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On June 20th, 2000 I drove to Montreal for my 11th concert featuring The Tragically Hip. This was at the tail end of that era where The Hip could sell out any arena in the country in minutes and I was thrilled to get tickets to see them in the relatively small St. Denis Theatre.
The show was the first Canadian stop on their Music @ Work tour and featured Chris Brown and Kate Fenner from the Bourbon Tabernacle Choir on keyboards and backup vocals. The album was a continuation of the departure from their ubiquitous campus rock that began with Phantom Power and it helped usher in the departure of much of the band’s fanbase. It didn’t help that a few of the band members seemed to be resting on their laurels at the time and were far from the top of their game musically. As a result the band known for their bombastic live performances had been serving up some lukewarm shows of late.
Unfortunately this show fell firmly into that category. The novelty of the medium-sized soft-seat venue soon wore off as the band concentrated mostly on newer material that lacked the energy of their better known hits. Even when they tossed in rockers like Courage (for Hugh MacLennan) or At The Hundredth Meridian the songs felt like pockets of energy forced into an otherwise subdued show.
The addition of Brown and Fenner was confusing. Were they in the band now, having recorded on the new album or were they just side players for the tour? Very little of the The Hip’s material called for either player and at times it felt a little like trying to jam a round peg into a square hole.
There were a few numbers that approached the sublime in the comfortable theatre (Bobcaygeon comes to mind), but overall this wasn’t the type of concert that was going to keep many people coming back for more. Luckily I’m into The Tragically Hip hardcore and I continued to give them the benefit of the doubt (as they say: in sickness and in health), because just a few years later their shows (and albums*) rebounded and the band returned to their previous glory with maturity, class and much vigour.
*see World Container
Todd Man Out 