philpritchard wrote:God damn. This has been a painful and amazing couple of days.
I have never experienced anything like that. The bar I was at just grew in appreciation of The Hip and Gordie. Watching a band live from 2,500 miles away and seeing people in the bar applaud at the end of every song and then again at the start of the next was so cool. The emotion showed at the end of Grace, Too. Holy fuck. When the band members all kissed Gordie before leaving the stage. Holy fuck. Finishing with Locked In The Trunk of a Car, Gift Shop and Ahead By A Century. Perfection. That was everything and more than I ever could have imagined.
Of all the lyrics that seem so poignant in light of Gord's battle, the one song that really hit me hard tonight was Toronto #4. Holy shit... as a fan, it's everything I would want to say to the band.
philpritchard wrote:Of all the lyrics that seem so poignant in light of Gord's battle, the one song that really hit me hard tonight was Toronto #4. Holy shit... as a fan, it's everything I would want to say to the band.
Toronto #4
Did you know you were the rock plug for all of us Did you know in the conduit of Vesuvius You were far more unifying than you know I'm not a judge of suitable But you almost had it all Now you'll have to tell me when Tell me when it's imminent So you won't have to rise and fall alone Or endure the wonder of survival The wipe out loss The elation of free fall The rock bottom The sweet betrayal Alone Alone Alone Alone Alone
I tend to dig pretty deep into lyrics, and I've always loved Toronto #4, but for some reason I just never put much thought into the lyrics before tonight. It's pretty simple, but... perfect.
CBC news site says 11.7 million people watched this event. Basically 1 of every 3 Canadians.
"The CBC's broadcast and livestreaming of The Tragically Hip: A National Celebration concert reached 11.7 million people on Saturday night, according to preliminary audience figures."
This tour was amazing. I was fortunate to scope each show and watch as the band traveled the country of canada. I believe hamilton was the strongest of the shows to be honest.
I also have hundreds of Hip shows on cd and quite a few on dvd if anyone is interested in them. Shows and Demos are from the early/mid 80's to current.