Podunkian Music Club

The Tragically Hip-Nautical Disaster-New Orleans is sinking

Perhaps one of Canada’s best live acts over the years came out of Kingston, Ontario in the late eighties. The Tragically Hip, started from the medium sized Ontario city and soon took their sound nation wide, collecting fans who are almost cult like in their adoration.

Much like the Dead heads that followed the Grateful Dead around in the seventies and eighties, Hipsters track each show with manic devotion, knowing that with the Hip the performance is the thing when it comes to showcasing what makes the band tick.

Their sessions are the thing of legend, all out offensives with each member playing a key part in crafting the sound that has come to make them unique among the Canadian music scene. From the wall of sound that comes from the stage to the trance like intensity of lead singer Gord Downie, they leave nothing behind on the stage when they make their exit.

Formed in 1983 and named after a bit in a Monkees television shop, they first began gaining attention back in 1987, they were brought to the national stage by a rather unlikely source. Allan Gregg, then the house pollster for the Conservative Party of Canada stumped for the band at every instance, plugging their work. His company to this day still acts as their managers. Their self titled recording introduced them to a nation looking for new sounds, with stories to tell and the Hip more than filled the bill.

1989 was the break out year, with the Up to Here recording, laden with gems such as Blow at High Dough, 38 years old and New Orleans is sinking (still the staple of many an album rock radio station)

Eleven more recordings would follow through the years, each one providing treasures for the faithful and something new and fresh for the uninitiated.

From Fifty Mission Cap, through Nautical Disaster, Ahead by a Century, Poets, and Bobcaygen the nineties would provide a collection of Canadian themes to act as a soundtrack for a nation.

The Hip tackle the widest swath of Canadian touchstones, from hockey to disasters, days at the lake to minstrels and poets, they reflected on historical moments and everyday events bringing Canadians a story of themselves and a wider berth on the world’s musical stage.

They continue on into this decade, with World Container the latest release offering up another 11 testimonies to Canada’s rich fabric and their unique contribution to it. Inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame, they show no signs of slowing down.

For the Music Club we select a video clip from 1993 and the Hip at the Kumbaya Festival in Toronto, the cradle of their fan base. It shows the intensity of the band and the improvisational gems that have built their audience across the land.

Artist-The Tragically Hip
Recording-Up to here