Just to add a little more to what Chris said:
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Canadian rock's poet laureate returns
The Tragically Hip have a new album, a new producer, a new tour -- and a meatier sound
John Mackie , CanWest News Service
Published: Friday, October 20, 2006
"My brother suggested I write a song called The Lonely End of the Rink, based on a letter that he found that I had sent to my dad at some point, maybe for a birthday or something. I had said to my dad in that letter, 'Thanks for being there at the lonely end of the rink with me.'
"I was a kid growing up in a small town, all there is to do is play hockey, and I was a goalie. He wasn't a hockey dad: he had five kids and he was a salesman, so he could rarely attend the games. But I would look up and he would be there, and he would hold his fist in the air. And that would say to me 'I'm here, but I can't come down there, you have to play the position, I can't.'
"My brother suggested that to me, and I went home and wrote the song in about 20 minutes. It debuted on Hockey Night in Canada last Saturday night with a full video montage underneath it of goalies being scored on. Goalies playing the most noble position in all of sports.
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You might be able to glean the meaning of The Lonely End of the Rink without an explanation, but some of Downie's lyrics are a bit more ... obtuse. There's a great line in Fly ("coastline rising out of the ocean, coastline rising like a pair of glowing thighs"), but frankly I had no idea what the song was about. So I asked Downie, who said the song was "loosely inspired by the plight of the refugee in this country."
"The person that comes over very qualified to make a very positive contribution to Canadian society, let's say, and ends up driving a cab or pushing a broom, you know?" he explained. "If there's anything holding this country back, it might be the under-utilization of some of our finest citizens."
Agreed, but frankly I'm still confused about the glowing thighs ... maybe that's the vision new immigrants have of B.C. or Newfoundland when they fly in from abroad.
In any event, the Tragically Hip will be promoting the record with a cross-Canada tour of smaller venues; the current plan is to take it to the hockey rinks in early 2007, then go to the States and Europe.
The Hip have a famously fanatical fan base. There a fan website called Hipbase that keeps track of every show they ever play (the total to date is 755 concerts, 453 different venues, 227 different cities, and 159 songs in the band's catalogue).
Given their fanatical fans, it isn't surprising that the Tragically Hip sold out all four Vancouver shows at the Commodore Ballroom (Nov 3, 4, 6 and 7) in something like 12 minutes.
Downie loves playing the historic Commodore, which is steeped in rock and roll history.
"It's to be part of a great chronology of live entertainment, a great lineage, to be part of that line of performers," he said.
"You want to honour the tradition, you want to live up to your calling or something. You want to be great. Like the greats before you."
