[tonyd]

Just got back from seeing it. I don’t know how you can be a hip fan and not enjoy that

agreed Mark.

[Tomacco]

Just saw it for my second time. I think I enjoyed it more the second time!

[ikky99]

Just got back from seeing it. I don’t know how you can be a hip fan and not enjoy that

I concur. It was perfect. Happy, sad, cathartic, eye-opening.

[spottrax]

Seen, LTR tonight. Not one complaint. It's absolutely wonderful! The theater was full of Hip fans, had a terrific and loud sound system! No spoilers or details...Being an American in the Detroit area, I'm just glad I've been close enough to Canada to be part of this musical phenomenon called the Tragically Hip...can't wait to see it again! Bring on the multiple disc blue ray version with tons of bonus footage!!!

[Escape@Hand]

Saw it tonight and really enjoyed it. One thing that stood out to me was how all the background music was taken from concerts from the tour. The live versions of their songs always have a special energy abiut them and it really added to the film.

[Tomacco]

I think the only real complaint I have now, which only bothers me on a dorky level, is the times when different pieces of shows are spliced together in misrepresenting ways. Specifically, when Toronto night 3 ends, and they intercut the crew cleaning up the venue, and the band hitting the dressing room. All the band footage there is actually from Edmonton since they talk about Coffee Girl and Struggle, which were only played in edmonton. It doesn't TRULY matter, but it is a misrepresentation of the night.
Same goes with Victoria when we see all the tension of the band hitting the stage for the first time of the tour and they launch into Blow at High Dough as if it's the opener (it's actually the third song). They repeat this trick with Courage in Kingston, which was the second song.

Again, super nerdy complaint, and I get why they did it (makes the movie itself better). I still think they should've actually opened with Courage in Kingston instead of Fifty. And in Victoria, Boots or Hearts wouldn't have made for as powerful an opener to depict in the movie.

[arewhyehen]

I think the only real complaint I have now, which only bothers me on a dorky level, is the times when different pieces of shows are spliced together in misrepresenting ways. Specifically, when Toronto night 3 ends, and they intercut the crew cleaning up the venue, and the band hitting the dressing room. All the band footage there is actually from Edmonton since they talk about Coffee Girl and Struggle, which were only played in edmonton. It doesn't TRULY matter, but it is a misrepresentation of the night.
Same goes with Victoria when we see all the tension of the band hitting the stage for the first time of the tour and they launch into Blow at High Dough as if it's the opener (it's actually the third song). They repeat this trick with Courage in Kingston, which was the second song.

Again, super nerdy complaint, and I get why they did it (makes the movie itself better). I still think they should've actually opened with Courage in Kingston instead of Fifty. And in Victoria, Boots or Hearts wouldn't have made for as powerful an opener to depict in the movie.

Nope. I was thinking the same thing throughout the show. loved it...but it bothered my OCD a bit. Haha

[ceebuler]

I thought it was fantastic and sounded amazing on the big screen. I just wish they had included some archival footage - a brief retrospective to put the band's popularity in context, especially for anyone watching this documentary who might not be familiar with them. It was an amazing documentary of the last tour, but I would have loved a documentary of the band, culminating in this tour.

[clarke]

Saw it last night and really enjoyed it. I didn't really know what to expect but I think it is a great companion to that final tour and concert. It's not an all encompassing career retrospective so I was a little disappointed by that. Obviously as a hardcore fan, I want to see all the interviews, all the backstage footage, all the rehearsals. Hopefully there will be a special features version. I also wanted to know what's next for the band and each of the guys. It was obvious that Kingston was the end but I will keep hope that we will get something in the future.

I was the most choked up with the first part of the documentary with the doctors and seeing what bad shape Gord was in. It was also the first time I've noticed the prognosis for Gord, 4-5 year best case scenario.

I enjoyed the rehearsal scenes in the empty arenas and, as mentioned, the live instrumentals as the score to the movie.

[spottrax]

I had read where the movie would be somewhat non-linear in blending clips from the different shows and I'm ok with that. The above mentioned Blow At High Dough was pretty much the best version of that song I've ever seen on film or video.... The version of Grace Too in the movie is so powerful, the theater I was in was blasting it loud and proud! I wish I had more time to go see it again at the theater. If anyone is on the fence...GO!

Also on a side note: It sounded to me like some of the live music was shall we say...enhanced? The film sounds awesome. I'm guessing some guitar parts and backing vocals might have been re-recorded or tweaked in the studio? Certainly, these live versions were recorded in multitrack to be mixed properly....which they were! All for the viewer/listeners ear candy.....Loved it! The guitars are really rockin' as are Johnny's drums! And.....for that matter Sinclair's bass. Lot's of up close cuts of the boys playing throughout. The entire band really gets a musical nod at one point or another in the movie.

And and....I absolutely LOVED the fact that there are so many...lesser known songs or song clips in the film. For example (spoiler alert)...There's a cool instrumental version of Eldorado where only the drums (holy cow are they pounding!) and one or maybe both guitars playing in the back ground...Really cool. No doubt the film was a labor of love from the film makers! The entire movie puts the emphasis on the music and the brotherhood...where it should be and doesn't dwell on the obvious all the time.

[mark]

I thought it was fantastic and sounded amazing on the big screen. I just wish they had included some archival footage - a brief retrospective to put the band's popularity in context, especially for anyone watching this documentary who might not be familiar with them. It was an amazing documentary of the last tour, but I would have loved a documentary of the band, culminating in this tour.

by far, the vast majority of people watching this movie are fans of the band. there would be very few who just showed up at the theatre and said "huh. i wonder what this movie Long Time Running is about. let's go see."

this documentary was never meant to be a retrospective of the band's career, but rather a story of the final tour. people who go into this expecting anything other than that will be disappointed.

[emperor penguin]

Just got back from seeing it. I don’t know how you can be a hip fan and not enjoy that

agreed Mark.

Agreed. I thought it was perfect in every single regard. I don't know what they could have done differently to make it any better. Given the time frame to work within for a feature length documentary, and the main subject matter (the final tour), I thought they fit everything in as well as they could have. If they went deeper on the band's backstory and still covered everything they did it would have been 5 hours long. To do a career retrospective justice, like the Rush Beyond the Lighted Stage doc, it would have to be a separate project.

[thehip11]

Saw it last night with a close hip buddy of mine. The theatre was completely packed with fans wearing hip shirts. I almost wanted to break out in HIP HIP HIP chants before the show came on.

It was magnificent. You really got a sense of how close these guys are. Really cool to hear behind the scenes interviews with the band. I think I might have to see it again.

Lots of people tearing up though. It brought me back to the final show in Kingston. I was getting to the realization that I'll never see this brand again live and then this just made me sad again that I won't.

[thedoog]

I thought it was fantastic and sounded amazing on the big screen. I just wish they had included some archival footage - a brief retrospective to put the band's popularity in context, especially for anyone watching this documentary who might not be familiar with them. It was an amazing documentary of the last tour, but I would have loved a documentary of the band, culminating in this tour.

Mark Vreeken is a wizard. It was a perfect mix. The Good Life during the end credits sounded spectacular.

[Scotty12]

Bring on the multiple disc blue ray version with tons of bonus footage!!!

Yes please!

If you go into this doc having the expectations of a massive Hip fan, as so many of us will, you're likely to leave disappointed. There wasn't enough light shed on how this tour impacted the band members themselves. Restricting the interviews largely to after the tour didn't provide the intimacy I was hoping for. As mentioned, there was a lot to touch on and sometimes it felt like the filmmakers were only skimming the surface. You'd get a hint of great insight and then the film would quickly move on to something else.

But as noted at the premiere last night, the filmmakers got the call just five days before the first show in Victoria, so what they were able to put together is commendable.

Yup, I agree with all this.

One thing I'm really happy they delved into (which I hadn't seen any band member discuss in other interviews) was the setlists throughout the tour and how Gord wanted to play every album.

There's also a great little moment post-show where they're talking about how their performances of the WATS songs went that night (so this was from Edmonton). They didn't seem too enthused, which may be why they only played that album the one time. But I like those inside looks where we see the band dealing with specific performances.

After disappointment with Bobcaygeon, I went into the theatre with no expecations. Only a thankful attitude that the MMP poem tour took place, that I was able to attend and that more was being shared with the fans.

The setlist segments you mentioned stick out as my initial favourites from the film, along with Escape@ the first rehearsal. Chilling. Seeing the early drafts of the setlists with the time listed to the left of each song, and Paul drawing lines and listing every song on bristol board "it definitely got a little more arts and crafts" :lol:

If I remember correctly, one of them commented that Coffee girl was hard to play and Sinclair said struggle went well. Those were the type of scenes I am happy the cameras caught. The empty arena rehearsal shots were also fantastic.

It also made me happy every time they showed Billy Ray. Wheeling road cases, Gord's lyric teacher, throwing setlists to fans waiting on the rail, wearing an amazing old knit Hip sweater in his interview, etc.

On that note, the "THC" hat that Patrick wore in his interview was equally amazing.

Was very happy with some of the deeper cuts they chose for background music instead of a radio-favs playlist, Toronto#4, Eldorado, throwing off glass, etc

:thumb: :thumb: