08-12-2005, 04:20 PM
This is taken from Sammy's website. Not sure if anybody has read it yet, but it's pretty cool. Love the part about Gord listening to music full-blast while he plays golf.
On Tour with The Hip - 2 back
"It's amazing what you can cram into a couple of years if you put your mind to it. Summoned from our indented sofas by none other than Destiny herself, we joined the swelling ranks of Rock n' Roll penitents, pilgrims bound to seek out one asbestos vaulted shrine after another, anointed by the cigarette, baptized in booze. The reason behind this outburst of semi-philosophical jargon, the end of our second tour with the High Priests of Canadian Rock, the Tragically Hip. Two years had passed since we set out on that first trip across Canada, one which would alter the course of our lives forever. Now, with a few hundred more shows under our belts and enough collective tunitus to deafen an elephant, we set out to do it all again. Our goal was not to recreate a chapter from our past, it was nothing short of conquering the world's only superpower, the U.S.A.
This tour would take us thirty four cities in just over six weeks (we'd been on the road for three weeks prior, playing our own gigs down the west coast, so we were already a little raw). Our first show took us all to Detroit, Michigan. After we had fanned the flames of friendship with the Hip, we quickly dispensed with the pleasantries, rolled up our sleeves like George W. when he wants to talk bizness, and got down to the task at hand. The Hip's crew almost went into cardiac arrest when they saw how much gear we had brought with us, and rightly so. You see, we like amps, amps and guitars, the more the merrier. Before we knew it we were on the phone to St. John's, Newfoundland, recruiting the services of the incomparable Drarryl "Coop" Cooper to help Our Man Hoogie with our surplus of equipment. He was there within 24 hours, full of blues guitar lore and a deadly toothache. Coupled with our new Tour Manager, Major Anthony Pitcher (also of St. John's), we had the highest Newfoundlander-per-capita ratio of any crew in the world. Ah! The Lard Liftin'.
Opening for the Tragically Hip is never to be taken lightly. They leave everything they have on the stage each night and their fans expect no less. In other words, no farting around from Roberts and company. We made our way from Michigan to Ohio, played a great show in Cleveland, and then inched our way down the east coast. Boston, New York (a wonderful night at Webster Hall - it felt like the floor was about to cave in during Blow At High Dough), Washington D.C. Nuge, James and I checked out the aerospace museum at the Smithsonian - the flight simulator made me want to barf, I guess I'm not fighter jet pilot material (I did annihilate some enemy tanks however). We made our way south from there to Atlanta, Georgia and straight into the outer reaches of Hurricane Ivan. This was the first of our Blues Nights with Coop. He has a real nose for getting himself into a jam. He can play with the best of them, has great pipes and soon became our very own guitar guru. It brought a cool side-theme to the whole trip, finding the blues through the eyes and ears of a Newfoundlander.
We continued to New Orleans where we spent two days wandering the streets in search of every tourist trap possible: voodoo shops, strip clubs, beads, boobs and 4-for-1 happy hour. We drank mint julips and rode on the street car in 100% humidity. The show at Howlin' Wolf was hot as Hades. It was the smallest room of the tour but the vibe was great. We played 3 songs and then Hot Metal for about half an hour just to change things up. The tour continued west from there through Texas (we played Austin on my birthday so it's a little foggy). In El Paso a couple of us escorted Paul Langlois, Gord Downie and Gord Sinclair on one of their now-famous golfing expeditions. It was tough going, what with all the desert surrounding each hole. While Paul and Gord S. are seasoned pros, Gord D. has a very natural swing despite the fact that he listens to tunes at full-blast while playing. (Photos of this expedition are to follow).
After a brief stop where we played hockey (with Nuge's cousin Jamie) and a gig in Phoenix, we were on to California. We got up early to hit the beach and a little surf session in San Diego. We hooked up with my old friend Chad A. on whose floor I had lived for a while in '98. We surfed for a while, ate some barbecue and then had to get back in time for soundcheck. From there we had a straight line all the way up to Seattle, with stops in L.A., San Fran., and Portland. The San Francisco show was an amazing experience. Thanks to the Hip, we were handed a gig at the legendary Fillmore, in front of a sold-out house. Red curtains hang from the walls, chandeliers reflect the stage lights in a million different directions. Posters from shows stretching back to the 60's line the wall like works of art at the Louvre. There is a photo of Pete Townshend throwing his guitar at least 20 feet in the air in front of a spellbound crowd, with a caption reading "The last note of the last song played at…" The history in that place takes over from the moment you walk in. The mission then becomes one of having to add your infinitely small but still-important piece to the buildings legacy. We gave it everything we had, opening with No Sleep and then picking it up, song by song 'till we played the last chord of Where Have All the Good People Gone and walked off stage.
The Mid West was next and as we moved towards the Heartland, so did George Bush and his gang (it is really strange when your mission and that of your nemesis are one and the same- to win over the hearts and minds of Americans). It was mid-October by this point and Decision 2004 was only a couple of weeks away. In our own way we felt as though we were participating in the U.S. election process - trying to reaffirm basic human values and a consciousness of the fact that there is a world going on out there, one which we have a responsibility to look out for. W. was talking taxes and terror. The usual fare. It all came to a head in Toledo, Ohio when our gig and Bush's went into direct competition. Our Bus was parked a couple of hundred feet away from his Hypnosis session going on at the conference centre. We even saw the fella drive by. We preached to a crowd of a thousand or so, but I bet they had a better time. Our mission fell short in the long run, another blow to Canada's attempts to influence U.S. domestic policy through Rock n' Roll. Damn…
We would like to thank the Band and Crew of the Tragically Hip for all of their kindness over that great 2 month run. Once again, they schooled us all in the art of connecting with a crowd. The audience and players morph into one beast, that's what Rock n' Roll is all about. Thanks to the fans for coming out and giving us the fuel to go on, and on and on... Adios for now everybody. Sam."
On Tour with The Hip - 2 back
"It's amazing what you can cram into a couple of years if you put your mind to it. Summoned from our indented sofas by none other than Destiny herself, we joined the swelling ranks of Rock n' Roll penitents, pilgrims bound to seek out one asbestos vaulted shrine after another, anointed by the cigarette, baptized in booze. The reason behind this outburst of semi-philosophical jargon, the end of our second tour with the High Priests of Canadian Rock, the Tragically Hip. Two years had passed since we set out on that first trip across Canada, one which would alter the course of our lives forever. Now, with a few hundred more shows under our belts and enough collective tunitus to deafen an elephant, we set out to do it all again. Our goal was not to recreate a chapter from our past, it was nothing short of conquering the world's only superpower, the U.S.A.
This tour would take us thirty four cities in just over six weeks (we'd been on the road for three weeks prior, playing our own gigs down the west coast, so we were already a little raw). Our first show took us all to Detroit, Michigan. After we had fanned the flames of friendship with the Hip, we quickly dispensed with the pleasantries, rolled up our sleeves like George W. when he wants to talk bizness, and got down to the task at hand. The Hip's crew almost went into cardiac arrest when they saw how much gear we had brought with us, and rightly so. You see, we like amps, amps and guitars, the more the merrier. Before we knew it we were on the phone to St. John's, Newfoundland, recruiting the services of the incomparable Drarryl "Coop" Cooper to help Our Man Hoogie with our surplus of equipment. He was there within 24 hours, full of blues guitar lore and a deadly toothache. Coupled with our new Tour Manager, Major Anthony Pitcher (also of St. John's), we had the highest Newfoundlander-per-capita ratio of any crew in the world. Ah! The Lard Liftin'.
Opening for the Tragically Hip is never to be taken lightly. They leave everything they have on the stage each night and their fans expect no less. In other words, no farting around from Roberts and company. We made our way from Michigan to Ohio, played a great show in Cleveland, and then inched our way down the east coast. Boston, New York (a wonderful night at Webster Hall - it felt like the floor was about to cave in during Blow At High Dough), Washington D.C. Nuge, James and I checked out the aerospace museum at the Smithsonian - the flight simulator made me want to barf, I guess I'm not fighter jet pilot material (I did annihilate some enemy tanks however). We made our way south from there to Atlanta, Georgia and straight into the outer reaches of Hurricane Ivan. This was the first of our Blues Nights with Coop. He has a real nose for getting himself into a jam. He can play with the best of them, has great pipes and soon became our very own guitar guru. It brought a cool side-theme to the whole trip, finding the blues through the eyes and ears of a Newfoundlander.
We continued to New Orleans where we spent two days wandering the streets in search of every tourist trap possible: voodoo shops, strip clubs, beads, boobs and 4-for-1 happy hour. We drank mint julips and rode on the street car in 100% humidity. The show at Howlin' Wolf was hot as Hades. It was the smallest room of the tour but the vibe was great. We played 3 songs and then Hot Metal for about half an hour just to change things up. The tour continued west from there through Texas (we played Austin on my birthday so it's a little foggy). In El Paso a couple of us escorted Paul Langlois, Gord Downie and Gord Sinclair on one of their now-famous golfing expeditions. It was tough going, what with all the desert surrounding each hole. While Paul and Gord S. are seasoned pros, Gord D. has a very natural swing despite the fact that he listens to tunes at full-blast while playing. (Photos of this expedition are to follow).
After a brief stop where we played hockey (with Nuge's cousin Jamie) and a gig in Phoenix, we were on to California. We got up early to hit the beach and a little surf session in San Diego. We hooked up with my old friend Chad A. on whose floor I had lived for a while in '98. We surfed for a while, ate some barbecue and then had to get back in time for soundcheck. From there we had a straight line all the way up to Seattle, with stops in L.A., San Fran., and Portland. The San Francisco show was an amazing experience. Thanks to the Hip, we were handed a gig at the legendary Fillmore, in front of a sold-out house. Red curtains hang from the walls, chandeliers reflect the stage lights in a million different directions. Posters from shows stretching back to the 60's line the wall like works of art at the Louvre. There is a photo of Pete Townshend throwing his guitar at least 20 feet in the air in front of a spellbound crowd, with a caption reading "The last note of the last song played at…" The history in that place takes over from the moment you walk in. The mission then becomes one of having to add your infinitely small but still-important piece to the buildings legacy. We gave it everything we had, opening with No Sleep and then picking it up, song by song 'till we played the last chord of Where Have All the Good People Gone and walked off stage.
The Mid West was next and as we moved towards the Heartland, so did George Bush and his gang (it is really strange when your mission and that of your nemesis are one and the same- to win over the hearts and minds of Americans). It was mid-October by this point and Decision 2004 was only a couple of weeks away. In our own way we felt as though we were participating in the U.S. election process - trying to reaffirm basic human values and a consciousness of the fact that there is a world going on out there, one which we have a responsibility to look out for. W. was talking taxes and terror. The usual fare. It all came to a head in Toledo, Ohio when our gig and Bush's went into direct competition. Our Bus was parked a couple of hundred feet away from his Hypnosis session going on at the conference centre. We even saw the fella drive by. We preached to a crowd of a thousand or so, but I bet they had a better time. Our mission fell short in the long run, another blow to Canada's attempts to influence U.S. domestic policy through Rock n' Roll. Damn…
We would like to thank the Band and Crew of the Tragically Hip for all of their kindness over that great 2 month run. Once again, they schooled us all in the art of connecting with a crowd. The audience and players morph into one beast, that's what Rock n' Roll is all about. Thanks to the fans for coming out and giving us the fuel to go on, and on and on... Adios for now everybody. Sam."
