Spoiler Alert * This has nothing to do with Real Estate!
I grew up listening to the Tragically Hip. My first big concert was at the Metro Centre in Halifax in the mid 90s, a bunch of high school friends got tickets and hired a limo to transport us to & from the show. It was the first of many Hip experiences, and this past Saturday night was the last time I will ever see them perform a live show again. Gord Downies voice sang the soundtrack of my youth.
There is something fiercely Canadian about this band. They never broke into the American market and never seemed to really want to which increased their canuck appeal. Hailing from Kingston Ontario, they wrote about Canadian topics and political issues, they toured for 30 years and they remained wholesome and true to their roots. Perhaps we didn't want to share them, perhaps we didn't care. The truth is it never mattered if the rest of the world 'got it' because the subject matter was so truly Canadian that it was uniquely ours and ours alone.
Most people my age can tell stories about seeing this band, chance encounters, countless memories are related to specific songs or albums. I know more about Canadian history, folklore and geography from listening to their songs than I ever learned in school. I once interviewed for a job in Kingston ON, upon arrival at the airport I was immediately escorted on a tour of the town to see where each one of the band members had grown up before even talking about the job I had been brought for! The only time I ever camped out for concert tickets was for this band in Halifax, bundled up in blankets on the sidewalk in downtown Halifax overnight. I happened across them performing at a small bar in Denver, by chance noticing the name on the marquee outside and wandered in. To my amazement it was a small bar with very few patrons. I threw a Canadian flag on stage and Gord Downie wore it as a cape for part of the performance. The Hip fans of Canada are like a massive extended family and got that way because this band embraced and appreciated us. What's more Canadian than a warm welcome and open arms?
Gord Downie has always seemed an upstanding Canadian that has influenced history and how we perceive it for over 30 years. I have heard him called the unofficial Poet Laureate and the modern Shakespeare of Canada. He has created a sense of Canadian pride and unity that even the Olympics can't rival. I have always been a proud Canadian and a proud Hip fan, seeing this show has made me feel that pride run even deeper. So I want to thank The Tragically Hip for having a part in making and maintaining a little bit of what it means to be Canadian for many people, including myself. This is truly a spectacular place to live.
