97.7 HTZ FM will broadcast the new single “Love Is A First” tonight at midnight. Fans within range of St. Catharine’s, Ontario can listen live. For everyone else, you can check out the stream at HTZFM.com
Category Archives: 2009
Gord Sinclair joins The Trews on stage in Kingston
Ten Years Later: 1999-02-22 – Toronto, ON (Air Canada Centre)
It’s hard to believe it’s been 10 years since The Hip took the stage at the Air Canada Centre as the first* act to rock the hanger.
Here’s what Jam! Canoe had to say about the show:
The Tragically Hip strikes an inaugural chord with fans at The Hangar
By JANE STEVENSON — Toronto SunHockey, hoops and now The Hip.
The new Air Canada Centre, christened over the weekend with its first hockey and basketball games, saw its inaugural rock concert last night as Canada’s biggest band, The Tragically Hip, made a triumphant return to T.O. to play the first of two, back-to-back, sold-out shows.
Led by the always entertaining Gord Downie, the Kingston, Ont., fivesome took the stage in their typical low-key fashion before 20,000 nonetheless ecstatic fans at the swanky, $265-million sports and entertainment venue.
“Hey, guess it’s time for Something On,” said Downie, as he launched his band into the first song of the night from their latest album, Phantom Power.
But the audience, albeit immediately on their feet, didn’t really get going until Downie, equal parts vaudeville performer and English professor, introduced the follow-up song, 50 Mission Cap.
As The Hip performed their well-known anthem about Leafs legend Bill Barilko, they shone their stage lights on the fans on the floor below who roared their approval and basically went nuts.
Unfortunately, the group lost a bit of that momentum during the next two draggy numbers before cranking up the energy again with Courage, which prompted the first sing-and-clap-along of the night, and the stellar Poets featuring the fine guitar work of Bobby Baker.
The Hip’s stage was supposed to resemble an old theatre with red velvet drapes, gold tassles and an impressive chandelier — appropriate for The Phantom Of The Opera — but the blue sky backdrop was somewhat distracting in terms of that concept. Still, the backdrop came in pretty handy during the projection of trippy coloured cells during Courage.
Opening for The Hip were Toronto’s own pop-rockers, By Divine Right, whose excellent sophomore album, Bless This Mess, is in stores today.
BDR’s singer-guitarist Jose Contreras, drummer Mark Goldstein, bassist Brendan Canning and guitarist-keyboardist Leslie Feist had the right idea in terms of getting people’s attention as they straggled into the venue before The Hip went on. The quartet took the stage in brightly coloured pajamas and made it all seem appropriate.
“Hello Air Canada Centre!” yelled Contreras, who slightly recalled the Afghan Whigs’ Greg Dulli in looks, mannerisms and voice.
Reviewers, meanwhile, were put in the top rows of the venue’s platinum level, which is closest to the floor, and with both Contreras and Downie’s vocals sounding pretty muddy at times, you can bet there were some sound problems way up above in the nosebleed section.
What do you expect from a venue with a tin roof?
Still, with its wider seats, generous leg room, lower ceiling, acoustic panels and expansive hallways, the ACC is obviously trying to offer a more comfortable and enjoyable concert-going experience than Maple Leaf Gardens.
Whether it’s going to be sonically superior will take a few more concerts to figure out.
Naturally, a lot depends upon the band’s P.A. system and in the case of The Hip, they certainly try to look after their audiences.
The same can be said of The Rolling Stones who pull into the ACC on Thursday night with their No Security tour.
And if you want to hear what it sounded like, here’s the show in FLAC. Thanks to Dreyfuss aka Steve Stroud for taping and sharing.
Right click and save each linked FLAC file.
Disc 1
01. Something On
02. Fifty Mission Cap
03. Giftshop
04. Membership
05. Courage
06. Poets
07. Cordelia
08. Vapour Trails
09. Ahead By A Century
10. Lionized
11. Bobcaygeon
12. Nautical Disaster
13. Springtime In Vienna
14. Fireworks
15. Blow At High Dough
Disc 2
01. Escape Is At Hand For The Travellin’ Man
02. At The Hundredth Meridian
03. First Encore
04. Save The Planet
05. Scared
06. Fire In The Hole
07. Second Encore
08. Grace, Too
09. The Rules
10. New Orleans Is Sinking
* Some will claim that By Divine Right – the nights opening act – were the “first” but come on… people were there to see The Hip.
Ringtone: “Love Is A First”
Fans can listen to a very very short clip of “Love Is A First” on the MyTelus site by following these steps:
- Click “Tragically Hip ‘s ringtones” link on the left side of the page.
- On new page click on “Click here to get a list of Tragically Hip ‘s ringtones” link the middle of the page – opening a new window.
- Scroll down and click on “more matching ringtones >>” link.
- Find Love Is A First
And if that doesn’t work – here’s a link to the sample MP3.
Hidden Tracks: The Tragically Hip are Just That
To read the complete article, please visit NBC Philadelphia.
[snip]
When Springsteen’s “Darkness on the Edge of Town†came out, I was standing in the record store, waiting for UPS to deliver the shipment. I had to buy 3 copies — my buddies had to work, so it was my duty to get the first ones.
So when I heard that this week’s band is coming out with a new disc in April, I felt compelled to write about their previous one. The Tragically Hip should be better known then they are. And if you doubt me go out and grab “World Container.â€
From “Yer Not the Oceanâ€, the opening track to “Last Night I Dreamed You Didn’t Love Me†this Canadian quintet hits all the right notes. They find unique ways of expressing eternal ideas.
They bring a northern sense to their music. And it’s perfectly expressed in “The Lonely End of the Rinkâ€: a song about that’s about misfit love. Or hockey…I haven’t really decided which yet.
“The Kids Don’t Get It†is what rock is supposed to be; heavy guitars, and lyrics that you have to think about more than once to get the message. “In View,†“Fly†and the title track are unlike most music you have heard.
[/snip]
To read the complete article, please visit NBC Philadelphia.
“We Are The Same” Promo Pics
Promo pics for the new album:
Download in high res.
Download in high res.
Download in high res.
Download in high res.
“Working-Class Poets†(Rolling Stone) The Tragically Hip Craft an Ode to Everyman On New Album
PRESS RELEASE: “Working-Class Poets†(Rolling Stone) The Tragically Hip Craft an Ode to Everyman On New Album
The Tragically Hip have crafted a guitar-drenched ode to everyman on ‘We are the Same’, their new album out April 7 on Rounder Records.
Featuring relaxed tempos and a mix of electric and acoustic arrangements, ‘We are the Same’ reconciles melancholy, anger, and optimism amid driving guitars and unforgettable melodies, epitomizing what Rolling Stone called The Hip’s “boundless ambition in making honest rock & roll.â€
The easygoing, country-inflected opening track, “Morning Moon,†follows a man’s search for “one little thing to make you feel better†in the course of the day. The infectious “Coffee Girl†reminisces over a “beautiful and disaffected†diner waitress, while the driving, mandolin-tinged “Queen of the Furrows†professes love for a quiet but industrious farmhand.
Listen to “Morning Moon†here: http://www.myspace.com/thetragicallyhip
As with their critically-acclaimed 2007 album ‘World Container,’ ‘We Are The Same’ was produced by Bob Rock (Metallica, Aerosmith, Motley Crüe), who orchestrated the dense sonic textures that surround these tales of love, aspiration, and struggle. Hip frontman Gordon Downie told the Calgary Herald that “I’ve met a lot of mystics and oracles of the production world, but I’ve never met anyone like Bob Rock.â€
‘We Are The Same’ is the twelfth studio album from the Kingston, Ontario quintet, and plans are in the works for a spring/ summer U.S. tour.
LYRICS: Morning Moon
the reactor’s down
i guess for labour day, today
it’s the first day i ain’t seen great plume of steam from across the lake
from across the lake
hey that’s a morning moon, yeah
i’m not making strange
you said “someone’s paying”
when somethings too cheap
somebody’s paying something
you said, “someone’s paying something”
under a morning moon, yeah
say those little things that don’t make anyone feel better, yeah
it didn’t take too much to upset her
nothing that could clear a room
just say one little thing that could make me feel better
under this morning moon, yeah
the sun’s a lightbulb
and the moon is a mirror
there are times when you can see both the bulb and the mirror
see the bulb in a mirror
and that’s a morning moon, yeah
say those little things that don’t make anyone feel better, yeah
it doesn’t take too much to upset her
nothing that could clear a room
just saying one little thing, trying to make you feel better
under this morning moon, yeah
under this morning moon, yeah
trying to make you feel better
nothing too far from the truth
(morning moon, yeah)
trying to make you feel better
nothing too far from the truth
(morning moon, yeah)
trying to make you feel better
nothing too far from the truth
(morning moon, yeah)
nothing too far from the truth
FREE MOVIE: One Week
Gord Downie as the Biker (Left) and Joshua Jackson as Ben Tyler in a scene from One Week.
Fans in Ottawa, Winnipeg, Calgary, Edmonton, Vancouver, Victoria and Halifax (Toronto is “sold” out) have the opportunity to check out a free screening of the film One Week starring Joshua Jackson. Gord Downie has a cameo.
Visit http://oneweek.ca/screenings to sign up for your two free tickets.
RUMOUR: Jim Bryson to tour with The Hip as keyboardist
A new member at Hipbase just posted that Jim Bryson will be touring with The Hip as keyboardist. No word as to whether he contributed to the album.
I’ve seen Jim Bryson in concert a couple of times, and I think he’d be a good fit with Das Hips. Hopefully this rumour turns out to be true.