[hotmetal401]

Any other Hipbasers make it out to this show Friday night? The night was a fundraiser for Downie-Wenjeck, with a collective of local and touring musicians getting together to celebrate the life and music of Gord Downie and The Tragically Hip. The format was similar to just about any other charity show you've been to (such as the White Ribbon Benefit, Andy Kim Christmas, etc.): house band on stage all night while a rotating cast of singers come up to each do appx. two songs.

The night ended up raising about $10,000 - despite anything else I'm about to write here, that is the only thing that really matters - and featured headlining performances from Danny Michel, Jim Bryson, Andrew Cash and Sam Cash. Most of the other acts were pretty Barrie or central-Ontario based, with a couple of lesser-known Toronto musicians coming up as well. Mike and Patrick Downie were on hand to say a few words during intermission.

With full disclosure that the cold I'm fighting is making me more miserable and jaded than usual, I had a lot higher hopes for the performances we'd be seeing. I think it was Greg Keelor from Blue Rodeo who made a comment last year about just how hard it is to cover Hip songs, because of GD's writing style. Andrew Cash made a similar comment Friday night. You think you know the songs, but then you realize just how many words are crammed into the three-and-a-half minutes and realize you know very little. That came across throughout the evening. These songs are just really hard for people to sing. I think Strombo's Hip 30 program showed that as well. There are a lot of stellar covers there; there are probably just as many awful ones.

That said, there were a couple of attempts that if I had been seeing any of these musicians in a bar, and they pulled out that choice cover, I'd probably be impressed. Ariana Gillis did Wolf's Home justice and It's A Good Life If You Don't Weaken was turned into the younger sibling of Cortez The Killer by Andrew Goldstein and the house band, led by Brett Caswell. Danny Michel deserved his top billing, nailing both Fireworks and Poets (although I was hurt that my favourite act on the bill was covering probably my two least favourite songs to hear live).

With a song like Wolf's Home, or the handful of Secret Path songs, you had to struggle over the crowd talking to hear what was happening on stage. From the crowd conversations to the casual racism to the obliterated bros being escorted out by security way too early in the night, it was a typical night at The Roxx (or whatever the hell it's called now). Jim Bryson, before covering Trick Rider, came out and said, “It’s nice that you’re all talking; that’s my favourite part.” I laughed. It's the kind of thing Gord probably would have said in the moment too.

Here's what was played, except for the encore, which I'm sure happened, but my aforementioned cold won the battle and I just couldn't take it anymore. Brett Caswell and band backed up all songs, except where noted.

Little Bones - Matt Berry
Long Time Running - Matt Berry
Flamenco - Courtney Dubois and Dave Allen
Wheat Kings - Harpacash - solo
Gift Shop - Brent Jackson
Fly - Aaron Goldstein
Good Life - Aaron Goldstein
Blow - Noel Johnson
Courage - Noel Johnson
I Will Not Be Struck - Dani Strong - solo
Grace Too - Dani Strong
--- Intermission ---
The Stranger - Amanda Rheaume
Now For Plan A - Amanda Rheaume and Carliegh Akins
Secret Path - Carliegh Akins
Three Pistols - Carliegh Akins
Wolf's Home - Ariana Gillis
Son - Ariana Gillis
ABAC - Andrew Cash and Sam Cash
Seven Matches - Andrew Cash and Sam Cash
My Music At Work - Andrew Cash and Sam Cash
Fireworks - Danny Michel
Poets - Danny Michel

[potsie]

With a song like Wolf's Home, or the handful of Secret Path songs, you had to struggle over the crowd talking to hear what was happening on stage. From the crowd conversations to the casual racism to the obliterated bros being escorted out by security way too early in the night, it was a typical night at The Roxx (or whatever the hell it's called now). Jim Bryson, before covering Trick Rider, came out and said, “It’s nice that you’re all talking; that’s my favourite part.” I laughed. It's the kind of thing Gord probably would have said in the moment too.

The convergence of the over-served and the under-appreciative can ruin a show like this. Trick Rider is a tender moment that probably isn't the best cover choice for an environment like that, but I applaud Jim Bryson (and those that did some of Gord's other solo tunes) for the effort. Agree that Bryson's remark was Downie-like in it's pointedness.