Actually Never

This only came out last year, but it still feels like something I should have seen by now. Which I now have. You know what I mean.

What I know

I’m Canadian and of a certain age, so quite a bit. Bought all the albums. Seen them in concert:

1. November 18, 1996: This was their first show in Saskatchewan in a long time. The rumour was that the band got busted for pot here on an earlier tour so they were avoiding us. No idea if that’s true. People avoid coming to Saskatchewan for all sorts of reasons. Anyway, there was lots of pent-up demand for the Hip, is my point. The Rheostatics opened and people were ready to tear them limb from limb for not being the Hip.
2. July 21, 1997: The Hip headlined Another Roadside Attraction, playing with Sheryl Crow, Ashley MacIsaac, Wilco, Los Lobos, and more. Jeff Tweedy finished Wilco’s set with a grumpy “Thanks for listening, I guess.” That about sums up what it’s like to be in a band that’s not the Hip playing at a Hip show.
3. February 27, 1999: I had less disposable income at this point and had to be pickier about what I went to, so I wasn’t planning on going to this – then my mom won tickets at work.

Two things stand out to me here:

1. Despite having written concert reviews for nearly 30 years, it’s no wonder why I’ve never amassed any sort of audience or made a cent off it. I said nothing about the actual concerts in any of those little anecdotes. And the anecdotes themselves weren’t interesting. (For the record, the concerts were all good.)
2. 1999 is a long time ago.

The Hip came back regularly but for various reasons, I passed on going to see them again. Sometimes I was making wise financial choices. Rare, but it happens. And some of their later albums, to be honest, I just wasn’t as into them.

And then we all got word of Gord Downie’s diagnosis, and the final tour. Concert #4 for me was August 1, 2016 in Calgary. I’m the only person I know who got a ticket for any show on that tour without having to go through a scalper. Nobody in the crowd was a jerk. Everyone stood for the whole show. I’m not a good enough judge of musicianship to know if it was the best concert I’ve ever been to, but then it’s not really about that, is it? It was the most emotional one for sure.

Over 11 million Canadians watched the televised final Tragically Hip concert. I’m pretty sure 2 of my 3 readers did. The one I live with, I know she did.

None of this directly addresses what I specifically know about No Dress Rehearsal but what would I say about that? 4-part documentary about the Tragically Hip. Done.

Actually, that one sentence might be better than all of the above.

What I know

This was really good. 4 hours flew by. Very sad at times, especially towards the end, of course.

Lots of celebrity interviews, including the then-sitting Prime Minister. I’m pretty sure Jay Baruchel was super high. Not a complaint.

The amount of archival footage they had was amazing – not just concerts and TV appearances but rehearsals, just casual hanging out. I wouldn’t have expected them to have half as much.

We don’t know what’s to come, but at least as of right now, the Junos performance with Feist was a really good spot to end on. The documentary would have felt lacking if it had come out before that.

Highly recommended if you’re a fan of The Hip, or if you’re an American wondering what the big deal is.