            12 At The Hundredth Meridian
                                            13 Scared
                                            14 Greasy Jungle

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                                              #23
                                              The Tragically Hip

                                              So basically they are to Canada what Bruce Springsteen is to white guys from New Jersey and Philadelphia.

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                                                #24
                                                The Tragically Hip

                                                Um....yes. Without any of the blue collar/working class stuff. They are classless...in the good way. And their cultural touch-points are very specific rather than broadly mythical. Bill Barilko in 50 Mission Cap. David Milgaard in Wheat Kings. Terry Fox in Inevitability of Death.

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                                                  #25
                                                  The Tragically Hip

                                                  WOM wrote: Um....yes. Without any of the blue collar/working class stuff. They are classless...in the good way. And their cultural touch-points are very specific rather than broadly mythical. Bill Barilko in 50 Mission Cap. David Milgaard in Wheat Kings. Terry Fox in Inevitability of Death.
                                                  I can't think of any other band of merit who is so specific in there references.

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