Four days after the interviewing the band, they arrived back in London to play the penultimate date of their tour, at the Town and Country Club. I, after having a week when taking up a career as a mass murderer looked like a great idea, arrived half an hour late, but it didn't take me long to get into what was happening, plus my mate John Roy from MCA, dropped a scotch into my hand to calm my nerves.
The Canadian flag waving down at the front of the stage and Gordon Downie standing with his hand on his heart, his grey T shirt soaked in sweat, THE TRAGICALLY HIP were in full swing. Paul Langlois taking on an almost Malcolm Young figure as he stood hammering out the chords along with Bobby Baker's lead breaks. Johnny Fay and Gord Sinclair in an adhesive rhythmic onslaught set the final backing for Gordon Downie's space cadet antics.
He hovered about with a vacant grin on his face but a perfect vocal performance. They grooved through "Boots and Hearts" and Cordelia, the heaving crowd loving every moment. Stage divers tempted fate and the bouncers, who were nearly running relays.
"Another Midnight," "New Orleans is Sinking," and "On the Verge" took us to the end of the set. Gordon treated us to his '42nd Street' cane juggling routine with the mic stand, sending the mic bouncing across the stage.
Encores came within minutes of the band's first departure. "Long Time Running," a slow gem, calmed the savage breast of all and sundry, only to be whipped back up by "Blow at High Dough" and "I'll Believe in You." Crackin'! Canada's best kept secret is a secret no more.
Peter Grant
Pix: Dave Clark
Riff Raff
January 1992
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