Episode Details

'Three Pistols' as an opener. Nobody in the Saddledome saw that coming, least of all the guy who'd spent the whole week camping.

Episode summary

August 1st, 2016. The Scotiabank Saddledome. The Tragically Hip are working eastward, homebound to Kingston, and the Man Machine Poem Tour rolls into Calgary for the first of two nights. Ten years on, three people who were in that building sit down and tell jD what it actually felt like.

Spencer from Calgary was at both Calgary shows, and two days before this one he woke up from an afternoon nap, found face-value seats for Edmonton five hours before downbeat, and drove up the highway without packing a bag. Paul from Lethbridge talked himself out of the on-sale entirely, spent a fortnight regretting it, then bought behind-the-stage seats on the secondary market and has never regretted that. Steve from Toronto is a cancer survivor. He brought his fiancee to her first proper Hip show and found two old friends sitting directly in front of him.

They talk about the email nobody was ready for. They talk about decoding the album blocks in real time, and about 'World Container' surfacing for the first time since 2009 with Gord Downie working the teleprompter and grinning through a fumble. They talk about a concourse so packed you could not move, a merch line that looked like a family reunion, and a version of 'Grace, Too' that Spencer says he will never shake.

Nobody here is claiming to be the expert. They were just in the room. This is the Calgary night, told back by the people who lived it.

Key takeaways

• Steve from Toronto is a cancer survivor, so the diagnosis email landed on him twice over. Once as a fan, once as somebody who already knew the vocabulary.

• Spencer from Calgary got Edmonton tickets at face value five hours before showtime, drove up with no bag packed, sat down with a hot dog and a beer, and the band walked out thirty seconds later.

• Paul from Lethbridge and his buddy Nick skipped the on-sale, realized their error about a fortnight later, and bought in behind the stage. Hundreds of shows between them and this one still tops the list.

• 'The Kids Don't Get It' was a tour debut that night, and 'World Container' had not been played live since 2009 (source: setlist.fm). Paul clocked the second one in the moment.

• All three describe the same night from three different seats, and none of them describe a party. The word Paul reaches for is communal. He lands on an upbeat church service.

Quotes

“It was like this is happening to my friend Gord, which is a weird feeling to feel about someone that you've never known.”

Paul from Lethbridge [MM:SS]

“I used to complain that they didn't mix things up enough. I would do anything right now to get the most basic paint by numbers Tragically Hip set list if it meant being able to see that band one more time.”

Steve from Toronto [MM:SS]

Guest information

• Spencer from Calgary - both Calgary nights plus an unplanned Edmonton run. Took his sister and his brother. Still the only concert the three of them have been to together.

• Paul from Lethbridge - bought late, behind the stage, no regrets. Went with Nick, his concert guy. 'World Container' is a top-five song for him and he had never heard it live.

• Steve from Toronto - cancer survivor. Five shows on the tour, Kingston included. Calgary was his now-wife's first proper Hip show.

Resources, links and references