BeatRoute Magazine B.C. print e-edition - July 2016

THE TRAGICALLY HIP
an ode to the barstool bard
There is something that happens when
we’re about to lose someone we love. It
becomes a time of reflection, where we
remember how truly wonderful they really
were, and all of the momentous ways they’ve
shaped our lives. We feel luckier to have known
them — better for it. In May, The Tragically Hip
announced that their frontman, Gord Downie,
had been diagnosed with terminal brain cancer.
Accompanying this is a farewell tour and new
album, Man Machine Poem. The news of Downie’s
condition struck a devastating blow to fans
as they tried to process the heartbreaking reality
that they’d soon be forced to bid farewell to
their barstool bard. We’re still reeling. After all,
we’ve never forgotten how magnificent The Hip
is. Downie is our Dylan; his poetry references
things that only we, as fellow Canadians, can
truly resonate with. It’s because of this depth
that we’ve walked together, us and the band, for
more than 30 years. They are ours.
And they always will be. No matter what
happens, Downie has imparted gifts that we may
forever keep, from his untamed live performances
to the poignancy of his words. As the curtains
close, we begin to comprehend the bigger
Big Thief are going to steal you away with their latest emo-tinged offering, Masterpiece.
picture, perhaps in a more momentous way that
we have done so before — to understand that
between lines about lost hockey heroes, beneath
the iconic throatiness, and amid a crushing
diagnosis, there is profound wisdom that we can
take from Gord Downie.
In early days, the Hip cut their teeth playing
at campus pubs and local dives in Kingston.
Downie’s wild ramblings earned him the
nickname “the barstool bard,” and his enchanting
genius would make fans of each audience
he’d wax off to. As the years stretched on,
the band continued to tour, tirelessly, from
coast to coast. Yet, 14 JUNO Award wins and
a Canadian Music Hall of Fame Induction later,
they’ve remained accessible. Downie’s stories
are our stories, delivered to the soul, not from
a place of superiority. Humility is a virtue that
The Hip has possessed since the beginning —
when Hurricane Katrina hit, the band requested
radio stations stop playing “New Orleans Is
Sinking.” War Amps credits them with helping
to bring awareness to the organization with a
charitable concert in Winnipeg. If further case
needs to be made, it’s this — when tickets to
The Hip’s farewell tour sold out in seconds,
the band announced they would partner with
CBC to live broadcast their August 20 Kingston
concert so that everyone could have the
chance to say goodbye.
Our land and its people have frequently been
Downie’s muse and it’s that deeply-rooted
patriotism woven through The Hip’s music that
makes it feel so familiar. On “Fifty Mission Cap,”
Downie recounts the disappearance of Bill Barilko
— the Toronto Maple Leafs defenseman who
vanished days after scoring the winning goal in
the 1951 Stanley Cup finals. “At the Hundredth
Meridian” tells us where the Great Plains begin,
referring to the longitude line that separates
Western and Eastern Canada. “Wheat Kings”
references the case of a Winnipeg man wrongly
convicted of rape and murder, while “Courage”
tributes Canadian author Hugh MacLennan. As
listeners, it’s comforting to hear stories we can
relate to. They might even prompt us to crack
open the history books. More than anything,
though, it encourages Canadians to be proud of
where they come from.
It’s a good life if you don’t weaken. Seizing
the day is a recurrent theme in Downie’s lyrics
and, boy, does that song title ring true now
more than ever. Despite his terminal diagnosis,
Downie will be damned if he weakens. No — instead,
he’s hitting the road on a cross-country
tour, promising it will “blow people’s minds,”
and releasing a new album. His life, however
long or short it remains to be, will be a good
one. Reports said Downie suffered a seizure
late last year, underwent surgery to remove
part of the tumour, and then was treated with
chemotherapy. Less than two months later,
doctors deemed him well enough to return to
what he loves most — performing.
In his signature warble, he’ll tell us to “use it
up, don’t save a thing for later” and to “wreak
some havoc on the way out.”
And, amidst it all, he’ll reminds us that we
must, always, try to live fully and completely.
The Tragically Hip perform at Rogers
Arena on July 24 and 26
by Yasmine Shemesh
BIG THIEF
making connections through storytelling and emotions
came from a need to materialize
all the twists and turns in my
“Music
gut, to let them loose. We all see
things that others don’t, it’s a simple choice to
bring them out.”
Brooklyn, NY is a swelling pool of creative
inclination that has nurtured countless artists
through the years and Big Thief is the latest to
emerge. Big Thief is not the type of band to hold
back, emotionally or musically. Years of musicianship
behind each member pre-meditatively
greased the wheels for the band to lay out one
of the top releases of 2016, Masterpiece (Saddle
Creek Records). The opening track hits listeners
with precisely what the band seeks to do - connect
through the masterpiece of existence.
Lead singer Adrianne Lenker’s voice, full of
soft, petal like textures mixed with a rough overlay,
takes hold of listeners from beginning to end.
Accompanied by the experimental, improvised,
and perfected arrangements between bass
(Max Oleartchik), drums (James Krivchenia),
and guitars (Buck Meek & Adrianne Lenker), the
album has managed to pull ahead of the crowd
and make the kind of impact bands hope for but
rarely truly expect. “It’s been humbling to meet
new people at our recent shows who have developed
a relationship with the songs, and therefore
a certain relationship with us, and share these
brief moments of kinship and love,” tells Meek.
Finishing off a week supporting M Ward
16 MUSIC
in the Midwest, caught mid tour and taking a
break from the various possibilities of touring
in a van for hours (picture a sea of comforters
with blasting AC, Satie on the stereo, and a little
oregano plant named Martha), Meek explains just
what they are trying to communicate with each
track from the album: “That emotions are sexy,”
and yes they fucking are. “’Little Arrow’ is one
of my favorites because Adrianne wrote it in the
middle of the night during the recording session,
while everyone was sleeping, and recorded it
on a cheap tape player the moment she finished
writing it. We considered re-tracking it, but that
first version was so pure, like a birth, it seemed
natural to use it as opening track on our debut
album,” says Meek, a true look at the intimacy
and thought process that goes on when these
four begin recording.
For the first two years, Big Thief was a duo
made up of Meek and Lenker. Touring in a 1987
RV van with captain’s chairs and roses on the
dash, the two kept going and made it all work, always
keeping themselves open to possible future
collaborations. “We may have gone on that way
forever, but Max and James fell down our chimney
one day and we’ve been a four piece ever
since.” Who could ask for more? With the band
then complete, 2014 kicked off the riffs, tones,
and lyrical hits that have become synonymous
with what Big Thief offers. From the lyrically
packed “Masterpiece” to “Paul” and its soft coo
of vocals and chords or the simplicity that comes
with “Real Love,” the album is stacked from
A to Z capturing the attempted utilization and
manipulation of love, loss, and pain while also
attempting to let go. “Adrianne writes the bones
and heart of a song, lyrics, melody, chords, etc,
then brings it to the band, and we play it over and
over [tweaking where necessary]… we meditate
on an alchemy of intention and spontaneity
throughout the whole process.”
Giving a glimpse into the upcoming months
for Big Thief, Meek dishes on supporting Kevin
Morby for a week in June, their first headline
tour up the West Coast and back to New York
by Jamie Goyman
with support from Luke Temple, and finally a
European tour with M Ward in the fall.
So, are you hungry for Big Thief to hit you
with all the right chords yet? This one is highly
recommended, a live show that sits perfectly
balanced between just enough and a little more
never hurt anyone. It’s the not to be missed type,
where the raw energy and tenderness that make
up Big Thief comes to life before your ears/eyes.
Who knows you might just get fed, “Maybe we’ll
make waffles on stage and pass them out with
strawberries.”
Big Thief performs at the Biltmore onJuly 9
Big Thief are going to steal you away with their latest emo-tinged offering, Masterpiece.
July 2016