The Tragically Hip Tickets

Short Biography
Recorded in 2008's year of continental excess and governmental Spending Gone Wild, The Tragically Hip's latest album, We Are the Same, brings its listeners something beyond the unexpected: actual hope.  Gord Downie's lyrics—backed by a band ripe with confidence and skill—tackle what we might assume had passed far under the bridge.  Should a first listen be given to a person recently hatched from a time capsule, or a pod sent from beyond Mars, she might believe that our essential uniting tenet, faith in humanity, still exists.  We are, indeed, the Same, and when this is recognized, a bit of that space between us all shrinks. 

We Are the Same isn't only levity and light, though. The band exposes our black eyes and our crushes, the struggle of the worker in places as far flung as New Orleans and Athabaska or as close as a Lake Ontario shore is to the shore of Chicago.  A trio of "Depression Suites" examines people trapped in menial jobs. Part of the magic, however, is that The Tragically Hip has never lost its working man's roots; from their start in the tiny clubs of Kingston and Toronto and Halifax and Vancouver to the world stage, Gordon, Paul, Rob, Gord, and Johnny continue to sweat hard, and the triumphant and often chilling trilogy is an ode to those who keep the rest of us content.
Several of the tracks address a desire for escape, possible or not, and most take a look at our sense of self worth, both as individuals and as a larger community.  We're asked, point blank: Don't our First Peoples deserve reconciliation?  The Hip is neither apologetic nor afraid to question the state of our natural environment, and our internal environments don't escape unexamined either.  The inability to undo time and the idea of reflection also appear again and again: how we reflect one another, how the moon bounces back the light of the sun onto our communal view and our communal problems, how mirrors give us more than just ourselves.
There's melancholy and anger here, driving guitar, and absolutely unforgettable melody.  The Hip, with songs like "Morning Moon" and "The Last Recluse," could even have somebody like Stephen Harper humming along in the back of the limo. The powerhouse legend Bob Rock, once more on the dials, tunes the words and music of one of our country's great enigmas and talents into something completely new and yet immediately recognizable.  This band, a dozen albums and 26 years in the making, shows us once again not only why they are but who they are, snowshoeing through new land while sowing seeds for all of us secret musicians and poets and citizens hungry for a chance.  And a change. 
They're comfortable in their own skin, but the men of The Tragically Hip are still hungry to explore.  With the same heart of the boys who penned and played "38 Years Old," the band shows us 20 years later that wisdom indeed comes with age, and that Heart doesn't change.  Finally, the album's cumulative effect is one of genuine comfort—or maybe much needed consolation.  This iconic band, at the peak of its powers, rests a warm hand on its listeners' shoulders.  Downie speaks to each of us, individually, and the effect is uncanny.  This song is for me.  This song speaks to what I'm going through.  I'm actually not alone.

Under the pillow
I can hear you whisperin' are you going through something?
Well honey are you going through something?
Are you going through something?
Then I - I - I - I   I am too
Then I - I - I - I   I am too

It's all in here, grinding stadium anthems and love songs you want to sing to your newborn baby.  The Hip isn't afraid to show a soft side, and we're all the better for it.  This release is a cry for understanding, a whisper and scream to our world, our country, or communities, and our families.  From the gorgeous and crafted first track to the bold and elegiac last, The Tragically Hip's latest gem is something prophetic, nurturing, and essential.  Every listen brings further understanding—nothing new for a band with decades of depth—but The Tragically Hip couldn't have predicted a race's dream fulfilled, a choking environment's gasp at fresh air, a world's reconsideration of a continent, without a full measure of faith and hope.  It's for these reasons this album is bread, water, love. 



—Joseph and Amanda Boyden, New Orleans, 2009

In-depth Biography
Formed in 1983 in Kingston, Ontario, the Tragically Hip came together with childhood friends Gordon Downie (vocals), Bobby Baker (guitar), Paul Langlois (guitar), Gord Sinclair (bass), and Johnny Fay (drums). The bandmembers took their name from a Michael Nesmith video entitled Elephant Parts and focused on making a name for themselves in the local scene during the mid-'80s. While performing Toronto's Horseshoe Tavern, MCA Records president Bruce Dickinson was impressed by the Hip's infectious live presence and offered them a deal. A self-titled eponymous EP appeared in 1987, but it took the band two years to get critical attention. Their proper studio debut effort, 1989's Up to Here boasted the swagger of "Blow at High Dough" and Downie's powerful songcraft was blossoming.

College charts were instantly attracted and fellow Canadians were appreciative of the Tragically Hip's insatiable appeal. Road Apples, issued in 1991, was moderately successful; however, the band's third album, Fully Completely (1993), allowed for international crossover. Singles such as "Courage" and "Wheat Kings" became mainstays in pockets of Michigan and New York; the Hip were slowly being noticed and American fans began cherishing them as much as their Canadian loyalists. They continued with a steady rise for 1995's somber storm, Day for Night, and their star power was burgeoning. Sold-out tours across Canada and Midwest America and a spot on Saturday Night Live catapulted the vibrancy of "Grace, Too" onto modern rock charts. The Tragically Hip were becoming an anthemic band among the split indie and rock crowds, practically on the verge of being an arena attraction.

Trouble at the Henhouse, their first for Atlantic, was blistering with similar passion of Day for Night, but released too closely to the previous effort. It wasn't radio-friendly enough for America, either, but the band wasn't concerned. The Hip trudged on, selling out countless dates in North America. Downie, who was also a poetic madman, composed a frenzied stage presence and the band's tight rhythm was infectious. The mix of roots rock and light country tinges was something tangible for the mid-'90s grunge reign. While touring in support of Trouble at the Henhouse, the Hip recorded their first-ever live album, Live Between Us (1997). This particular album captured an astonishing night at Detroit's Cobo Arena in 1996 and was uncut and unfearing. The band was at the top of its game, never selling out to corporate ideals. They were a stadium sensation without ever having a major hit in America. The rest of the '90s were a time of rest, but also a period when the band returned to basics of true rock & roll grit.

Phantom Power (1998), their sixth studio album and eighth overall, marked their most cohesive work to date. It was also their debut for Sire Records. The album was recorded in the band's hometown of Kingston and the songs themselves were cathartic and seductive. "Fireworks" and "Poets" were again mainstays on college radio. A showcase at Woodstock '99 proved glorious for Canadians the next summer. Music @ Work followed in summer 2000 with subsequent U.S. tours with Guster. The next year, Gordon Downie put his pen to paper for a book of poetry and a solo album, entitled Coke Machine Glow. Downie returned to the studio in 2001 to join his bandmates for another Hip record. Producer Hugh Padgham (Split Enz, XTC, Phil Collins) was also on board to tweak the Tragically Hip's ninth record, In Violet Light, issued in June 2002.

In Between Evolution, the band's most introspective work yet, followed in summer 2004. The following year saw the release of Hipeponymous, a limited-edition box set that included the two-disc greatest-hits compilation Yer Favorites and the live DVD That Night in Toronto: Pierre & Francois Lamoureux as well as a bonus DVD of all of the group's videos. Fellow Canadian and famed producer Bob Rock (Metallica, Bon Jovi, Mötley Crüe) signed on for the Hip's 11th studio LP, World Container. Intimate club shows in Toronto, Calgary, Vancouver, and Montreal were also scheduled in celebration of its release in fall 2006. We Are the Same arrived in 2009. ~ MacKenzie Wilson, Rovi