The Last of the Unplucked Gems

[surfafrica]

I haven't posted much non-SUP stuff on here, but this is one that hit a chord.  Last night, I was lucky enough to see The Tragically Hip.  For those who don't know the story, this is a band that is ingrained in Canadian culture like no other.  Over their 30 year career, they have won over everyone from jocks to poets, students to parents, blue collar workers to executives--pretty much all walks of life. Their singer, Gord Downie, was diagnosed with an aggressive terminal brain cancer in December.  This summer, they have embarked on a farewell tour across Canada.  Everyone in attendance knew they were heading into an emotional show.  A few years ago, I lost a friend to brain cancer so being apart of this show with his memory along for the ride added to it all. The show was heavy and light at the same time.  It was in a stadium but felt like a small venue. It was something special.

Capturing a moment on video is tough, but trust me when I say, in this clip (not mine), the band hit full flight and the crowd was completely swept up in the emotion of it all. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G8jWTACQHuc


If I die of vanity, promise me, promise me,
They bury me some place I don't want to be,
You'll dig me up and transport me, unceremoniously,
Away from the swollen city-breeze, garbage bag trees,
Whispers of disease and the acts of enormity
And lower me slowly, sadly and properly
Get Ry Cooder to sing my eulogy.

Gord ended the show with "we'll see you soon".

[Jradtke]

Hey, I was just cruzing the forum and saw the subject line "The Last of the Unplucked Gems" and said that's the Tragically Hip.  They are may all-time favorite band.  The best live performances, great stories, and they're Canadian. I was checking tour dates about a month ago and saw the diagnosis and immediately felt sick.  That guy is so @#$%^ cool.  If anyone has never seen or heard theses guys check their tour dates or at least look them up on youtube.     

[Weasels wake]

Sort of related, but at the same time knowing the talent of Tragically Hip, always great.

I was lucky enough to see the last night of the tour of the Hollywood Vampires in Paso Robles, Ca. last Monday night, we were blown away, they were fabulous!!!
They called it the "Raise the Dead" tour.  Most all their songs were from dead people, as Alice put it, "we sucked their blood so we can keep their music alive".
A list, that I could remember but there were more, Jim Morrison, Jimi Hendrix, Randy California, David Bowie, John Lennon, Keith Moon, Harry Nielson, John Bonham, Alice Cooper ("because people think I've been dead for a long time", 18, School's out for summer), Joe Perry ("because people thought he died a couple of weeks ago", Sweet Emotion), Lemmy from Motorhead.   Also some originals about their birth place as a band "The Rainbow Room" in L.A.
About 2 1/2 hours, 21 songs, including an encore, their music was dead on, and Alice's singing and humor was awesome, still got it. 
I had forgotten what a great harmonica player Alice is, on "Whole lotta Love", Alice played the guitar solo on the harmonica, even though Joe Perry could have done it easily, but Joe did give a little bow to Alice at the end of the solo, seriously cool.
Most all the songs were stretched out with solos of various kinds, Johnny Depp actually did some pretty good guitar solos, but he's no Joe Perry, he almost never sang, mostly backup vocals.
No telling if they will tour again, they don't seem to take themselves very seriously, one reason why I really liked it.

[surfafrica]

Hey, I was just cruzing the forum and saw the subject line "The Last of the Unplucked Gems" and said that's the Tragically Hip.  They are may all-time favorite band.  The best live performances, great stories, and they're Canadian. I was checking tour dates about a month ago and saw the diagnosis and immediately felt sick.  That guy is so @#$%^ cool.  If anyone has never seen or heard theses guys check their tour dates or at least look them up on youtube.     

Their final show is being broadcast globally on CBC tomorrow (Aug 20 @ 8:30pm EST).

http://www.cbcmusic.ca/posts/12179/how-to-watch-tragically-hip-concert-cbc-aug-20

[surfafrica]

Yesterday Gord Downie passed away after a 2-year battle with an aggressive brain cancer. If you've heard Canadians talk about Gord Downie and the Tragically Hip, you might have wondered what all the fuss was about. Here's what the New York Times had say:

The place of honor that Mr. Downie occupies in Canada's national imagination has no parallel in the United States. Imagine Bruce Springsteen, Bob Dylan and Michael Stipe combined into one sensitive, oblique poet-philosopher, and you're getting close.

Here's a clip of the band after they had asserted themselves as the top band in the country in the mid-90s. They kept producing music right through to 2016 and released their final album after Gord Downie's terminal diagnosis. Over half the country tuned in for their final show which was broadcast coast to coast on the national TV station. He meant a lot to us.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ovf9THhbaHg

[Admin]

That is another tough one.  The Hip played the Metro in Chicago for Up to Here and I was blown off my feet.  I had only heard a few tracks on the radio but I lived 2 blocks away so we went.  Gord was a sweaty mess by the second song.  I have never seen any performer put more into a show.  Amazing that he (they) were able to keep that fire for so many years.  Way more than a great Canadian band.  This is a big loss.

[eastbound]

12 dreams of dr sardonicus---one of the best rock albums of all time

[surfafrica]

That is another tough one.  The Hip played the Metro in Chicago for Up to Here and I was blown off my feet.  I had only heard a few tracks on the radio but I lived 2 blocks away so we went.  Gord was a sweaty mess by the second song.  I have never seen any performer put more into a show.  Amazing that he (they) were able to keep that fire for so many years.  Way more than a great Canadian band.  This is a big loss.

Wow! That's cool Admin.  Early days.  They did seem to win over US cities over in that area (Chicago, Detroit).  Maybe all of the original hockey towns!

If there's a goal that everyone remembers,
It was back in ol' 72
We all squeezed the stick and we all pulled the trigger
And all I remember is sitting beside you

You said you didn't give a fuck about hockey
And I never saw someone say that before
You held my hand and we walked home the long way
You were loosening my grip on Bobby Orr

[Admin]

Hah!   As a Boston kid I had the standard issue Orr T-shirt.   Let mom wash it occasionally but otherwise it was on.  But...Bill Barilko dissappeared... you know the rest. 

[surfafrica]

A great live highlight mix from 1992-2016.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dRwl2Wf9c28

Fully Completely - 0:20
Fifty Mission Cap - 1:32
Cordelia - 3:05
The Last of the Unplucked Gems - 4:24
Blow at High Dough - 5:15
Locked in the Trunk of a Car - 7:29
Nautical Disaster - 8:52
Ahead by a Century - 11:45
Bobcaygen - 14:38
At the Hundredth Meridian - 16:46
Grace, Too - 17:51
(See you again one day) - 23:30

[blackeye]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o6QDjDPRF5c

and a bit of a rarity...

https://www.pinkbike.com/video/125904/

Searching for my favourite mix tape, all I get is... Ol' Cat Power and classic Beck

[surfafrica]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IHSOvoW8Oqg