Reader here, back from the Family Day long weekend. I made the trip home to the farm at Conquest on Friday, and came back on Monday night, with the tunes blasting, as per usual.
My listening choice? “Yer Favourites,” the 2005 greatest hits compilation by arguably Canada’s greatest band, The Tragically Hip.
37 choice cuts from the Hip, stretching from their debut self-titled EP in 1987, through 2004’s “In Between Evolution,” all selected by the fans.
Listening to that collection got me thinking about some of the Hip moments in my life.
I only got to see the Tragically Hip live in concert once, and to this day, I don’t know why, as I had ample opportunity to see the on numerous occasions, but they were fantastic when I did make the trip to Saskatchewan Place (now SaskTel Centre) in Saskatoon.
It was federal election night in 2000, and there were “Gord Downie 4 PM” signs in the crowd, as the Hip brought their “Music @ Work” tour to Saskatoon.
There was no opening act, just 2-1/2 to 3 hours of the Hip, rocking a stage that looked like it was surrounded by a wheatfield, and it was awesome! 31 songs in total, including a two song encore.
Here’s the setlist from that night, according to setlist.fm:
My Music at Work
Grace, Too
Three Pistols
Putting Down
Gift Shop
Titanic Terrarium
Fireworks
The Completists
Inevitability of Death
Ahead by a Century
At the Hundredth Meridian
Let’s Stay Engaged
Nautical Disaster
Tiger the Lion
Wheat Kings
Opiated
Train Overnight
Thompson Girl
Blow at High Dough
Lake Fever
Daredevil
Twist My Arm
Long Time Running
Poets
Flamenco
Courage (for Hugh MacLennan)
Emperor Penguin
New Orleans is Sinking
The Wherewithal
(Encore)
Bobcaygeon
An Inch and Hour
What a setlist! And I still have the t-shirt, though it’s a little worn after many years of wear and tear!
It got me thinking about a couple other Hip memories.
One was when I was making my first trip to Toronto in 2005, to see Oasis for the first time.
I flew out of Saskatoon, and the plane made a stop in Winnipeg along the way, I believe. It was there, that Hip guitarists Rob Baker and Paul Langlois got onboard.
There was no mistaking them. Two of the more recognizable faces in Canadian music, especially Rob Bake, and that long mane of hair. I would’ve loved to say hello, but, alas, I didn’t. I figured they were no different than the rest of us, just trying to get where they were going without hassle, so I didn’t bother them. But it was still pretty cool to be sharing the same bit of sky with the Hip!
My other Hip memory involved the wedding of my friends Trevor and Melissa, who I went to that 2000 Hip show with, along with Trevor’s sister Stacey and our friend Bob.
Trevor and Melissa got married toward the end of August in 2006, just as I was wrapping up my internship in the GX94 newsroom, and I made the trip to Saskatoon for the ceremony. Stacey and I served as the MC’s for the wedding reception.
And what was the first dance for the happy bride and groom? “Wheat Kings.”
A lovely song, referencing Saskatoon, the “Paris of the Prairies,” and the David Milgaard case – not necessarily the first thing you think of when you think of romance, but the song has special meaning to them, and that’s what matters.
It’s awesome how music can instantly take you back to a specific time or place and make you think of great times and great friends!
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