Have had this book for a few months now and finally got around to reading it. It is the Gord Downie of the Tragically Hip coffee table book (190 pages) written by Steve Newton, and published by Sterling Publishing out of New York. This book is an indie release and not authorized by Gord Downie or the Tragically Hip.
The writer of this book Steve Newton is a writer out of Vancouver who writes for the weekly entertainment paper there called Georgia Straight. He's been with the paper since 1982 and first interviewed Gord in 1989. If you are a fan of The Hip you really won't learn anything you don't already know about the band, but it is a good read. The book consists of clips of interviews he has done with Gord and the other members of the band.
There are a lot of great pictures in the book from their earliest days of playing bars in there hometown of Kingston, Ontario and right up to their last gig in Kingston August 20th 2016. Also in the book are pictures of memorabilia like backstage passes, ticket stubs and gig posters.
I was contacted by the senior photography editor Stacey Stambaugh to contribute some pictures of my Tragically Hip memorabilia for the book. Much to my surprise they actually used four of my posters for the book. In return I got a free copy of the book.
This is a must have for any Hip fan. In the back of the book is a list of every show they have played in their career and list of all the albums The Hip and Gord Downie have released.
The book is available at Chapters/Indigo bookstores and am sure many other book stores as well. Check it out, I am sure you will enjoy it.
Picture taken by me July 30th 2016 in Edmonton at Rexall Place.
What a tough day of work to get through today. I heard the news of the passing of the Tragically Hip's lead singer Gord Downie at the age of 53 on CKUA Radio just as I got to work at 6:45 this morning. While we all knew this day was coming after Gordie announced last May that he had terminal brain cancer, it still didn't make it easy. This was especially hard, I thought Tom Petty and Stompin' Tom were tough deaths to deal with, this one hit me real hard. Though I had never spoke or met the man, it always felt like I knew him like a friend. So when I got home tonight from work it was time to put on a Hip album and let the tears flow, and flow they did and still do as I type this.
I've been following Gord Downie and The Tragically Hip since their first full album release that came out in 1989. I loved all of The Hip albums and Gord's solo albums, but it was always the live performances that really made them so incredible. Not only was Gord an amazing lyricist and poet, but he was also one of the best frontmen of a rock group ever. It was always thrill to see him perform live, his improvising of lyrics in songs, in between song banter and of course his dancing and such on stage. Gord Downie was Canada's Bruce Springsteen, Tom Petty, Tom Waits, Jim Morrison and Bob Dylan all wrapped up in one fabulous human being. Not only was a great front man but he was also a humanitarian.
There isn't another person, whether it being a Prime Minister, actor or athlete that could bring a Nation together like Gord and The Hip could. Last year when The Hip did one last tour (Man Machine Poem Tour) from Vancouver and culminating with the show in their hometown of Kingston, Ontario that was televised live on national TV where over 11 million people in Canada watched that concert. That is absolutely amazing that that many people in a country stopped to watch a live performance. That night has been called the night Canada came to a stand still. Well today I am sure is a day that will go down as the day where the most tears were shed in unison.
I have had many a good times listening to The Hip in all kinds of places, shapes, situations, live shows and sharing the experience with different friends and strangers. if there was anything we could all agree on, it was that The Tragically Hip were a real special band fronted by an even more special man. I was fortunate enough to see the Tragically Hip and Gord 19 times in concert. Seen them with lots of friends and in a lot of different towns, cities and venues. Some of the best times of my life revolved around a Hip concert. A Hip show was always an event and one where you would count down the days til you got to see the Tragically Hip play again. Man, am I ever going to miss that. Thankfully Gord left behind a very nice catalog of music that will live on and be played forever. Thank you Gord for soldiering on even through sickness, to tour one last time and still have the courage to put together new music, having released his solo album "Secret Path" in October of last year and a new one called "Introduce Yerself" that will be released on October 27th.
Mr. Downie you are going to be missed. There will never be another like you. Rest In Peace Gord Downie.
All the times I have seen Gord Downie and the Tragically Hip.
* July 26th 1991 in Edmonton at the Edmonton Convention Centre
* November 28th 1992 in Edmonton at the Agricom
* August 1st 1993 in Edmonton at Clarke Stadium as part of the Another Roadside Attraction Festival
* February 21st 1995 in Edmonton at Northlands Coliseum
* July 15th 1995 in High River, AB as part of the Another Roadside Attraction Festival
* November 12th 1995 in Edmonton at Edmonton Coliseum
* July 19th 1997 in Camrose, AB as part of the Another Roadside Attraction Festival
* March 6th 1999 in Red Deer, AB at the Centrium
* September 21st 2002 in Vernon, B.C. at the Vernon Multiplex
* January 14th 2007 in Edmonton at Rexall Place
* January 16th 2007 in Red Deer, AB at the Enmax Centrium
* July 26th 2008 in Pemberton, B.C. as part of the Pemberton Music Festival
* July 14th 2011 in Edmonton on th Northlands Grounds
* January 23rd 2013 in Edmonton at Rexall Place
* July 27th 2014 Gord Downie & The Sadies in Edmonton as part of the Interstellar Music Festival
* February 12th 2015 in Edmnoton at Rexall Place
* July 28th 2016 in Edmonton at Rexall Place
* July 30th 2016 in Edmonton at Rexall Place
* August 20th 2016 in Kingston, Ontario at Rogers K-Rock Centre
In the words of Gord Downie "Heaven Is A Better Place Today".
Picture taken by me at the final Hip show August 20th 2016 in Kingston, Ontario.
Picture taken by myself on July 27th 2014 when Gord Downie & The Sadies played the Interstellar Rodeo in Edmonton.
Again Janis, Erin and I got there early so that we could catch the first band. First band of the day was locals Jeff Stuart & The Hearts. This was the second time I have seen them play live. While they were alright, I didn't think they were anything special, and from the response from the crowd, neither did anyone else. Next to no one on the dance floor for them.
Next up was a band from Brooklyn, New York called The Lone Bellow. I had never heard of the band before, but wow, they sure won the crowd over with their performance. Lead singer Zach Williams has an awesome voice and the harmonies between mandolin player Kanere Pipkin and the other guitar player Brian Elmquist were bang on. Surprise band of the weekend for me.
Some footage I took at the show of The Lone Bellow.
One of the bands I was really looking forward to was The Hold Steady, another band from Brooklyn, New York. This was my second time seeing them live. The Hold Steady are on the road promoting their latest release "Teeth Dreams" which is a vast improvement from their last album "Heaven Is Whenever". I found the band to have a heavier sound this time around without keyboard player Franz Nicolay. The second guitarist Steve Selvidge added to the sound in a great way. Lead singer Craig Finn was his usual self, weird and entertaining, and his voice sounding good. Their hour long set was excellent.
The Bahamas were the next band. They are a Canadian band from Toronto led by Alfie Jurvanen. I really knew nothing about this band, and can honestly say, I probably won't again. They were alright, but not my thing. I went for a few beers during their set.
Next up was a piano player from London, England by the name of Henri Herbert. His claim to fame is a clip of his getting seven million hits on you tube, click here to see the clip. His boogie woogie piano playing was pretty damn good actually. I guess he also plays in a band called the Jim Jones Revue.
After Henri it was a seven piece soul band from Birmingham, Alabama called St. Paul and The Broken Bones. These guys were a kick ass soul band. My only problem was that I was aching for some rock n' roll. I enjoyed their set, as did the rest of the audience, but I am sure I could have enjoyed them a whole lot more if I had been the right mood for soul music, and I just wasn't at this time. Good band nonetheless.
Finally up was the artist that made me really want tickets to this festival. Jason Isbell from Alabama who used to play in the Drive-By Truckers between 2001-2007. His latest album called Southeastern was one of my favorite albums of 2013, so I was super excited about seeing him in concert. The show started a little shaky with technical difficulties causing issues. Once they got that all settled it was an unbelievable hour long set by Jason Isbell and his back-up band the 400 Unit. Jason is one of the best song writers out there these days. A great set by a great artist and band. Hope to see him again soon.
Flying Over Water
Stockholm
Different Days
Live Oak
Alabama Pines
Outfit (Drive-By Truckers song)
Decoration Day (Drive-By Truckers song)
Elephant
Super 8
Gord was his usual quirky self, fighting with his microphone stand and just being his weird self. And The Sadies, well they just rocked the shit out of the music, verging on almost punk rock at times. I think the crowd was taken a back by the performance, maybe the crowd was thinking they would hear some Hip songs, which of course wasn't going to happen. It seemed the crowd thinned out quite a bit, but part of that could be because it was a Sunday night and people had to work the following day. But I am thinking more on the performance. I loved it, I thought it was amazing, they played basically the whole album. The Sadies are an a amazing band and showed it yet once again in their live show.
