Category Archives: 2008

CANOE.CA: The Sadies team with Gord Downie

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The Sadies team with Gord Downie

By FISH GRIWKOWSKY – Sun Media

Given the Sadies secret status as one of the worlds wickedest bands – country, rock or otherwise – it was vaguely surprising to find them unscheduled on the mainstage at Folk Fest double-oh-eight.

But shucks – its just as easy not to complain right?, given their time among us has been subsequently partitioned throughout the weekend – including a gratifying whopper Canadiana session tonight at 7:30 p.m. on Stage 1, the eastern border of New Folkland.

The brothers Travis and Dallas Good call from between Canmore and Calgary, intending fully to have pulled up into town last night to sample our party culture once again. Their persistent friendliness has them in some spectacular collaborations coming up, but just read on …

SUN MEDIA: “New Seasons was one of my favourites last year. Can you tell me a little about what Gary Jayhawks Louris brought into the studio? Dudes a pro playa, obviously.”

TRAVIS GOOD: “He helped from the ground up. He helped with the writing, the arranging. Vocally, he really pushed us. He thinks of things Ive never really thought of when I sing. And he was there, looking over our shoulder, reading what we were writing.”

SUN MEDIA: “What would he suggest with your singing?”

TRAVIS: “Oh, to do another take. Laughs hard. In the earlier records, we would do a couple takes and Id say, Well, thats what I sound like. If its squawky, thats my voice. But hed get us to do it 10 times, a bit of a slave-driver, that man. For me the vocals are the hardest thing, so its the first thing I want to abandon … get right to the guitar as quick as I can.”

SUN MEDIA: “Eat your vegetables so you can have dessert.”

TRAVIS: “Yeah, exactly.”

SUN MEDIA: “You guys are obsessive collaborators – is there anything you can let out of the bag coming up youre working on?”

TRAVIS: “Oh, for sure We just did a thing with Garth Hudson and Mary Margaret OHara, a Band tribute record Garths throwing together. All Canadians, hes producing and playing on it. We just finished a country record with John Doe. And weve been chipping away recording with Gord Downie. Like with Gary Louris, weve been talking about how, Wouldnt it be nice if we did something one day? We’ve been in the studio and done some work since. We did a couple songs thatll be on a compilation for the Waterkeeper Foundation.”

SUN MEDIA: “Part of making music together is friendship – you looking forward to hanging out with some musicians at the Folk Fest, onstage, backstage?”

TRAVIS: “Sexsmith should be pretty easy. Weve talked about doing stuff with him, too. So you never know. Laughs. We met Robyn Hitchcock at one of those and it went really good, we ended up recording with him. Same with Jim White. It can go either way, really good or really bad.”

SUN MEDIA: “As long as everyones joining in, its great.”

TRAVIS: “Yeah, I dont like the circle, going around, staring at the sun while a persons doing a solo thing. Not my bag. Hey, you want to talk to Dallas a bit?

SUN MEDIA: “If I have to. Just kidding – yeah. Extended phone rumbling. Dallas, whats the new album looking like?”

DALLAS: “Weve got a bunch of songs weve been working on with Gary, but I dont think well get a chance to revisit them until December. But considering the album that were working on with Gord is going to be original and with an equal amount of input, we dont want to sell anything short there.

“Even though we have three records on the go right now, not including our own or the stuff we did with Neko Case on her upcoming album, I still like to think of everything one project at a time. Last month in particular I was working on four separate projects simultaneously. Ive felt a little overwhelmed lately, because I do all the mixing, too. But Im a bully with that. But whatever. Dont cry for me, Im already dead. I dug my own grave and someday Ill gladly get to lie in it.”

The Sadies play tonight; tomorrow 1 p.m. on Stage 1 and 5 p.m. on Stage 2; finally, 11 a.m. Sunday on Stage 6.

ottawasun.com – Music – Hip works on another Rock album

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ottawasun.com – Music – Hip works on another Rock album

The Tragically Hip thought it went so nice they’d try it twice.

According to a video clip released yesterday on the bands website, the group is working on a new studio album with producer Bob Rock. Rock also produced 2006s World Container, the bands previous studio effort.

The band will continue working on the as-yet untitled album at Rocks home studio in Maui, following its appearance at the inaugural Pemberton Festival in B.C. on Saturday.

“I think after doing World Container we were pretty happy with the results, and it seemed like we just got to know each other as the album was ending,” Rock says in the clip. “We kind of figured out what everybody did and stuff. Really it was done three or four songs at a time. We just knew that we had to kind of try to at least raise the bar a bit. We knew we had to come up with something different.”

“Its going really well. Bobs been here three times since about April, weve worked out the songs and whittled them down,” lead singer Gord Downie says. “Were at about 14 right now and I think thats what well continue with.”

The band worked on the album at its Bathouse Studio near Kingston following touring in support of World Container last year. According to bassist Gord Sinclair, they hope to have the record completed by the end of August.

REVIEW: The Province on Pemberton

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The Province

The Hip are the highlight

Sure, Coldplay is playing at Pemberton. But the festival’s peak for many was Saturday night’s set by the Tragically Hip.

The beloved act has played its share of mega shows and really knows how to take the energy to the next level from the opening notes.

Much of this appeal comes from the fact that the Kingston band provided the soundtrack to so many Canucks’ first kisses, drunks, road trips and grad weekends. And the rest can be credited to the bizarre, yet effective, antics of lead singer Gord Downie.

He was in awesome form; executing some leaps that came straight out of the Simpsons, traversing the stage like the chief of staff at the Ministry of Silly Walks and so forth. All the while with that distinct voice laying down those stream-of-consciousness lyrics.

The audience was by far the largest for any band so far — even the Bacardi B-Live tent had probably emptied. Because everyone just had to be there to sing along to “Courage,” “Music at Work” and many more.

It was a sweaty, hit-laden concert by the band that everyone at Pemberton had come to see; even if they didn’t know it at the time.

Live Nation’s Shane Bourbonnais had said he felt that the Hip had to be at the Pemberton Festival. It surely seemed to be a match made in music.

Perhaps the band should come next year and do one of its albums from beginning to end. Such gigs are the rage at major festivals everywhere now. Fans who bought early-bird tickets could vote on which album it would be.

Honestly, the only losers in this was Vancouver’s Black Mountain, which had to start when the Hip was chugging full steam on “Poets.”

REVIEW: Vancouver Sun on Pemberton Festival

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From The Vancouver Sun.

There are few things more quintessentially Canadian than the cryptic rock sounds of the Tragically Hip mixed with the smell of sweat and beer in the air, and a remote outdoor setting.

By the time the Canadian rock icons took to the main stage Saturday around 6 p.m., it looked as though nearly all of the 40,000 people on the festival grounds had crawled out of their tents, shaken off the effects of the night before and were ready to get back at it. The Hip may well have attracted the biggest crowd so far at this event.

Frontman Gord Downie was drenched in sweat by the third tune, as the sun re-emerged from behind the clouds and people stripped off their jackets and sweatshirts.The Kingston boys were clearly out to make the most of their 60 minutes on stage, playing a series of crowd favourites from their older albums, with a minimal selection from the newer World Container.

Among the crowd-pleasers were Grace Too, Ahead by a Century, and the rousing Hip classic, Courage — which had people crowd surfing and fist-pumping with frenzied energy.

Downie was up to his usual theatrics, acting like a monkey and putting a white handkerchief over his eyes as he pretended to drive blind (please don’t ask me what that’s all about).

Even if it was confounding, it was intriguing to watch and a joy to listen to.

There’s no denying the Hip’s songs have become a staple soundtrack for Canadian summer nights spent in the great outdoors. Even if you’ve never been a fan, chances are someone in the next cabin or campground has been blaring the Hip’s guitar rock late into the night.
© Vancouver Sun

SETLIST: 2008-07-03 – Ottawa, ON (Bluesfest)

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As headliners of Bluesfest at LeBreton Flats

01: In View
02: My Music At Work
03: Grace, Too
04: The Lonely End Of The Rink
05: It’s A Good Life If You Don’t Weaken
06: Ahead By A Century
07: Gift Shop
08: Courage
09: Wheat Kings
10: Poets
11: Springtime In Vienna
12: Bobcaygeon
13: Fireworks
14: Fully Completely
15: Family Band
16: New Orleans Is Sinking

Encore
17: Yer Not The Ocean (with Bob Rock on guitar)
18: COVER: Queen Bitch by David Bowie (with Bob Rock on guitar)

SETLIST: 2008-06-30 – Charlottetown, PEI (Festival Of Lights)

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As headliners of the Festival Of Lights

01: Yer Not The Ocean
02: Courage
03: Grace, Too
04: The Drop Off
05: It’s A Good Life If You Don’t Weaken
06: Ahead By A Century
07: In View
08: Gift Shop*
09: My Music At Work
10: World Container
11: Fiddler’s Green
12: Poets
13: Springtime In Vienna
14: Bobcaygeon
15: Fireworks
16: Fully Completely
17: Family Band
18: New Orleans Is Sinking

Encore
19: The Lonely End Of The Rink
20: Wheat Kings
21: Blow At High Dough*

* Changed from the original setlist

Calgary V-Fest wraps up

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From Canoe.ca

Organizers and fans praise the prowess of Canadian bands as our nation’s greatest entertained 18,000 fans

By LISA WILTON

Gord Downie, lead singer of the Tragically Hip, showed why they\'re still Canada\'s biggest band. (STUART DRYDEN/SUN MEDIA)There were a few more clouds in the sky and the temperature was cooler, but the second day of Virgin Fest still attracted 18,000 local music fans to Fort Calgary yesterday.

Calgary’s inaugural Virgin Music Festival wrapped up with the cream of Canada’s music crop making up the bill.

“The music depth here is so rich and so diverse, it’s wonderful” said Virgin chief marketing officer Nathan Rosenberg about the line up.

“Canadian bands can really hold their own against the best of Britain and U.S.”

Though the festival ran smoothly for the most part, there were a few issues.

Festival-goers complained about the lack of toilets and the long lineups to get into the beer gardens.

“There are lots of toilets, but people miss some of them,” countered Virgin Festivals director Andrew Bridge.

“But that is something we will have make people better aware of next year.”

Bridge said Fort Calgary’s hilly, riverside location posed some logistical dilemmas, but felt they had done a good job of addressing the problems.

High beer and food prices were another bone of contention with some music fans.

“I think $7 for a hi-ball or beer is kind of excessive,” said 22-year-old Michael Rodgers. “What can I do? It’s a festival.”

But Rosenberg said that food prices were on par with how much it costs for take out and Bridge noted that the beer gardens were always packed with people.

There were very few medical or police emergencies during the weekend. Heat stroke hit a number of people on Saturday, but Rosenberg said festival staff made sure people were keeping hydrated.

“There were a handful of people thrown out for being drunk and disorderly,” said Bridge.

“But I think the number was something like 15. A really small percentage.”

While there was more of a buzz around the site for Saturday’s headliners The Flaming Lips and Stone Temple Pilots, the hype was still strong for a number of yesterday’s acts, including The New Pornographers and The Tragically Hip.

Thirty-five-year-old Melissa Halaska brought her daughter Arianna to the festival. It was the 12-year-old’s first concert and she was thrilled to be able to see some of her favourite bands.

“She’s here to see The Spades, 10 Second Epic and City & Colour,” Halaska explained.

“I’m here to see Matthew Good.”

Halaska said the $150 she spent on the day passes for her and her daughter was well worth it.

“Definitely. It’s been pretty good so far so I think it’s a great deal.”

Local bands The Summerlad and Chixdiggit were the first acts of the day.

Chixdiggit nabbed the main Virgin Mobile Stage and while there wasn’t a large crowd that early in the afternoon, they made sure each and every person was singing along to their catchy pop-punk.

Smart-aleck singer KJ Jansen called-out those who didn’t comply and accused those who were sitting on picnic blankets of being from Edmonton.

The Constantines took the stage next and treated the audience to a surprise appearance by Hip frontman Gord Downie during their final song, Do What You Can, from their latest release, Kensington Heights.

Montreal’s Stars snappy pop music was lot on many of the rock fans in the crowd. But those who ‘got it’ couldn’t help but fall in love with Amy Milian’s sugary sweet vocals and Torquil Campbell’s Morrissey-esque belting.

City & Colour fit in perfectly with yesterday afternoon’s laid-back vibe, but was dull as dishwasher. Singer and songwriter Dallas Green has an incredible voice but his stage presence is about as exciting as a civic election.

By the time Matthew Good hit the stage last night, the entire crowd was on its feet for the first time that day.

Those who had taken in both days of the festival for were no doubt tired by the time The Tragically Hip hit the stage last night. But the Hip faithful danced, yelled and sang at the top of their lungs as the band kicked off their set with Yer Not the Ocean from their latest release, 2006’s World Container.

The Tragically Hip were sleek, professional and maybe a little predictable. But they showed exactly why they are still this country’s biggest band.

If Calgary music fans were thrilled with this weekend’s V-Fest, festival organizers were just as ecstatic and were already considering bringing the festival back to the city next year.

“We always say that if we can get the talent and we can get the venue and get all the pieces working together we’ll do it,” Bridge said. “We’re not going to put on a sub-standard festival. We want to make sure we can give festival-goers the best experience they deserve.”

V Fest Calgary…or How Gord Downie Taught A City To Move

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From MuchMusic.Com

One thing’s for sure: Calgary’s festival organizers know how to pick headliners who are true performers. This Gord Downie character sure knows how to work a stage.

But first, let’s backtrack a second. I’m no Tragically Hip connoisseur by any means; I know Poets is the video with the cats and Ahead By A Century is that one that Much played a lot the year it came out (yes children, there was a time when we played videos by The Hip). Alas, there are few other Hip songs I can name or recite – but that doesn’t mean I can’t enjoy the legendary Canadian band when they’re mere feet in front of me. Aaaaaaand I did.

Sometimes a performer is a PERFORM-AIRE. Sometimes they just give it to you in all facets of stage prowess. And sometimes Gord Downie comes along and chews on a kleenex and acts like a primate right in front of your face. No, seriously – he played monkey for a short while. And he twirled and jumped and kicked his mic stand; he posed and skulked and jammed and saaaaaaang. When you’ve got a camera in your hand, this kind of stage presence is gold. I was laughing and snapping away, grinning ear to ear.

Alas, I cannot tell you their set list, on account of the aforementioned lack of Hip knowledge – but if you were there, leave a comment relaying what you remember, and I’ll share it with the peoples. Alls I knows is that the open venue was more packed than I had seen it all weekend; all eyes and ears were glued to a band that truly knows how to put on a show. And Gord is a maniac (in the best possible way)!