mike chernoff photo
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE GEORGIA STRAIGHT, MARCH 18, 1999
By Steve Newton
I’ve always been mightily impressed by the Tragically Hip’s live presentation. It didn’t matter which venue I’d see them in—whether it was the wee Railway Club or sprawling T-Bird Stadium, the classic Commodore or scenic Seabird Island—I always went away fully, completely satisfied.
But last Thursday’s (March 11) show at GM Place was a different story, simply because the sound of Canada’s top band was so poor. From where I was sitting, anyway, the instrumental heart of the group—the propellant chords of rhythm guitarist Paul Langlois and choice leads of Bobby Baker—was a muddled mess.
I realize that sports arenas are notorious for soul-stealing acoustics, but the Hip sounded just fine at the Pacific Coliseum when they did a three-night stint there in ’96. Either their sound people were snoozing last Thursday, or GM Place is a lost cause when it comes to guitar-driven rock shows.
Sad as it was from my vantage point, the sound must have been all right from the on-stage monitors, because the band seemed unconcerned during its two-hour, 23-song set. “It’s you! It’s really, really you!” exclaimed a giddy Gordon Downie as the quintet took the stage, launching directly into “Something On”, a highlight of its latest CD, Phantom Power.
The propulsive title track from 1992’s Fully Completely followed, replete with Downie’s trademark geek-getting-a-wedgie stage moves. By the time the band got around to “So Hard Done By”, he was showing his true nut-case colours by handling a banana as if it was a tropical tambourine, a wacky habit he’s displayed in the past.
Downie cut out the horseplay for a few minutes when delivering the tragedy-inspired lyrics to the band’s best song, “Nautical Disaster”, but Baker’s soaring solo was disastrously drowned out amid the high-end din.
“This is for Stanley Kubrick,” Downie announced when introducing the late-’80s rave-up “Blow at High Dough”, and for a while there, the sheer power of that rocking arrangement threatened to overcome the show’s sonic limitations. During its first encore, the band made the mistake of offering up the languid “Greasy Jungle” and mellow “Bobcaygeon” when the hyped-up hordes would have been better served by the likes of “50 Mission Cap” or “Little Bones”, both of which were strangely absent from the set.
The encore did include “New Orleans Is Sinking”, thankfully, during which Downie proclaimed: “I’d like to thank Bruce Allen for making us famous.” He was being sarcastic, of course, as Allen and the Tragically Hip have been throwing barbs at each other for years. Hey, maybe it was Bruce Allen who was responsible for the crummy sound! The hot-tempered music mogul might have sabotaged the soundboard to get back at them for assuming the Canuck-rock throne previously held by Bryan Adams.
If that’s the case, then Allen’s vengeful act also took its toll on the show’s openers, By Divine Right, who had to endure even worse sound than the headliner. But the Thornhill, Ontario, quartet didn’t seem bothered by either that or the crowd’s indifference to its buoyant brand of feel-good pop-rock: it just reeled off catchy tunes from its latest CD, Bless This Mess, and pranced around in yellow, red, orange, and purple pyjamas.
“After the show, we’re heading up to Section 113, so come visit us,” invited singer-songwriter-guitarist José Contreras, whose casual outlook helped win me over to the promising youngsters. My wife said she liked their “spirit”, although I’m pretty sure those nifty PJs had something to do with her positive impression.
To hear the audio of my interviews with Gord Downie and Rob Baker from the Tragically Hip subscribe to my Patreon page, where you can also eavesdrop on my uncut, one-on-one conversations with:
Dave Martone, 2020
Ian Gillan of Deep Purple, 2006
Joss Stone, 2012
Glenn Tipton of Judas Priest, 2005
Jack Blades of Night Ranger, 1984
Vivian Campbell of Def Leppard, 1992
Colin James, 1995
Kim Simmonds of Savoy Brown, 1998
Tom Cochrane of Red Rider, 1983
Ed Roland of Collective Soul, 1995
Taj Mahal, 2001
Tom Wilson of Junkhouse, 1995
Mike McCready of Pearl Jam, 2003
David Lindley, 2002
Marty Friedman of Megadeth, 1991
John Hiatt, 2010
Nancy Wilson of Heart, 2006
Jeff Golub, 1989
Moe Berg of the Pursuit of Happiness, 1990
Todd Rundgren, 2006
Chad Kroeger of Nickelback, 2001
Steve Earle, 1987
Gabby Gaborno of the Cadillac Tramps, 1991
Terry Bozzio, 2003
Roger Glover, 1985
Matthew Sweet, 1995
Jim McCarty of the Yardbirds, 2003
Luther Dickinson of North Mississippi Allstars, 2001
John Rzeznik of the Goo Goo Dolls, 1995
Steve Hackett from Genesis, 1993
Grace Potter, 2008
Buddy Guy, 1993
Steve Lynch of Autograph, 1985
Don Wilson of the Ventures, 1997
Gordie Johnson of Big Sugar, 1998
Trevor Rabin of Yes, 1984
Albert Lee, 1986
Yngwie Malmsteen, 1985
Robert Cray, 1996
Tony Carey, 1984
Ian Hunter, 1988
Kate Bush, 1985
David Gilmour from Pink Floyd, 1984
Jeff Healey, 1988
Colin Linden, 1993
Kenny Wayne Shepherd, 1995
Justin Hayward of the Moody Blues, 1986
Elliot Easton from the Cars, 1996
Wayne Kramer from the MC5, 2004
Bob Rock, 1992
Nick Gilder, 1985
Klaus Meine of Scorpions, 1988
Jason Bonham, 1989
Tom Johnston of the Doobie Brothers, 1991
Joey Spampinato of NRBQ, 1985
Patterson Hood of the Drive-By Truckers, 2003
Andy Powell of Wishbone Ash, 2003
Steve Kilbey of the Church, 1990
Edgar Winter, 2005
Johnette Napolitano of Concrete Blonde, 1990
Randy Hansen, 2001
Dan McCafferty of Nazareth, 1984
Davy Knowles of Back Door Slam, 2007
Jimmy Barnes from Cold Chisel, 1986
Steve Stevens of Atomic Playboys, 1989
Billy Idol, 1984
Stuart Adamson of Big Country, 1993
Ian Anderson of Jethro Tull, 1992
Warren Haynes of Gov’t Mule, 1998
John Bell of Widespread Panic, 1992
Robben Ford, 1993
Barry Hay of Golden Earring, 1984
Jason Isbell, 2007
Joey Belladonna of Anthrax, 1991
Joe Satriani, 1990
Vernon Reid of Living Colour, 1988
Brad Delp of Boston, 1988
Zakk Wylde of Pride & Glory, 1994
John Sykes of Blue Murder, 1989
Dave Mustaine of Megadeth, 1998
Lars Ulrich of Metallica, 1985
John Doe, 1990
Shannon Hoon of Blind Melon, 1992
Myles Goodwyn of April Wine, 2001
John Mellencamp, 1999
Mike Campbell of Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers, 1999
Kenny Aronoff, 1999
…with hundreds more to come