77 replies to this topic

[VicHockeyFan]

...

 

Well, I'll guess that Nickelback has sold 5x or 10x more albums than the Hip.

 

EDIT:   they have sold about 9x more.

[LJ]

...

I know who one person in each of those photos is.

[Mike K.]

Victorians watching live in Banff:

You sure that's not a still from a Rogers commercial?

[dasmo]

It's funny to see some of these comments. The Hip are a great band and are immensely talented musicians and great writers. Far from obscure. They are immensely personal to a lot of Canadians precisely because of their amazing song writing and performing that is immensely popular only in Canada. It's hard to know why but interesting and endearing none the less. It's fine not to like them, taste is personal but to dismiss their musicianship only displays ignorance. 

[spanky123]

Interesting comment added to the Hip's wikipedia page 2 days ago ..

 

Although some media have reported this as the band's final concert tour,^[2] the band themselves have not declared it as such, stating only that future recording and performing activity will depend on Downie's health.

[VicHockeyFan]

I'm pretty sure they will do a few one-offs around Christmas (is that a contradiction?) if Downie's health does not deteriorate.

 

This latest tour has made each band member a multi-millionaire, so there is no need to go on.

 

15 tour dates.  Average audience size 14,000.  Average ticket price $90.

 

That's $19M gross for the ticket sales.  Then add a few million profit on merchandise.  Then throw in $5M or $10M that the CBC paid for the rights to the last show.  

[dasmo]

I doubt it's about any need for money.....

[LeoVictoria]

I'm pretty sure they will do a few one-offs around Christmas (is that a contradiction?) if Downie's health does not deteriorate.

 

This latest tour has made each band member a multi-millionaire, so there is no need to go on.

 

15 tour dates.  Average audience size 14,000.  Average ticket price $90.

 

That's $19M gross for the ticket sales.  Then add a few million profit on merchandise.  Then throw in $5M or $10M that the CBC paid for the rights to the last show.  

 

I assume you do realize they've been touring for decades?  I'm sure they're all comfortable before this tour.

[VicHockeyFan]

I assume you do realize they've been touring for decades?  I'm sure they're all comfortable before this tour.

 

I do.  But I also presume they made more from this one tour than the last 10 or 20 years of touring combined.   The numbers would show that.  There is a HUGE difference in profitability when you get $125 for a ticket, compared to the previous tour where you could only get $55 for that same seat.  And situations where you can play two consecutive shows in one city drive up profits.  They managed to do that 5 times on this one tour, whereas they had never done it (in a large arena) in the past 30 years.  It was not until 1992 that they did their first set of arena shows.

[spanky123]

Would be interested to see the reaction of Gord was still feeling ok and the Hip decided to go on tour next summer. I realize that the prognosis for him is very poor, but heck if he loves waht he is doing and has the energy then I don't expect him to sit and home and wait for his cancer to progress.

[jonny]

I don't think the Hip's music had much to do with the concert, as the musicians are mediocre as far as talent goes.

It was more about having a chance to see someone perform last rites on themselves, and for the audience who took the opportunity to question and touch base with their own mortality.

I was to a fan and still not, but I got the message 

 

Dude, that’s deep.

 

The story is certainly very sad and caught a lot of people’s attention.

 

Sure, the Hip have a very devoted following in Canada, but are more of a cult act elsewhere.  They're probably more of a “B” act. They are certainly nowhere near the level of Celine, Shania, Drake, Bieber, etc. They are more of a Nelly Furtado.

[VicHockeyFan]

Dude, that’s deep.

 

The story is certainly very sad and caught a lot of people’s attention.

 

Sure, the Hip have a very devoted following in Canada, but are more of a cult act elsewhere.  They're probably more of a “B” act. They are certainly nowhere near the level of Celine, Shania, Drake, Bieber, etc. They are more of a Nelly Furtado.

 

I'm not even sure that's accurate.

 

They are more like Honeymoon Suite or Platinum Blonde, big Canadian acts, with little US following.  But with much longer staying power.

[jonny]

I was trying to not offend dasmo....

[VicHockeyFan]

I was trying to not offend dasmo....

 

[Rob Randall]

I'm not even sure that's accurate.

 

They are more like Honeymoon Suite or Platinum Blonde, big Canadian acts, with little US following.  But with much longer staying power.

 

That doesn't even make sense. Anyway, you're all wrong. The New Yorker said it best:

 

The Tragically Hip are, roughly speaking, Canada’s equivalent to Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band—a proletarian group with an intellectual sensibility. The band evolved, during the nineteen-nineties, from a crude but effective bar band to a sophisticated purveyor of esoteric lyrics and clever melodies. Small-town hockey fans howl their biggest anthems in parking lots after games; assistant professors of Canadian literature listen to their later work while jogging.

 

[VicHockeyFan]

That's all fine, the Springsteen comparison if we need to talk about the music, but that does not explain the Canadian-only phenomenon.

 

Speaking of Canadians and Bruce Springsteen, I thought Barney Bentall could be the exact same thing.  He kinda flamed out after just one or two Springsteenish songs though.

 

Interesting anecdote:    

 

Although it is rarely mentioned, he is also a member of the prominent Bentall family of Dominion Construction and the Bentall Centre, in downtown Vancouver, BC

 

 

 

 

https://en.wikipedia.../Barney_Bentall

[Rob Randall]

I think there are a lot of factors playing in to their failure to break worldwide and why they are only a Canadian phenomenon. One is the lack of an infectious, massive US #1 hit like the Barenaked Ladies or Nelly Furtado had. Global fame is a b*tch. Maybe if U2's "I Will Follow" failed to chart in 1981 they would have been regarded today as an obscure but brilliant Irish band that most North Americans have never heard of.

 

I think the British version of the band that's legendary at home but unknown elsewhere is Cliff Richard.

Edited by Rob Randall, 23 August 2016 - 10:16 AM.

[victoriassecret]

It just all comes from this very weird proud to be mediocre Canadian nationalism.

[Jables]

I think the British version of the band that's legendary at home but unknown elsewhere is Cliff Richard.

 

I would put Blur up as an example as well, just on a larger scale.

 

Even though they did achieve some massive worldwide success with the singles Song 2 and Girls & Boys, the rest of their output is largely unknown outside of the UK.

 

You could draw other parallels between them and the Hip as well, especially in regards to how deeply rooted each band's music is within their respective cultures.

Edited by Jables, 23 August 2016 - 10:35 AM.

[Jables]

Sure, the Hip have a very devoted following in Canada, but are more of a cult act elsewhere.  They're probably more of a “B” act. They are certainly nowhere near the level of Celine, Shania, Drake, Bieber, etc. They are more of a Nelly Furtado.

 

You've already stated that you find this whole situation to be nauseating, but what I find nauseating is reading comments from people such as yourself who feel the need to poke holes in the band or the story just because they aren't a fan.

 

These guys have trucked along, quietly releasing solid albums and filling Canadian arenas for their entire career.  Now their singer is dying and they've decided to buckle down and tour the country as a goodbye to their fans.  It's a great story.  If you're not a fan and you don't understand their success then that's fine, but those feelings are beside the point in this case.  Just let people enjoy their "B" act and quit being such a pedant.

Edited by Jables, 23 August 2016 - 10:49 AM.