Gord Downie: My Favourite Moments

10 – Tuesday May 24, 2016 6:12 AM. The exact moment I found out about Gord’s cancer. I will never, ever forget that moment. That says something about how Gord has touched my life. I shed some tears and then moved on, focused on the million or so positive thoughts in my head of Gord and the rest of The Hip.

9 – Gord On Stage. No front man I have ever known has danced, rambled, gone off into a spastic, Joe Cocker like trance in the way Gord Downie does. Every live show is a blessing, a poetry reading, a weird and wild ride. Here’s hoping I get tickets to see them one more time.

8 – SNL. I used to love that show. I would stay up all hours to watch the show. Often the musical guests sucked, but sometimes they brought it. One band definitely brought it. They showed the U.S. networks that we can kick ass up here in Canada. The Hip brought their A Game, and Dan Akroyd could not have been prouder to introduce his fellow Kingston brethren.

http://www.pinkbike.com/video/125904/

7 – Fifty Mission Cap. My wedding had a hockey theme to it, eh. Our dj asked for a list of my songs and I wanted hockey songs, but off the top of my head, the only one I could think of was Fifty Mission Cap. The line “The last goal he ever scored. Won the Leafs the Cup.” I wonder if I will ever see that in my lifetime.

6 – Canadiana – No band before or since has brought as much Canadiana. Newfoundland, Millhaven Maximum, Sault Saint Marie, Regent Theatre, Niagara Falls, Bobcaygeon, Rideau Canal, Hundredth Meridian, Attawapiskat and many more are mentioned. Proud to call Canada home. They stayed here because we love them. We always will.

5 – Dan Snyder – Many people would not know the name. I grew up in Elmira, Ontario, Canada. Dan was told at every level to quit, as he was too small. He rose through the ranks and made the NHL against the odds. He was killed in a high speed crash in a Ferrari driven by a teammate. At the trial, Mr. and Mrs. Snyder forgave the driver and asked the judge not to put him in jail. The Hip recorded Heaven Is A Better Place Today in honour of Snyder, and Gord Downie has attended the Dan Snyder Memorial Golf Tournament in Elmira. Thank You Gord, and I miss you Dan.

4 – Front Row – In April 2009, The Hip announced a fan club sale of tickets to Danforth Music Hall for the princely sum of $20. I was on the computer at the designated time and lo and behold I had front row. FRONT ROW TO THE HIP!!!!! Ok. What is this? After I click to purchase why does this lead me to a US ticketmaster site. WTF. I want my front row tickets. Turns out I didn’t get my tickets. I got this instead. The Hip Apology   At least I got a letter from The Hip.

3 – Bush Party – I first heard The Hip at a bush party in Elmira. Someone was from Kingston and they brought a Hip cassette. WTF is this. I need to hear more of this awesome music. I have never looked back. My dream party would be a bush party with Kawasaki and The Hip performing.

2 – My Hip Week. In the first week of October 2012, I was off to Toronto for some boring ass training sessions. I had the radio on during my morning commute and the dj mentioned something about The Hip doing a surprise show in a tiny bar in Kensington Market. I bailed on the training and got to the venue and lined up. Me and 100 or so of my closest friends got to see The Hip put on a mini concert. After the show I got to meet Rob Baker. Later that week my wife and I got to see The Hip perform the last ever concert at Ivor Wynn Stadium. One of the best weeks of music ever.

1 – Barrie. My girlfriend ( now wife) got my invite to come up and see me in Barrie and we would go to The Hip concert. She would bring a friend and my buddy and I talked about going to the show. Apparently he thought I was buying the tickets and I thought he was. The tickets sold out and I had to tell the girls that drove 2 hours to see the band that we had no tickets. We went to a party instead and had a great time. I knew my girlfriend was a keeper and since then we have seen The Hip many times. We still laugh about that this day. It is so awesome how people can bond over The Hip.

FYC has become my motto for 2016. It stands for FUCK YOU CANCER. In the case of Gord Downie. FYCATFPOSHYRIO. FUCK YOU CANCER AND THE FUCKING PIECE OF SHIT HORSE YOU RODE IN ON.

Lastly. I love you Ry Cooder. But I hope you stay away from Kingston, Ontario for a very, very long time.

This was a group post. Please click the links for others by Scotty G (Guest Post) at Mike Ladano, Aaron from KMA, Geoff at 1001 albums, James at KMA, Deke from Stick It In Your Ear, and Sarca from Caught Me Gaming.