How to endure winter: attend a gig, rinse, repeat.
I didn’t go out of my way to make New Year’s Resolutions, although I did promise myself to write more. And since the only way I can get my dear West Coast friend S’s voice out of my head reminding me “Yeah, get on that! I’m tired of going to your blog and seeing that picture of Kathleen Edwards,” here I am on January 16, excitedly chatting about a few gigs I’ll seeing soon. Thanks for your patience.
February 1st: this is going to be Tragically Hip Gig #4 for me. The first time was my favourite time: Saint John’s Harbour Station, opening band The Joel Plaskett Emergency before I really appreciated them. I had spent weeks preparing with my one-time radio co-workers (still great friends) by playing Phantom Power and Live Between Us ad nauseum in our office. Husband and I had floor seats and my most cherished memory was watching him sing along to “Grace, Too”. It was a magical time.
I missed them on their following tour through New Brunswick, having given up complimentary music promoter tickets on account of having an actual baby earlier that day. We saw them four years later in Saint John, promoting In Between Evolution, if memory serves, and again when they returned for the first time since the first Bush Administration (maybe? I’m too tired to fact check) to Fredericton’s Aitken Centre on the World Container tour (my least favourite of the three, but only because security didn’t do squat about the throngs who didn’t pay for floor seats rushing the stage. Ugh.)
So here I am with a ticket to their upcoming show at the Casino in Moncton and a copy of their new album Now For Plan A (fave tracks: “Man Machine Poem” and “At Transformation”). I would feel somewhat “been there, done that, why am I enduring those tired Up To Here songs live again with all those other boneheads who haven’t listened to a Hip album since Road Apples?”, except that I am going with a co-worker (and good friend) who has missed every opportunity to see them live and is incredibly thrilled to finally see them. And really, what could be more fun than watching a friend totally losing her mind over seeing the Gord?
Plus, I am hoping another girlfriend/college peep/working mama comes with us to make this a little Thelma and Louise minus the death and all that. Plus plus (?), the Hip are so intrinsically Canadian: it’s our patriotic duty to see them whenever we can. Lord, they wrote a song called “Goodnight Attawapiskat” on their latest album. It doesn’t get more Canadian than that.
Then a month after that, I’ll be taking in the live stylings of one Serena Ryder at the Fredericton Playhouse.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VedZwEYw7cI]
Serena isn’t yet on my list of Strong Women I Love Who Sing and Write About Getting Screwed Over and Having Their Hearts Run Over With The Lawnmower, but Girl writes a good pop song (above, and the only track of hers I have in my arsenal), she doesn’t come off as overly polished, she sings harmony well (heh, see what I did there?), she’s a Mamma Yamma favourite and I find her rise in popularity impressive. Also, my buddy M needed a date and tickets were cheap! I would think that the next time she returns to these parts, she’ll be playing much larger venues. Serena’s becoming kind of a big deal.
I’m not overly in love with her huge single “Stompa”, but my opinion may change when I see this performed in person. I felt the same way about the Hip’s “It’s A Good Life If You Don’t Weaken” back in the day.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vz7jCY1cpHk]
(and is it just me, or does the still for this video remind you of this gal?)
