On September 5, In 1989, the Tragically Hip, arguably Canada's most influential and culturally significant band, released their debut studio album So hereOn this day every year, exactly 35 years later, the four surviving members of the group reunited at Toronto's Royal Alexandra Theatre for a screening of a documentary chronicling their slow-burning career. Tragic Tragedy: No Rehearsal.
“It's not an artist's dream, where you'd strive for perfection,” says guitarist Rob Baker. Rolling Stone“The dream was to be on stage in front of people, with my friends and enjoy music – we achieved this dream fairly early and lived it for a long time.”
“We were always progressing gradually – gig after gig, record after record, tour after tour,” adds guitarist Gord Sinclair. “We were always focused on the near horizon. It's like we woke up from a sleep.” 1726838773“Where you look back and say, ‘There are so many possibilities.’”
with Tragic Tragedy: No Rehearsal The film was selected as the official opening of the Toronto International Film Festival, and won the People's Choice Award for Documentary. The four-hour, four-episode film was the first documentary series to win the award in this category.
“When you look at yourself there, you feel some emotions,” says guitarist Paul Langlois. “I think it's a story of commitment, really. In the end, we all committed ourselves – no matter what.”
The day after the screening, the band members stand on a skyscraper high above Toronto. Friends since childhood, the bandmates are at the Amazon Prime offices promoting the film with a host of national and international media outlets ahead of its release on Prime on September 20.
“Your career is a step-by-step process, so it’s not like you were parachuted into the circus,” Baker says of the media frenzy in Canada surrounding the film’s release. “But was being out of the business for eight years a dose of maturity yesterday?”
Eight years ago was the last time the Tragically Hip performed on stage in front of a live audience. It was the culmination of a nationwide farewell tour, which ended on August 20, 2016, at the K-Rock Centre in the band’s hometown of Kingston, Ontario. The show was broadcast nationally on the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) to an estimated audience of 12 million.
“After the last show, we didn’t really know what to do,” says drummer Johnny Fay. “We were floating in the air. We were all going through this experience alone, in this fog.”
This liberating feeling, lost in the fog of depression and fear of the unknown, came in the wake of the death of Hip's lead singer Gord Downie. The energetic and dynamic frontman died on October 17, 2017, after a courageous bout with brain cancer, much of which was revealed to the public. He was 53.
“There was an idea coming, but there was no enthusiasm or anything. We didn't want to do anything,” Faye says of the band's future after Downey's death. “But then we started gradually collaborating with Jake Gould.”
Gold, the documentary’s executive producer, is the hip-hop group’s longtime manager. He’s also been a key player in taking the group from small bars and local festivals to hockey arenas and the national spotlight.
“[Jake] “We really tried to get us to do some stuff and find great old records,” Faye says of Heap’s vast archives, a wealth of carefully curated material. “So we had a goal, but we found each other again. If we’re together, it’s kind of therapeutic in itself.”
Another major figure behind Tragic Tragedy: No Rehearsal The director is Mike Downey – Gord's brother. The project was a labor of love and legacy.
“I wanted to create an experience for the hardcore music fan that would take them back to those live shows and listening to the records when they first came out,” Downey says. “And then there’s the casual fans who listen to the music on and off, where I want to kick their ass and remind them how great this band is.”
There’s also a third audience the film hopes to reach: a global audience who may not be familiar with the band’s complex story and all its human elements. “The documentary is a great ramp for this person,” Downey says. “You start at zero and we’ll take you to 100.”
This year marks the 40th anniversary of the Tragically Hip. Formed in 1984 in Kingston, the band were a group of rock and blues nerds who grew up in an era when their contemporaries were full of big hair, bigger egos and polished rock songs on the radio. The Hip were none of those things; they were simply themselves.
“[The Hip] “They were five high school friends from a small town,” Downey says. “They stayed true to themselves and became an integral part of the Canadian fabric.”
Born from a love of British rock music of the 1960s and 1970s, the hip-hop group, coupled with Gord Downie's poetic skill and Jim Morrison-like stage presence, has become a Canadian rock powerhouse. The group has won 17 Juno Awards, including Artist of the Year and Group of the Year. Nine of their albums have reached number one on the Canadian charts, along with numerous radio hits. From 1996 to 2016, they were the best-selling band in Canada.
Tragic Tragedy: No Rehearsal This film is not only a nuanced story about a group of musicians searching for their destiny. It is also a look at the band's mission to explore what it means to be Canadian – a country that is sometimes politically and culturally misunderstood. “For many Canadians, this quiet pride [for the Hip] “It’s real,” Downey says. “The music touches the heart. It’s that connection, and then it’s a little history lesson about these Canadian people and places.”
Even in the midst of his illness, Gord Downie found incredible strength and determination in his final days to relearn the songs he had written and performed for decades. It was a testament to his unwavering passion for performing, as well as his desire to say a heartfelt farewell to his fans.
“When we set out to make this documentary, we wanted to find out what was it about this band that Canadians identified with so strongly,” Downey says. “I think what made hip-hop so important to a lot of people was the authenticity. They had this confidence in themselves that was appealing.”
Immediately after the film screening, the band members took the stage to an enthusiastic crowd. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who is interviewed in the film about his lifelong love of hip-hop, also appeared with the band.
“For decades, you have embodied an element of Canadian identity that is not just about you, but about your love for this country, and about the extraordinary mind and spirit that your brother Gord represented, and what he brought to this country,” Trudeau said.
Upon leaving the stage, the band members waved to the crowd of cheering faces from across King Street in David Peacock Square. As King Street closed for the premiere, the band members and their extended families walked side by side to John Street.
On a platform atop a school bus parked in the middle of the street, Toronto's Choral Choir led a choral rendition of Tragically Hip songs like “Grace, Too,” “Ahead by a Century” and “Bobcaygeon,” while the band stood below and watched.
“With the illusions of a day / Cast in a golden light,” they sing in “A Century Ahead.” “No rehearsal / This is our life.”
In addition to the documentary, the coffee table book, This is our lifeon the way, and a set of souvenir boxes for So here, The album arrives on November 8. In preparation, the band has released the previously unreleased single “Get Back Again,” which recently topped the Canadian rock charts — the band’s first No. 1 hit on radio in 15 years.
The surviving members are preparing for a reunion appearance on a “case-by-case” basis, but have no immediate plans to hit the stage. The band has only played twice in public since its last show with Gord Downie: with indie pop singer Faist at the 2021 Juno Awards, and supporting original singer-songwriter William Prince in 2022 to honor Buffy Sainte-Marie as part of the National Day of Truth and Reconciliation.
“Getting together as friends, making music together, that was the beginning of everything,” says Baker. “We did it out of a love of music and friendship. So what you have at the end is what you started with — it was good then, and it’s good now.”
