A New Request for the Tragically Hip: Please Play Parliament Hill on Canada Day
The demand to see the Tragically Hip on what will probably be their last tour is not letting up. In fact, fans are asking even more of the group.
There’s a new petition–one of several Hip-related ideas that have generated petitions–can be found on Facebook: “Let’s Get the Hip on the Hill.” The goal is to get the band to play Parliament Hill on Canada Day, which is about three weeks before the Man Machine Poem tour is scheduled to begin in Victoria. The page quickly picked up a thousand signatories and continues to grow.
The Hip on Canada Day? Doesn’t get much more Canadian than that, does it?
More on the story can be found at Global News.
Here’s the conflict: I’m generally not a fan of pushing for outdoor concerts on the Hip at this time. This is Canada in the summer. We don’t know what Downie’s doctors have recommended and I certainly don’t know what effect heat and humidity has on someone on chemo drugs.
But, Canada Day on Parliament Hill might just be a good compromise to all these suggestions. The afternoon show features five or six headline performers, dance performances, speeches, videos, special presentations, the works, all packed into about one hour max. Headline acts usually only get two or three songs and then they’re off. The evening show is only slightly longer and features different performers; so if their lucky, the headliner may get five songs. The Hip wouldn’t have to do the evening show, or even more than one song. Not to mention, Ottawa is close enough to Kingston that if they wanted to head home immediately, they could.
If the Hip feels like they can do it, I would support the decision full on. But the last thing I would do is criticize them for turning the idea down.
I say leave them alone and let them do what they want. I find it pretty incredible that they are doing a set of shows at all and now everyone is demanding more. Be gracious people. We have not seen hide nor hair of Gord and don’t know where he is at. I am sure he wants to do this tour or it wouldn’t be happening but can’t we be satisfied with that??? I am all for the broadcasting of the final show on television from Kingston but stop bugging them for more. He’s giving us the shows and hopefully a televised broadcast. Let him go be with his wife, kids, friends and family after that. Let him see if he is up to anymore. I sure hope he is but the pressure, holy crap.